family in town. made shrimp risotto.
got 31/35 shrimp with the shells on. shelled em, used the shells and some onions and old bay to make shrimp stock for the rice.
fried the shrimp on each side for color, diced up all but four each to add to the rice. you can see the four whole ones on top for presentation. also some sun dried tomatoes and basil. fresh ground pecorino and a decent pinot grigio.
dessert was lemon meringue pie. homemade from the crust on down.
i'm not against using a bottle of lemon juice but since lemon zest was also needed i just figured, get real lemons for the curd.
i remember when making a meringue was intimidating.
now it's just a matter of course.
my roommate works in a bakery and tells me my meringue gets more height than her bakers. best compliment i've gotten so far.
@xtine am a man of my word.