Tragic Sandwich

Tag: shrimp

  • Mom-Friendly Meals: Shrimp and Potatoes in Garlic Butter

    I love shrimp. Love, love, love it. Yet for some reason, I almost never cook with it. I’m trying to change that, though, because I have come to the conclusion–quite vocally, if you check with Mr. Sandwich–that I don’t like chicken.*

    So a couple of weeks ago, we bought a bag of frozen shrimp at Costco. Surprisingly, it was not enough shrimp to feed all of Los Angeles–but we will get several meals out of it. We started last night (well, the night before, because the shrimp had to thaw) with this dish.

    First, I cut up some Yukon Gold potatoes into chunks and boiled them until they were cooked, at which point I drained them.

    Then I deveined the shrimp (it didn’t take as long as I always imagine it will; this stage was done before the potatoes finished cooking). In a skillet, I melted about half a stick of butter and sauteed some minced garlic. You know how people say not to use the pre-minced garlic that you can buy in jars? Well, we use it anyhow. It’s easier.

    Once the garlic started to brown, I added the shrimp and flipped them once after about 2 minutes. You want to be careful not to overcook them, because they can get tough. Meanwhile, I returned the potatoes to the pan and dry steamed them to remove any additional moisture. After I turned over the shrimp, I added the potatoes to the skillet and tossed everything to coat with the butter and garlic.

    Shrimp and Potatoes

    Then we ate it.

    You might want to have some vegetables, too. That’s always a good idea.

    *Except fried chicken. I still like that. Because it is fried.

  • Food Truck Follies

    Once upon a time, there was an empty lot in Santa Monica. Then, the owner of the lot thought, “Hey, what if–instead of selling the lot–I let food trucks park here and sell food?”

    People loved it. All day.

    Then, Santa Monica shut it down.

    So what is a food truck to do? They scattered to the winds. Fortunately for me, two of them landed just a few bus stops away from my office. And also fortunately for me, one of them was posting on Twitter.

    First up, Calbi BBQ. This truck serves Korean-style BBQ. I ordered two tacos: one beef, one shrimp. I got two tacos: one beef, one chicken (I think). Get the chicken–it was excellent, and I didn’t even get the spicy sauce. The shrimp might be great, but I don ‘t know. The beef was fine, but I liked the offerings at Kogi BBQ better.

    A half block away was the truck I’d found via Twitter: Frysmith. As you might guess, they sell fries, topped with a range of multicultural offerings. I chose the Rajas fries, which come with shawarma-marinated steak, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, and jack cheese. This combination is delicious. It’s also a meal, which means that I would have been able to have more of it if I hadn’t eaten two tacos from the Calbi truck just moments before.

    Between the two trucks, though, I’d had a fair amount of spice. What to do? Why, walk across the street to Baskin Robbins and have a scoop of New York Cheesecake, of course.

    So what did this feast set me back? If you add in the water and don’t count the $2 in bus fare, about $13 for more food than I could (and probably should) eat.

    Later, I thought, “Hmm. I probably didn’t need that mid-morning protein shake.”