sometimes I get spoiled by my husband.

so there's this fantastic amazing thing that Mr. F makes for me on special occasions... my birthday, mother's day, days when I tell him that I need this exact dish and if I don't have it I'll die. I think about it a lot, this one particular dish, and I think that is the hallmark of good fucking food (can we swear in this blog?). you think about it a lot. please make this for your loved ones:

Lemon Flounder with Garlicky Shrimp:

*Makes 4 servings, cut in half for 2 people but feel free to keep the garlic, lemon, and caper amounts that are listed for 4 servings. so delish*

1 package of cooked long-grain rice

4 flounder fillets*

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup pan-searing flour

4 tbsp. EVOO (rachel ray anyone?)

4 tbsp. butter

1/2 lb small shrimp, shelled and devained**

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley

2 tbsp drained capers

1. Prepare long-grain rice according to package. keep warm.

2. season the fish with 1/4th tsp. salt and 1/8th tsp. pepper. coat both sides with flour and shake off excess.

3. heat 12-in. non-stick pan or skillet briefly over medium-high heat. add 1 tbsp. of EVOO and 1 tbsp. of butter. when that sizzles, add 2 of the flounder fillets and saute for 2 minutes per side. remove to a plate when those are done -- add 1 more tbsp of both EVOO and butter and saute remaining 2 fillets if you got 'em. take them off and put them on the plate.

4. add the shrimp and the garlic to the butter/EVOO mixture in the pan. saute for 2 minutes. stir it and flip the shrimp when they turn pink. add lemon juice, parsley, capers and the rest of everything else that you already measured out and didn't add yet.

serve the flounder over rice and spoon the shrimp and sauce over everything. smell. taste. die. thank me later.

*Mr. F uses tilapia sometimes with good results.

I learned a thing or two from Mr. F about scoping out fish from a market. make sure that the pieces you're getting are similar in size and color -- anything slightly gray tinted is bad. anything that smells like fish is bad. fish is supposed to smell like the ocean -- once it's come in contact with too much air then it starts stinking like nasty fish and then that's what it'll taste like. make sure the fillets you get are as even across the entire fillet as possible too -- if they get too thin towards the end of the fillet, for example, the end will cook faster than the middle and it'll burn.

**remind me to write a post about shelling shrimp.