Shrimp Scampi

When I was little, I hated sailing lessons so much that I would sneak out of them or skip them altogether and go straight to my grandmother Irene's house instead. Although I regret that I am missing this important life skill, I can drive a powerboat pretty well and I wouldn't have given up that time with her for anything. Her deal was that I was allowed to bail on sailing, but I had to do whatever she wanted which usually included "working" in her garden, helping her make dinner, chicken stock, cookies, etc, or running errands (which always included a trip to the penny candy store where I was allowed to spend $1 on whatever I wanted). Sailing started at 9am but I usually ended up staying well into the afternoon or evening, and spent the night pretty often even though our house was just down the street. One of the things I remember her making one night was Shrimp Scampi- a garlicky, buttery, winey pasta dish that I told her I would love to eat even though I had never had it before. But it does have a great name, and it did end up being one of my favorite dishes. But then again, I never disliked anything she made so I'm not surprised that this one didn't disappoint. We ate this in the library, watching Tom Brokaw on the news, with individual tray tables, but this is definitely a dish you could serve in the dining room. My mom still makes this for us in the summer, and no one has ever been disappointed nor are there ever any leftovers! The ingredients are all pretty inexpensive yet make an impressive dish. If you have friends that are not pasta eaters (thanks Dr. Atkins), you can serve the shrimp with the sauce over a bed of lettuce. If you have non seafood eaters, this is also awesome if you sub in chicken breasts cut into slices. The variations are equally delicious, but I prefer the traditional pasta version with good french bread and a green salad on the side.

Ingredients:

-4 tbs butter

-4 tbs olive oil

-2 shallots, minced

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how hot you want it)

-1/2 cup white wine (I used chardonnay, pinot grigio would have been fine as well)

-juice of 1 lemon

- salt and pepper to taste

-1 box or 1 lb of linguine

-2 tbs fresh chopped parsley

-1 lb of shrimp, deveined, and shells off

Directions:

-Boil salted water for the linguine. Cook the pasta while you are making the sauce (sauce takes about 15 minutes total once you have chopped everything)

-Melt the butter in the olive oil. Saute the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes in the oil and butter until the shallots are translucent.

-Add the white wine and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the alcohol in the wine is cooked off.

-Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until they are pink and no longer translucent.

-Stir in the chopped parsley.

-Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and shrimp. Toss everything together with a couple of tablespoons of pasta water, if needed. 

-Serve on plates or big pasta bowls. You can offer parmesan cheese- it is typically not supposed to be mixed with seafood, but plenty of people do it and they are still here to talk about it so it's your call.