Italian Sausage & Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

This was good. Damn good. Italian sausage, shrimp, and pasta tangled up in alfredo sauce, how can it not be good???

This dish came together as a way to use up a couple of sausage links left over from another recipe, some frozen shrimp, and half of box of farfalle pasta. I've never been a fan of Emeril's but am kind of liking him on this season of Top Chef so I thought I would give his alfredo sauce recipe a go.

Alfredo sauce is too easy to make! I was worried that mine might be kind of funky with the addition of the fat and fond from the sausage and shrimp, but it only added to the flavor and didn't affect the texture at all. I added some garlic and nutmeg to the recipe to add a bit more flavor as well. The sauce was rich, smooth and creamy. I sometimes find alfredo sauce to be too rich, but this was perfect.

While the recipe and most of the ingredients are Italian, it felt a bit Cajun to me. A variation of this easy alfredo sauce will be permanent fixture in my rotation as a way to use up scragglers in my fridge and pantry. Buon Appetito and laissez lex bons temps rouler!

Sausage & Shrimp Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

adapted from recipe by Emeril Lagasse

2 links of Italian sausage, sliced into 1/4" pieces

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 pound dried pasta

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, minced

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1/8 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add shrimp to pan and cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and add to sausage. Reserve skillet.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in the reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add heavy cream and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Return the pasta to the to the pot it was cooked in, set over medium heat along with the reserved cooking liquid. Add the butter-cream mixture and half of the Parmesan and toss to combine thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and add in sausage and shrimp. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Serve immediately.

BBQ Shrimp

This is another recipe out of my pre-blogging recipe binder that is easy and delicious.

The BBQ in the name is a bit of a misnomer because it does not contain barbecue sauce nor is the shrimp barbecued. The shrimp is quickly broiled in a slightly spicy, slightly sweet sauce. I use frozen shrimp here because it is cheaper and easier but would like to try it with Kentucky raised shrimp in the future. A handful of readily available ingredients: Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, butter, and lemon juice, create a sauce for cooking and dipping. The sauce is the star here as it hits the flavor trifecta of salty, sweet, and sour.

This is ready in a flash and is great for feeding a crowd. Whether you serve this as an appetizer or an entree over rice or noodles just make sure to include plenty of sauce and bread to mop up ever drop of fabulous flavor!

Cooking Notes: Make sure the shrimp is dried very well before cooking to prevent the sauce from becoming too watery and diluting the flavor.

BBQ Shrimp

Bon Appetit, July 2006

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, deveined but with tails and shells intact

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning or other seafood seasoning

Lemon Wedges

Crusty baguette slices

Preheat broiler. Cover rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread shrimp on sheet. Mix melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and Old Bay seasoning in medium bowl for sauce. Pour half of the sauce over shrimp and stir to coat. Broil until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter, serve with lemon wedges, baguette slices, and remaining sauce.

Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package

I love to cook dishes that are easy and delicious with a little something different and this Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package fits that description to a tee. I found it while browsing The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog recently and knew I would be fixing it soon.

This basic recipe gets a twist from finishing the dish in a foil package in the oven, or on the grill as I plan to do now that grilling season is just around the corner. The sauce is simply tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and white wine. Throw in some shrimp and toss with underdone pasta. This is then wrapped in foil package and finished in the oven for a few minutes to allow the pasta to finish cooking the flavors to combine. You could easily skip the foil package and just cook the pasta until it is done. Another alternative is to replace the shrimp with scallops or use both. Lastly, this really was pretty low in fat and would be a fantastic light meal to have during the hottest days of summer.

Another winner from the Pioneer Woman!

Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package

The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
½ cups Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes
½ cups White Wine
2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Fresh Parsley, Minced
1 pound Linguine, Uncooked
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.
In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes and wine. Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce. Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.