Sunday, January 16, 2011. Greek Salad, Barbecue Shrimp. She's Just Not That Into Me. Mary Ann has decreed that we will not go out to a restaurant today, but stay home and cook for a change. Specifically, she has in mind that I should do a Greek salad. She heard someone call me yesterday asking how to make the dressing, and it made her hungry for it. She also wants barbecue shrimp enough that two days ago she bought three pounds of Gulf shrimp* for that purpose. She got even more specific: she wants me to bake them in the oven instead of preparing them on top of the stove, as I usually do. I wonder if all food writers and chefs are told by their wives what to cook and how.
We got started on the project around one in the afternoon. I learned something right away: the olive oil Chef John Folse is making from olives grown at his Bittersweet Plantation in Donaldsonville is not very good. Its bitter flavor did not make an especially good Greek dressing. But this is his first run, so his must be forgiven. The makers of olive oil in Italy, Spain, and Greece have been at it for millennia.
Since I wasn't making the shrimp my preferred way, I played around with the recipe a bit. I used much more Italian seasoning than normal. I had in mind the function of rosemary in the whole shrimp they make at Mosca's. That's a different dish from Manale's-style barbecue shrimp, but the two are related closely enough to hybridize. I also squirted in some Vietnamese Sriracha--the hot sauce with the ketchup consistency. I don't think either of these measures added or subtracted anything from the dish.
I moved away from cooking barbecue shrimp in the oven because they cook unevenly. The ones in the middle are still grey when the ones along the sides are fully cooked. This means overcooking almost inevitable. I have no big problem with that, because I eat shrimp shell and all. But Mary Ann is a peeler (never when I want her to, but that's another story), and she says the shells were sticking. Overcooked!
We thought about going to a movie, but stayed home and watched "He's Just Not That Into You," about people our kids' ages looking for love and being frustrated. I remember enough about those days to find it mildly funny, but kept watching mainly for the scenes involving the very appealing Scarlett Johansson. She brought realism to the movie by dismissing her geeky boyfriend. Anyway, the movie got me in the mood. But MA wasn't peeling.
*Remember, friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp.
