Shrimp Scampi

I have never hosted dinner for a party of eight before, and the task was daunting.  First, I put together a large salad bowl that included chopped Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sliced carrots and celery, and grated Parmesan cheese. 

I also served oven-toasted crostinis that were created from French baguettes drizzled with EVOO, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan.  With the oven at 250, ten minutes for the bread was too toasty-- almost broke teeth.  I had paired a salsa (made with two tomatoes, half a red onion, and the juice of a whole lime) with the crostinis, but it still wasn't enough to hide my mistake.


For my Shrimp Scampi with Linguine, I used the recipe from Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network. I had known about hosting dinner, but didn't know what to cook until I saw Tyler's episode the day of the party.  I only had penne pasta on hand, but it worked just fine.

 

Shrimp Scampi

Tyler Florence's recipe can be found HERE (courtesy of Food Network).

Ingredients

• 1 box of your choice pasta (linguini, penne, etc.)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• pinch red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 large bag of large shrimp (already peeled, deveined, tail on)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. To cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water.  When the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
2. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoosn olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.  
3. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.  
4. Add wine and lemon juice to the pan; bring to a boil.  Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil.  When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan with the washed and chopped parsley, cooked pasta, and cup of pasta water.  Stir together and season with salt and pepper.