The Sun Burns Cold

So tonight I decided I was going to cook up some tasty vittlage. I wanted to make chicken piccata, but when I went to the store to get chicken breast I also picked up a small package of shrimp for like four bucks. So it was a chicken and shrimp piccata of sorts. And it was real fucken easy to make.

First, of course, I had to thaw and peel the shrimp. They weren’t as big as I would have liked, I think they were 21-25 (pieces per pound) size, when I would have preferred 12-18. But whatever, there were over a dozen of the fuckers so I figured I got a deal. Anyways, after they thawed I heated a skillet with some olive oil on the stove while I peeled them. Let me tell you, after two years of peeling shrimp pretty much daily at work, I had those bitches unshelled faster than you can say aposiopesis.

So, the shrimp are ready and they go in the skillet. Unfortunately, I don’t work with a gas stove here (optimally though, I would have grilled them) but I had the electric range set to medium high and they didn’t burn. While the shrimp cooked up, I put another pan on with oil to heat and cubed the chicken breast. When the oil was hot, in goes the chicken.

A few minutes pass. I lower the heat on the shrimp to medium and drain the excess oil. I had the chicken covered while it cooked, so it got pretty much done shortly. I forgot to mention, in the midst of all this I made up a small batch of chicken stock and had it simmering in a little pot to the side.

So then, once the chicken was cooked I drained off the oil, and added the shrimp and some butter. A good size chunk of butter, probably a fifth of a stick. Once that melted I threw in some cooking wine-about a quarter cup, squeezed a lemon in that motherfucker, and added the stock. Not a ton, just enough that everything would make up a good sauce, maybe a half to three quarter cup. I even let it cook off a little bit, and then added a three finger pinch of flour as a thickening agent. I stirred it till the flour dissolved and thickened everything up then let it simmer for a little while.

The result was pretty good. I had it with some canned asparagus. I was going to make it for me and my wife, but she didn’t make it back tonight. She’s probably going to be mad at me for not waiting to make it for her, but I really needed a project tonight to keep myself occupied. It’s been hot as fuck the past few days and I don’t feel as aggravated when I’m doing something constructive like cooking.