Broiled Shrimp with Tomatoes, Basil and Brie.

August 1, 2011

Now this is something we should all practice daily.

This too. Complete solitude. Yoga what?

I figured it was time for dinner.

I mean, I know it’s only 7 in the morning, or maybe 4 in the morning… or maybe even something like 11 in the morning depending where you are. But lucky you – dinner is served! Now you can kick your feet up and watch The Bachelorette tonight. Or read something totally classy like Jane Eyre because that’s obviously what I will be doing. You know… very important intellectual things that stimulate my mind and make me use big words.

Oh, cheese and crackers… who are we kidding? I’ll probably halt my vacation just to take in the incoming trainwreck on national television. Hopefully the sunset will hold off until 10 tonight. It has to know the world revolves around me and my trashy reality TV habits.

Anyhoo… dinner. Dinner that’s made for you.

Apparently, it turns out that one shouldn’t live off fruit desserts, iced coffee, martinis and cupcakes alone. Uh… really? That’s confusing. Because it seems pretty darn balanced to me. Especially when there is cream in those drinks because that has like, tons of protein and dairy. Good stuff full of health. Who makes the rules here? I need to talk to someone in rules.

And can it not be that guy I live with? Because he’s not really into this whole cake batter thing or rolling strawberries up in bread products that are supposed to hold meat and cheese. For some reason he wants actual dinner. Like real people food.

I guess I can do that?

I figured that if I must make a proper dinner, I should ease into it as slowly as possible. I needed simplicity and the comforts of home. Cheese, wine, butter. Add some shrimp in there to feel better about myself, some tomatoes to pretend that I’m all about vegetables, and some basil because it’s… green. No judgement.

And the most important part of all… thickly sliced, crusty bread for dipping. Because you ate all the good stuff first, the healthy things like the shrimp and all those vegetables, dipping bread in a garlic butter wine sauce is the way a meal must be finished off. I know! I jumped for joy too. That was all the exercise I needed.

Broiled Shrimp with Tomatoes, Basil and Brie

heavily adapted from Things Cooks Love

serves 2-4

1 pound raw, peeled, deveined shrimp

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine

4-5 ounces soft brie cheese, cut into chunks

a bunch of fresh basil, some chopped and some left whole

chopped fresh parsley

lemon wedges for serving

crusty bread

salt and pepper

Make sure shrimp are completely dry and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Spray a baking dish [mine was 8x8] with non-stick spray and add in shrimp, then scatter tomatoes, butter chunks, garlic and some parsley and basil (reserving some for garnish). Pour in a 1/3 cup of dry white wine. Heat the broiler on your oven (mine does not require pre-heating, if yours does, do the step first) and place shrimp directly underneath. Broil for 4-5 minutes, or until shrimp appears to be pink in color and tomatoes are popping. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle brie cheese chunks over top. Place back in the oven and broil for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool, then sprinkle additional basil and fresh parsley on top.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping and lemon wedges for squeezing!