December 14, 2021 Lunch - Charcuterie Sandwiches. Dinner - BBQ Shrimp with Rice and Zucchini

December 14, 2021 Lunch - Charcuterie Sandwiches. Dinner - BBQ Shrimp with Rice and Zucchini

Suzette slept until 8:00 and I slept until 8:30 and got up  and made a bagel spread with cream cheese and garnished with slices of red onion and Gravad lax just as today’s seminar on Negotiation started at 9:00.

The seminar was presented by a lawyer turned presenter on the topic of negotiation, who had studied with the author of Getting to Yes at Harvard, so a very clever and witty fellow, who was also very knowledgeable.

It was a tightly scripted all day seminar that I enjoyed very much. 

I was concerned about eating a salad for lunch now that I know that my system will reject large quantities of roughage, so I toasted three small slices of French Baguette and spread two with basil mayonnaise and lay slices of Gouda cheese on them and a smear of tarragon mustard and finally slices of cured ham on one and salami on the other.  I spread taramasalata on the third and lay salami slices on it and drank water for lunch.

I was able to check my portfolio during the afternoon break and saw it was another down day in the market.  My portfolio is down 5% in the last week to a 20% gain for the year from 25%.  It seems like the market is unsettled by the simultaneous prospect of historically high inflation in the U.S. exasperated by a further worldwide slowdown of the supply chain due to the combined effect of a new wave of infections from the delta and omnicron variants of Covid. 

When the seminar ended precisely at 4:30 I drove to the bank as Suzette was arriving.

When I returned she was ready to go to Costco to shop for the Center.  I had not walked today, so I welcomed the opportunity to combine some exercise with some food shopping.  Bedsides all the food for the Center, we bought a few items for us including, prepared braised lamb shanks for $6.99/lb., two boxes of prepared duck confit for $8.99, a package of fresh 16-24 count fresh white heads on shrimp, and a 1 1/2 lb. container of portobello mushrooms.

We decided at Costco to make Paul Prudhomme BBQ Shrimp for our dinner when we bought the shrimp because it is one of Suzette’s favorite Cajun recipes and easy to make.

When we returned home and refrigerated the meats and frozen foods and the duck and lamb,  we turned our attention to 

Dinner.

Here is the recipe from PRudhomme’s Louisiana Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.

Basically, Suzette sautés 1 lb. of heads on shrimp in a enamel casserole with 1/4 lb. of butter, a bottle of beer, and Prudhomme’s blend of spices that include, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cayenne, white pepper, and salt.  I went to the back yard and harvested two sprigs of Rosemary and finely minced the leaves for an enhanced fresh herb flavor.

We had about 2 cups of PPI rice and I diced a zucchini that we combined with the rice and cooked as we re-heated the rice in the microwave. 

I fetched three Stella Artois as Suzette was combining the herb blend. 1 for the dish and one each to drink with dinner.

I also sliced and toasted three slices of French Baguette for dipping into the sauce.

The fresh shrimp were lovely and we enjoyed a Cajun meal for a pleasant change of pace.

We were tired but the news was compelling, so we stayed up until 9:00 to watch Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell.

Today the DC federal District court denied Trump’s attempt to prevent Congress from getting his tax returns, the NY attorney general granted immunity to Trump’s accountant and set her for a deposition in its case against the Trump organization and its officers for tax fraud, the House referred Mark Meadows to DOJ for prosecution for criminal contempt of Congress, and the DC Attorney General sued the proud Boyz and Oath Keepers in a civil action for the costs DC incurred due to the riot at the Capitol.  The civil action is especially interesting because it could add as defendants any person who was involved in the planning and execution of the riot, including those who planned and funded the riot, such as a Donald Trump.

By the way, today the House Jan. 6 Committee also released emails from Congressional representatives, Fox News Anchors, and Donald Trump Jr. to Meadows sent during the Jan. 6 riot pleading for him to get Donald Trump to go on the TV to stop the attack on the Capitol that they characterized as having gotten completely out of control.  There are also emails that suggest that the National Guard were standing by ready to protect the rioters, but not the Capitol Police and there is a 43 page power point presentation the White House prepared to script the attack on the a Capitol.

So things are getting interesting.  I would not want to be Donald Trump or Meadows.  If Donald Trump and Meadows are found guilty of insurrection, today may some day be considered the day on which public sentiment shifted from innocence to guilt. And I did not mention that the Georgia Attorney General is still investigating Meadows and Trump criminally for election fraud for their actions to change the vote count and slate of Georgia electors. 

After dinner, I ate a bowl of coffee chocolate chip ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup and Kahlua and topped with maraschino Cherries, and whipped cream.

Suzette had a sip of cognac.

Bon Appetit