shrimp | The Little GSP

For some reason our families make nearly identical holiday meals, usually featuring a juicy filet roast, twice-baked potatoes and green beans. Matt and I love this dinner (and in fact got to enjoy it twice this month – once at my mom’s and again with Matt’s family!) but when it came time for us to host Christmas Eve dinner at our house we decided to do something completely different.

After an online search we settled on Shrimp and Penne in Herbed Cream Sauce and it was perfect! The shrimp were tender and the combination of white wine, garlic, parsley and basil made the whole kitchen smell wonderful. The pasta was nicely coated in a light cream sauce and the red pepper flakes provided just the right amount of heat. To streamline the cooking process I prepped the herbs, tomatoes and cheese ahead of time so assembling this dish was actually pretty easy once our guests arrived.

In addition to the shrimp and penne we served fresh bruschetta, a tossed salad with Matt’s mom’s balsamic vinaigrette, and wedges of rosemary-studded Italian bread with butter. We finished off the meal with a tray of Christmas cookies, chocolate-dipped coconut sticks, and white chocolate holiday bark. Yum!

Shrimp with Penne in Herbed Cream Sauce (from Giada De Laurentiis)
serves 4-5; we doubled this to serve 7 and had enough leftovers for dinner a few days later

You will need…
1 pound Penne Pasta
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 – 15 oz. can Whole Tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup Basil Leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Flat-Leaf Parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 cup White Wine (we used a Chardonnay)
1/3 cup Clam Juice
3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

Directions:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water then drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes until they are pink and cooked through. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley and the red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring constantly, then add the wine, clam juice and cream. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add about half of the Parmesan along with the shrimp, pasta and remaining basil and parsley. Mix well until the pasta is coated and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and top with the remaining freshly grated Parmesan. Serve with a wedge of Italian bread and a glass of white wine.

We’ve had an unusually warm Winter this year. Usually January and February are characterized by nightly (and sometimes daily) below-freezing temps, salt-brined roads, and melting snow piles in parking lots. This year, it has hardly dipped below freezing at night and we’ve gotten a grand total of around 2 inches of snow. It’s not all bad though because the warm temperatures mean that we can use our grill to make yummy meals like Tequila shrimp! This recipe is from our Weber Book of Grilling with a few additions from me.

Tequila Shrimp

You will need…
1/3 cup Tequila
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
3-4 cloves of Minced Garlic
1 fined chopped Jalapeño Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro
1 teaspoon ground Coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
1 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:
Place the first 8 ingredients (Tequila through Black Pepper) in a large resealable bag and ‘mix’ by squeezing/shaking the bag gently. Add the shrimp to the bag and coat them with the marinade. Put the bag in the fridge for approx. 30 minutes.

Preheat your grill and grill pan (we have a large wok-shaped skillet with small holes it in but a flat grill ‘tray’ works well too). Remove the shrimp from the fridge and slide them out of the bag onto the hot grill pan. Grill over direct heat for 3-5 minutes until they turn nice and pink. Serve warm!