I’m making you a list today.
It’s called “Things We Need In Life” and it includes essentials: butter, sunsets, s’mores, wine, bonfires, air conditioning and books.
Oh, and peanut butter eaten with a spoon.
Little, simple comforts like that.
I’m working on another list too: “Things We Don’t Need In Life.” It already includes work, broccoli, fake people, Sunday night dread, NASCAR, framed Scarface posters, Monday mornings and snoring.
And calories are on that list as well. Who really needs calories?
High school reunions feel a bit obsolete to me now. Thanks to Facebook I already know most of what I might learn at a reunion: your painted bedroom color, last week’s dinner, your kids’ names and milestones, where you live — sometimes down to the street — and every opinion you’ve ever posted. I also see those beach photos that toe the line of inappropriate. Why did you add me as a friend, anyway? I wasn’t cool enough for you in high school, but now I’m apparently allowed to see intimate toddler moments? Maybe it’s time to reconsider that friendship — the “unfriend” button exists for a reason.
So no, I don’t need to stand in a bar and rehash ten years of life. If I want an update, I already saw your status from twenty minutes ago. I’m good.
P.S. I don’t need calories either.
That’s why I’ve decided to pretend my meals are calorie-free. If I can delete things on social media, I can delete calories too. Starting with this shrimp: I mixed fresh basil into butter, which somehow made the butter calorie-less and totally acceptable to melt over piping hot shrimp. Watching those cold herb butter slices melt into pools of flavor is pure joy. That herby salted butter is practically made for tearing into with a loaf of pull-apart bread.
We ate the shrimp on pasta. We ate it on crostini. We ate it with even more butter. You didn’t see any of that on Facebook — because I didn’t post it. Shocking, right?
Roasted Basil Butter Parmesan Shrimp
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Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- 2 pounds raw, peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
- additional fresh basil and cilantro for sprinkling
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Combine butter, basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Shape the mixture into a ball or log on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it tightly, and chill until firm.
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Place shrimp in a large baking dish. Toss with the remaining salt, pepper and olive oil to coat. Roast 10–12 minutes, or longer for larger shrimp (mine took about 15 minutes), until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove from the oven, top with slices of the basil butter, sprinkle with parmesan and extra herbs, and serve immediately.
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I appreciate you so much!
Oh — but I did share it on my blog, and then my blog shared it on Facebook. Does that count? Darnit.