The Recipe That Never Followed

D'oh! Forgot I was gonna give you this recipe!

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

Ingredients:

• A couple pounds of 8-12 shrimp (You can get smaller sizes, but I've found bigger shrimp to work best. I also like to get the unpeeled shrimp from the seafood department and skin them all myself. Just a matter of preference, really.)
• A package of good quality bacon (I love to use Boar's Head bacon, which is smoked and thick, giving a great flavor to the shrimp. It's also organic. Huzzah! You'll want a 2:1 shrimp-to-bacon ratio - that is, two shrimp per strip of bacon. For smaller shrimp, I use a 3:1 ration.)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

1. Peel and devein your shrimp, leaving the tail (for handling purposes).
2. Season your shrimp with salt and pepper (usually just on one side works for me).
3. Count out the amount of bacon you need based on number of shrimp. (Remember the 2:1 ratio. For one and a half pounds of 8-12 shrimp, I used nine pieces of bacon.)
4. Cut the bacon in half (or, if you're using smaller shrimp, in thirds).
5. Wrap the bacon strips around the seasoned shrimp, securing them with a toothpick.
6. Place the wrapped shrimp on a cookie sheet and under the broiler at about 350 degrees. Cook for about five minutes on each side (though larger shrimp may need to cook longer).
7. Serve on a platter with homemade cocktail sauce (recipe below).

Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 c. ketchup
• 1/2 c. prepared horseradish (You can add more or less depending on how spicy you like it. I end up adding almost as much horseradish as I do ketchup!)
• 1 1/2 tsp. worchestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrins.)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2-3 drops of hot sauce (I like to use Frank's Red Hot, but Tabasco, Louisiana, or Cholula would work just as well.)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation:

1. Combine all ingredients and stir together. Let sit in your refrigerator for an hour or two before serving to allow the flavors to come together.

Note: Make sure you taste your cocktail sauce for desired spice before serving. If you think a half-cup of horseradish is too much, start with a quarter cup and add more as needed. Tailor it to your tastes rather than mine. Me? I like it spicy... but not everyone else will necessarily.

Title Origins and Friends from the South

It occurred to me that I didn't include an origin of my blog title in my first post. I think it's important, seeing as how only myself and one other person know of its significance...

When I was in middle school, I had two very good friends, who I remained good friends with through high school. The three of us talked regularly and had known each other since elementary school. One of these friends had a habit for telling stories that the other two of us found... a bit hard to believe. They weren't completely far-fetched, like the kid who told me he had the Boardwalk piece in the McDonald's Monopoly game (remember that?) or the kid who said he'd seen every Bugs Bunny cartoon ever made. You could tell those guys were lying right off. For my friend, though, it seemed as if these things could have actually happened, but the fact that so many of them happened to him in such rapid succession seemed all too unlikely.

I mentioned this to my other friend, launching he and I into a conversation about the dubious nature of his claims. "You know," I said, chuckling to myself, "talking to him is like a bunch of unlikely fantasies and improbable realities." We laughed. A lot, actually. In fact, we thought that little phrase was so funny that we decided, should we ever write a book - together or separately - we should name it Unlikely Fantasies & Improbable Realities. In fact, until very recently, I had a plan to publish a book of short fiction entitled just that. (Who knows? I might still do just that, but I really haven't had much time for writing any more than the occasional blog post lately.)

Upon starting this blog, I wracked my brain for a good title, to no avail. Should I use a line from a song? A rewording of one of my favorite quotes? A phrase in some foreign language that carries deep and significant meaning for me? I couldn't quite find anything that fit... until I remembered the above story and how amusing it had been at the time. 'What better name,' I thought, 'to describe my life than one that seems simultaneously absurd and deep... like me?'

So, there it is... the origin of my blog title.

"And now for something completely different..."

My friend Ben came up yesterday from Tennessee, where he lives with his wife Amanda. Ben and I have been good friends since kindergarten, which makes him my best and oldest friends. Being so far apart is difficult, to be sure, but it's always good to get together and get a chance to catch up, reminisce, and just chat it up. Ben is on his way out to the Ukraine even as I type to spend some time with his father (a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University). On his way up, he swung by and hung out for a bit last night, which was a lot of fun.

We talked for a good long time, something we both always enjoy. Then we went to the grocery store and made some purchases (I needed some food in my apartment... BADLY!) and then headed to Red Lobster for dinner. After starting out with some steamed oysters and some of their AWESOME Cheddar Bay Biscuits, we both tried (and enjoyed) the Georgia Peach-Bourbon Shrimp and Scallops, which featured awesome grilled shrimp and scallops (with a peach bourbon glaze) on a bed of wild rice pilaf and a side of seasoned broccoli. It's one of the current menu specials Red Lobster is running and was extremely good!

After dinner, we swung by my apartment and had some Starbucks Organic Sumatra-Peru blend coffee in my new French Press (which my mom and dad got me for my birthday - thanks, guys!) while listening to The Swell Season and Sam & Ruby - which is to say, a great brew and great tunes with a great friend! After a while, our good friend Ian showed up and we chilled and chatted a while longer. Emilee (my kid sister) also hung out for a bit. After she left, the guys decided to head over to the Greenwood Barnes & Noble. I picked up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (which featured an article about the upcoming Watchmen movie - based on one of my all-time favorite graphic novels) and a literary magazine called Third Coast. I've often thought about submitting a story to a literary magazine, but have yet to actually do so. So, I'm looking at this one in hopes that it might be someplace I can send a story. Who knows? Maybe I can get published before next year is out?

Pray for Ben, if you think about it. He'll be in Ukraine for about ten days with little to no contact with his friends and family in America. Also pray for his wife - this is the longest they've ever been apart from one another since they've been married. Mostly, though, pray that God's will is done in their work in Kiev (pronounced, as I discovered yesterday, Keev.) Thanks!

Ciao!