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Here’s a funny thing – the shrimp scampi is absolutely delicious today. Go figure, I like it much better cold than hot. In fact, now that I think of it, I do generally like cold shrimp more than hot, unless it’s fried shrimp, of course. (Fried shrimp, ahhhhhh…) Weird! So perhaps I will post the recipe after all. I had topped them with toasted bread crumbs (not a typical scampi) and even that effect is quite yummy cold, what with the garlicky shrimpy pan juice thang. (So! Recipe posted in comments, below, after all.)
Tonight, as I had mentioned yesterday, Nathan has baseball practice, so I’m making a quick pasta – probably angel hair tossed with leftover tomato sauce. I may add some bacon and hot red pepper flakes to the sauce for a pasta all’Amatriciana. Or not, I’ll see what Nathan’s in the mood for… (Sort of. If I left dinner completely up to Nathan, it would be pizza. Every. Single. Night.)
Kept it as simple as can be, at the request of Nathan and Vivian (who came over after school for a quick swim before Nathan’s baseball practice). They wanted their pasta with butter and parmesan, so that’s how I made it. Added a bit of the pasta cooking liquid and a pinch of coarse sea salt as well as the Hope Creamery butter (oh, oh, oh, how I love my Hope Creamery butter) and what was actually grated pecorino romano. Delicious. I also added a spoonful of tomato sauce to mine – NICE. I so enjoy the excuse of being a bit rushed to just prepare a basic pasta meal, no frills, no salad, no messing around. Pasta, couple of ingredients, toss, and serve. Mmmm…
Shrimp Scampi
Stephanie Levy
Serves 3 as dinner, 4 as an appetizer
½ lb. peeled, deveined, shrimp (I buy a bag of flash-frozen shrimp)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, minced
1 tsp. salt
couple grinds of fresh black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ c. dry white wine
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. salt
The night before, or at least 2 hours before serving, toss together the shrimp, garlic, scallions, salt, peppers, wine, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Spread mixture in a shallow pan, such as a tart pan, just big enough to hold the shrimp but with enough room that the shrimp are all lying flat without overlapping. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to cook. Preheat the broiler. In a small bowl toss together the bread crumbs, melted butter, and salt. BEFORE spreading the mixture on the shrimp, first broil the shrimp, until starting to sizzle but not cook completely through, about 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from under the broiler, spread the bread crumb mixture on top of the shrimp and return to the broiler, cooking JUST until bread crumbs are golden brown and shrimp are cooked through, about another 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully! Serve with rice or pasta as a dinner, or with toothpicks as an appetizer. (Or, best of all, for either dinner or an appetizer, serve with nothing more than a baguette to soak up all the yummy pan juices!)