Sure have! Seafood ain't cheap either. Eat mor chikin. Oh wait that went up too! Rice and Beans then.

I bet the shrimp in your gumbo was a lot cheaper than I'd pay in illinois :)

Chickens up, but not as bad as beef and pork.

That looks ****ing incredible. You should give lessons to my parents friend (J/K). He's ruined about 3 Sunday BBQ/Steak cookouts at my folks house. My Mom is a great cook but a friend of hers insists that he cook lately. It sucks cause he's a nice guy but his BBQ tastes like ass I don't know what the **** he smokes it with. My parents don't like it either. I just grabbed a rib and hid it in one of the guest rooms, lmao. He really screws up steak too, I think I'm gonna pass on going there next week.

how does one make a frozen burger patty "pregrilled" essentially, taste good "cooked" on a stove oven lol

I can see this happening to me.

It was $18 a pound. And fresh from the Gulf. They had Key West shrimp too but it was too big. Those are pink when they're raw.

I try to stay away from farmed or anything from Asia or Pacific due to the nuclear waste still being dumped daily from that nuclear plant meltdown in Japan. Starfish are washing up dead on our western shores now. Also seals with tumors. I can imagine what's happening to all the fish. I got sick on Chilean langostinos a few weeks ago.

I even prefer not to use Gulf but my search was taking too long. Anyway, those have improved since the Gulf spill. For awhile those were coming out with no eyes and other deformities. I try to stay with North Atlantic fish. But it's hard down here. Publix sells mostly farmed seafood too.

I had to rely on blue crab from Mexico. I forget where the oysters were from. Those were the other two in the dish.

Larger photo coming but I may be gone by the time she sends it to me. I will get in close and crop. The gumbo came out great! Was a mutha' load of work though. All afternoon. I had no time left to make those beignets for dessert. So when I get back from this next trade show I'll make since I bought the ingredients.

Defrost it in this.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...66_500X500.jpg

There's really not much magic to it. For me the key is a thick steak (1.75 inches in this case), the rosemary seasoned olive oil, dry-brining to rock salt (one hour per inch-thick of steak), using a HOT skillet.

* I wash-off the dry brine (just my preference)
* Pat the steak dry.
* Add a little Montreal steak seasoning
* Sear the edges all around
* Three minutes on each side
* Five-Six minutes in a 500-degree oven
* Let rest for five minutes.

It's really that easy... And far too many folks mistake a pink middle with being really rare. The 450-500 degree oven, post-pan sear, really does cook the meat but not turn it gray..

And there's this too, that stead fed two men and a 10-year-old young man. So, the 1.75 inches means the meat can be cooked properly, it doesn't mean portion control flies out the window.

Okay, Larger pics.

Seafood Gumbo with shrimp broth, shrimp, oysters and blue crab, okra. Served with brown Basmati rice, biscuit and green mixed salad with homemade orange-Dijon vinaigrette and Herbs de Provence for seasoning.

You took those pics from a drone right?

No my So took them with his phone camera. Why? That's my screened in patio and pool area. I live in Florida.

I was teasing you about the small pictures.

Oh! Well that went over my head. My daughter reduced the size to save on data for her iphone. I made her send one more larger. Cropped for a close-up version.

made this the other night. It's a 16 oz strip that got the salt/pepper/garlic powder rub treatment for a couple hours, sat out for 45 minutes, cooked over a hot grill, and then rested for about 10 minutes. It was perfectly done medium rare. Sides were a twice baked tater, bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno (that was a bit too hot), and marinated and grilled zuchini and yellow squash. It was a perfect meal.

Also, I forgot to mention I did use some andouille sausage but only a half a cup.

Inmen, I am packing for a business trip. I will post the recipe when I return.