Cold, but Cookin'

It was -1 degrees F. when I woke up Thursday morning (the coldest day of the year so far). By comparison, in Alberta Canada, where my friend Cathy lives in perpetual winter, it was 18 degrees!

Anticipating the cold, I had turned both the hot and cold water taps on a little (so they would drip) at the two sinks where the water lines touch the outside wall (the kitchen sink and the laundry tub) last night. It’s an old-time prevention, based on the fact that moving (even slowly moving) water will not freeze. I hate to waste the water, but think it’s cheaper than replacing a pipe or two. I tested them both before leaving for work and they were fine.

Damn it was cold out there. And the steady 15 MPH wind didn’t make it any better. Thank God for Volvo seat heaters!

On the way home at 4:00 PM, I didn’t turn off on Six Mile, but continued down Farmington Road to I-96. I took that to Telegraph and got onto Joy Road. I didn’t go out anywhere yesterday (well, I walked out back to replace a suet cake, but I didn’t drive anywhere) so today I’m going to the butcher shop and getting the Dearborn Hot Mustard. I bought some, fighting the urge to buy something else (with all the meat and sausage, it always smells so damn good in there!)

I drove home, treated the cats and then took my prize out of the bag. It even comes in the same, squat bottle as Red Pelican Hot Mustard! I’ll let you know tomorrow if it tastes the same.

I have to check at Kroger’s and see if they have it and what it costs. I paid $1.98 for it today.

I changed clothes and began the wash. I also put a pot of water on to simmer for my pasta dish (it’s too early to make dinner). Then I went to watch the evening news. I was interested in the weather (of course) and tonight it’s only supposed to go down to 5 degrees F. (-15 degrees C.) The high today was 11 degrees F, (or oddly enough if you’re keeping track, -11 degrees C.) It’s supposed to get above freezing on Sunday and I can’t wait. I want to wash all the salt and crud off the car.

When the news was over at 7:00 PM, I started dinner. When I was grocery shopping, I found some small (35-40) uncooked shrimp on sale for $5.00! So, tonight, I am making one of my all-time favorites: Shrimp Scampi with Linguini.

This brings back such memories! Not only is the original Tyler Florence recipe I downloaded marked up by Carla in her handwriting (she increased the garlic, decreased the white wine, decreased the fresh-squeezed lemon and added lemon zest) but it was a favorite of Tracy when she and her dog Samson used to come and visit.

So, I cranked up the salted pasta water to boil. Meanwhile, I peeled and deviened the shrimp. In my second largest skillet I melted two tablespoons of butter in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.

I added the linguini to the pot and in the skillet I sauteed two shallots (finely diced) and four cloves of garlic (also finely diced) with about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. I sauteed that until the shallots were translucent (about 3-4 minutes).

I seasoned the shrimp with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and added them to the skillet, until they had turned pink (about another 2-3 minutes). I removed the shrimp from the pan, set them aside and kept them warm. I added 1/4 cup of white wine and a quarter cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice to the skillet. I brought that to a boil and added the zest of the lemon, two tablespoons of butter, and two more tablespoons of olive oil. When the butter had melted, I put the shrimp back in and added some dried parsley flakes (if I had fresh parsley, I would have used 1/4 cup, but I used about half that).

I dumped in the cooked pasta (you want this to be just shy of al dente – it will finish cooking in the skillet). I tasted it, adjusting the salt and pepper, and drizzled it with a little more olive oil.

I made a big plate of it and went in to eat one of the best damn dinners I have had in a long time!

I watched TV until I was tired and then went to bed after I put the remaining shrimp scampi and linguini into the fridge. I’ll clean up the mess in the morning.