I was so excited about what I had planned for dinner tonight – sesame-orange shrimp – that I made it for lunch. And I was right. It was heavenly, easily in the top 10 recipes of 2009. I used a trifle more oil than the recipe called for because I started to encounter sticky pan syndrome, but otherwise followed the effortless recipe exactly. The final product reminded me of the forbidden honey walnut shrimp from Little Village Noodle House, but it was less dessert-y. Which, for an everyday lunchtime meal, is a really good thing.

Here’smy supper plan for Christmas week.