Eat at home more on the weekends

I used this marinade on a skirt steak this past Friday and it was absolutely delicious. I marinated the meat for about two hours and grilled it at 450 for five minutes on each side.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons sesame oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Dash of red pepper sauce

We sliced it thin and served it with chilled shrimp, cubed Asiago cheese, pita bread, and hummus. Another successful weekend at home.

gluttony: glut•tony
Function: noun
1 : excess in eating or drinking
2 : greedy or excessive indulgence

Last weekend the local Kroger had their bi-annual seafood sale which included, amongst other ocean delights, jumbo prawns, 6-12 white shrimp, 10-15 pink shrimp, salmon, tuna, golf ball sized sea scallops, and colossal king crab legs.

We dabbled with some of the scallops (pan seared with butter and garlic) and the 6-12 shrimp (boiled with bay leaves and red pepper), but Saturday night, the game was on. No prisoners were taken.

Using the fry-baby so lovingly bestowed upon us by my mother, we decided that a feast was in order: First was a round of fried shrimp, cod filets, and Yukon Gold chips, followed by a delicious shrimp scampi, fluffy cornbread, and a nice tossed salad. To finish out the evening, we boiled the king crab legs and feasted on them with drawn butter. Even our cats got to indulge in a little shrimp and crab meat.

It was truly a meal to be savored.

For the most part, my girlfriend and I only see each other on the weekends and as a result, we “celebrated” each weekend by going out to dinner, lunch, and sometimes even breakfast. We both enjoy trying new foods, new restaurants, and new experiences.

Fast forward 3 1/2 months.

30 odd restaurants later, we are finally burned out on dining out. One good meal out on the weekends? Absolutely! Seven meals? I don’t think so. On top of that, my 20-something girlfriend is skinny as a rail. At 36, I am…well…not.

For the first time since we started dating, we made dinner at home both nights. Being the lesser cook, I opted for something simple on Friday. On Saturday, she made a gourmet managerie of dishes and I ate until I was stuffed. Mmmmmmm.

We have made a pact that this will, from now on out, be the norm rather than the exception. Given our collective skills, tools, curiosity, and desire, I think this will be a fun and easy to achieve goal.