I know it has been a while since I posted a cooking blog, but it has also been a while since I cooked. I could blame it on the holidays, or blame it on the amount of money it takes to prepare something fresh more than once a week, but honestly, there's no one to blame but myself. I've been feeling lacks-a-daisy lately and cooking hasn't been high on the "to do" list. Nevertheless, I'm still watching Lucinda. I'm truly inspired to make her latest dish - Stuffed Shells - oh yum, but just haven't had the get-up-and-go spirit. Besides that, once you cook any meal seen on "Mad Hungry," it's sure to feed an army, so one dish could last two, maybe three days and that's exactly what happened with this recipe.
Last week I made this shrimp scampi dish and it was good, but in the fourth quarter, I called an audible and changed it up a bit. This recipe called for one pound of pasta or cooked rice, so I opted for pasta shells. Since preparing pasta is like watching paint dry, I decided to get it boiling while I started cleaning and peeling the two pounds of shrimp. Yup, I said it...TWO POUNDS! I know it sounds like a lot of expensive shell fish, but trust me when I say, by the time it was all said and done, two pounds of shrimp made the dish full and flavorful. After the shrimp hit the olive oiled pan for a few minutes, I tossed in some salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes. It had the entire house smelling like a seafood restaurant. To make matters better, I added lemon zest and white white. Oh my! Can't you just smell it? A few more minutes and the pasta was done. I drained it and poured the one pound of pasta into my two pounds of shrimp. For additional taste, presentation and per the instructions, I added my already finely chopped parsley, a pinch more red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.
For the bread with herb butter which I prepped earlier in the day, I combined the unsalted butter, parsley and oregano to make a paste like mixture to spread inside the slits of the french baguette. The trick here is to cut the bread just three fourths of the way through to ensure that the butter will stick to each sides. 375 degrees and twenty minutes later, you've got Italian restaurant style gourmet french bread. I tossed the bread in the oven just before I started making the shrimp. This was so good.
Much like the bread, I also prepared the salad in the earlier part of the day. I cleaned my romaine lettuces, wrapped them in paper towel to absorb all the water, and then placed them in the fridge until needed. Even though it wasn't necessary, and I'm not certain if the family ate any, I prepared homemade croutons. So along with prepping the salad, I had to prep the olive oil, garlic and cut bread cubes to make croutons. The olive oil and the garlic, which I crushed, sat in a bowl for a couple of hours in order to infuse the bread cubes once in the frying pan. When the time came, I put the bread in the pan, and in three minutes, my cut wheat bread cubes were golden brown and crunchy. While I prepared the salad, I laid them out on a paper towel to soak up any remaining olive oil.
With the croutons ready and set aside, awaiting a salad, I retrieved my romaine lettuces from the fridge and poured olive oil all over them. I flavored with salt and pepper, added two whole eggs, which I only cooked for two and a half minutes, and some lemon juice. Since the eggs were soft cooked, it broke apart and made such a nice, tangy, creamy dressing when mixed with the lemon juice. Once all combined, I added parmesan cheese, a little more salt and pepper, and my homemade croutons. BAM! Instant caesar salad.
Just before I set the table, I noticed that my shrimp and pasta tasted like it was missing something. The only thing giving the dish real sauce and flavor was the red pepper flakes, wine and the olive oil. Knowing my family the way I do, I knew that I needed more sauce. White creamy sauce would be perfect. So I made basil pesto sauce in two minutes. With the heavy cream I had left in the fridge from something else I prepared, I combined that, olive oil, and dry basil in a sauce pan under medium high heat for one minute, stirring constantly. The aroma and the taste was spot on. I poured a generous amount over each portion and served it up. Not one complaint! Malik was the shrimp and pasta hog.
However, the salad wasn't a hit. I love caesar salad, but Arron doesn't like anything green COOKED and my Nana just doesn't like croutons. Nevertheless, they both added some to their plate, Arron shoving it down and Nana skipping the croutons. Malik just dismissed the idea entirely. For everyone else except Arron, the bread was delicious. Silly man! He knows nothing about real food. Anything other than salt and pepper is a mystery.
For me, this recipe was good all across the board. I would definitely serve this for a large dinner party. Two pounds of shrimp and one pound of pasta is a lot for this small party of four. Five days later and we're still eating it. Malik and I finished it for dinner just last night.
If you're in the mood for a little seafood pasta, click (or copy and paste) the link below for the recipe and bring a little italian french flavor to your kitchen table.
http://blog.madhungry.com/2010/10/recipes-from-todays-show-restaurant-food-at-home.html
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