Friends and food,…

,,, the other “F” words.

Cooking was not always a passion (or maybe it was, but was suppressed or overshadowed), but I can recall always being fascinated by two cookbooks – the iconic “Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook”, and the long out-of-print “World Famous Chefs’ Cook Book”. For basic and time-tested recipes, the former is the one to go to; for more inspired and fanciful recipes (including some that focus more on ingredients and technique, with no specifics), it’s the latter.

In my graduating class, only two of us ventured out of state for college, me to Texas, and the other to Illinois. Bear with me – we’ll get from “Friends and food, …” to the pictured shrimp very quickly.

The parents of my friend to went to Illinois were great folks, and one of the pleasures of going home from college was visiting with them. Once, when I was home and wanted to try my hand at cooking, I invited them over and, using the “World Famous Chefs’ Cook Book”, tried my hand at Shrimp Newburg. I was reliving an experience from a 1964 trip to the New York World’s Fair, when I had Shrimp Newburg at Stouffer’s “Top of the Sixes” (closed in the 1990’s). All turned out well.

Long story short, I reached out to my friend a couple of weeks ago, just to catch up, and food came up. She expressed liking foodie talk and I mentioned this blog and, that having reconnected, I felt inspired and compelled by our chat to undertake a new blog post. Shrimp Scampi sounded good to me, so here we are.

Shrimp Scampi is one of those dishes whose preparation eschews traditional recipe formats of amounts and time. It’s ideal for small-batch or solo dining preparation.

SHRIMP SCAMPI

SHRIMP – preferably already peeled and deveined, leaving the tails for a more classic presentation. I like Waterfront Bistro‘s large frozen shrimp, thawing just enough for 4-6 per person, depending on what you want to serve it over, pasta or rice. You know that fresh homemade pasta is my choice.

In a saucepan, melt enough BUTTER over medium low heat to cover the bottom of the pan; then once it’s starting to look foamy, add some extra virgin OLIVE OIL and let it heat back up. I like the Meyer Lemon infused olive oil from Old Town Oil.

Add your peeled shrimp to the butter and oil, and once they are just starting to turn pink, flip them. Then add some WHITE WINE, and, if you want, a clove or two of GARLIC. Season with salt and pepper.

Shrimp cook quickly, so just as the sauce of butter, olive oil, and wine has heated back up to the bubbling point, and the shrimp are pink and no longer translucent, you should be done. (One reason I prefer homemade pasta is that it cooks quickly, and if you put it in boiling water right after you flip your shrimp in the pan and add the wine, it’s done and ready to be plated right before the shrimp are ready.)

Remove the shrimp from the sauce and place them on your rice or pasta. Drizzle some of the sauce over them, garnish with some chopped Italian parsley, and you’re ready to go! ENJOY!

Want some other options?

BOILED SHRIMP? Put the peeled raw shrimp in lightly salted (optional) boiling water just until they lose their translucence. Remove and chill slightly, or serve over a mound of ice. Cocktail sauce or KumBak Sauce and you’re set! Crackers optional!

Bring on the shrimp and friends!!!