What I Made for Dinner: February 24, 2009

Roasted shrimp and chorizo, served over grilled sourdough bread, seared asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette.

This is another vintage Martha Stewart Living recipe. It has become our go-to for special occasions when we can't manage to go out for one reason or another. At high heat you roast grape tomatoes and sweet onions that have been coated in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and fresh oregano. When the tomatoes break open, you add half a pound of peeled shrimp and like 4 ounces of Spanish chorizo and return it to the oven. It's done when the shrimp turn pink.

It's so delicious and it really is special, partly because our children will not eat it (they got mac-n-cheese tonight), but mostly because it's expensive to make. My inner frugal housewife gasps in shock at the price of the shrimp; she is just about apoplectic at the special trip to Dean and Deluca to buy the chorizo. (Mexican chorizo, which is inexpensive and widely available in supermarkets here, won't do because it's uncooked and uncased.)

On the other hand, at around $10 per serving, it's way cheaper than going out, the results are fantastic, and we get to watch our TiVo'ed House while we eat.