The plan is that I make every single one of the NYT 100 Easy Dinner Recipes For Right Now. The plan is that somehow helps me riddle out the right now.
I’m pro-shrimp, specifically and pro-seafood, broadly, often to the dismay of the people I love that simply cannot with shells and gills. I recently went to Myrtle Beach with committed anti-pescatarian, who looked aggrieved when, after she recommended a nice Thai joint, I said I wanted to go eat some shellfish on a deck, ideally adjacent to a body of water. She ultimately agreed. I felt bad, but not too bad. After all, there are only three reasons to go to Myrtle Beach as best I can tell:
1) Seafood
2) The Pavilion
3) Access to the Atlantic Ocean.
And if 1 is off the table (no pun intended)and 2 a bulldozed chapter of history, the allure of the the Grand Strand and all-adjacent properties is somewhat dulled (though the beach around the state park is quite lovely). Unless you’re a Gay Dolphin purist (who isn’t?) or a pancake devotee.
(Sidenote: What is with all the pancake houses in Myrtle Beach? I’d forgotten about that, or just hadn’t noticed before, my last time in Myrtle Beach having been somewhere around 1992 when I would have been too distracted by teenaged sulking and/or soul-deep mortified by the Holy Shit We’re Really Doing This imagery of the venue formerly known as Dixie Stampede—sorry, Dolly. Is the town run by a syrup cartel? Are they in the pocket of Big Bisquick? Is Shrove Tuesday, like, the biggest holiday of the year there? )
Anyway, I ate plenty of seafood in Myrtle Beach and Murrell’s Inlet as well as a delicacy I can only describe as a Dill Pickle Pizza (technically a flatbread) at the almost shockingly delightful Frank’s Out Back in Pawley’s Island. My fish-averse companion is still speaking to me, ps, even though I did order a dozen raw oysters on our last night in town and ate them in front of her.
I couldn’t get the shrimp off the mind for the weeks afterward, which brings us to the recipe. I managed to come by some Carolina shrimp via a local market, and once again, subbed in Ayocote Blanco Beans from Rancho Gordo. Which added a bit to cook time, but gave me a chance to deprogram after work. I added a little wine to the pot, a supermarket Sauvignon Blanc, that was aggressively okay, but fine for cooking. It was delicious, richer than I thought (I ate too much).
Accompanying sides: Arugula with split red grapes, pistachios and blue cheese with white white vinaigrette. I got the idea from another restaurant we visited in Myrtle Beach , as it happens. Was it too much with this meal? Maybe. But it has become one of my favorite fall salads.
Accompanying drinks: As the wine was meh (see above), I had a G&T and a glass of water.
Soundtrack: On one hand, I am naturally contrarian about things beloved by the music press (possibly for reasons). But on the other hand, you guys had to know I’d like that Hotline TNT record, right?
The Night: Mellow I took a turn around the pond after dinner and found myself charmed and discombobulated by the fact that 7:30pm now feels like 1am (thanks, winter). I looked for Ralph, my neighborhood owl, who is probably not the local owl currently responsible for a hat-theft crime wave. I came back and read novels to the kittens.
Next up: This is cheating, because I’ve already cooked it: Bean and Cheese Burritos.
Tiny Commotions 