The Brickman's Blog

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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Happy Father's Day, Dad! (try cooking this!)

Hi again everybody!
OK, today went MUCH better than yesterday
On my way home from the restaurant this evening, I stopped by the local supermarket (that's usually what I do after work), and found a great deal on some fresh shrimp. Four bucks a pound for the 31/40 size (the usual price is about $9 per pound). The shrimp aren't big enough to grill (too small to skewer without pulverizing them), but they're great for just about anything else.
I decided on a scampi; I haven't done that in ages.
Now, there are literally HUNDREDS of scampi recipes floating around out there; I'm sure they're all delicious. Some call for grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, while others don't; a few say that you should add onions, but some don't. I even ran across a couple that substituted margarine for butter...I gave those a miss (sorry, all you calorie-counters).
I've tried to adapt what I did into a usable recipe. Usually, when I'm developing flavors and such, I'll write down everything I do, so I can reproduce it later. So, here goes.

Herbed Shrimp Scampi with Fettucine

1 pound fresh shrimp (whatever size you like), peeled & deveined
4 TBS butter, divided
6 ounces broth (I used beef broth; chicken, fish or vegetable broth would work as well)
1 TBS fresh tarragon, whole leaves
1 TBS fresh dill weed, whole sprigs
1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, coarsely chopped, according to taste (I used a combination of the two)
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
About 6 ounces (roughly half of the box, pre-cooked) of cooked pasta. I used fettucine rigati, but almost anything would work.

Make sure the shrimp have been rinsed and allowed to dry in a colander.
Heat a skillet, medium-high. Melt 2 TBS of the butter, and when it begins to sizzle add the olive oil.
Add the shrimp, tarragon and dill; sautee at med/high for about 4-5 minutes (keep it moving!) until the shrimp turns translucent and pink. Season LIGHTLY with salt and black pepper. When shrimp is done, remove to a plate and keep warm. Remove any large pieces of tarragon & dill; discard. Reserve the juices in the skillet.
In the same skillet, melt the remaining butter; when it's sizzling, add the broth. Reduce heat, as necessary, to slowly simmer the mixture. Allow it to reduce by about one-half.
When reduced, add the lemon juice. Allow the mixture to return to a simmer, then taste for seasoning (adjust as necessary).
Increase heat to medium-high. Add the shrimp to the skillet, and add the pasta (make sure the pasta is well-drained). Allow the mixture to sizzle briefly, tossing or stirring frequently.
Dump the mixture onto a plate, and sprinkle the chopped parsley/cilantro over all. Toss and serve.
(NOTE: the sauce will taste quite "lemony" while cooking, but the fresh herbs added at the end will cut the lemon flavor considerably)

I'm eating this RIGHT NOW...and it's really good!

Sleep tight, everyone!

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