A New Take on Stock

I admit that I have been putting this one off for a while now. Oh, I'd been diligently saving shrimp shells in a freezer bag, but the idea of having my house smell like shrimp stock was somewhat unappealing to me. However, after reading the Suburban Hausfrau's take on shrimp scampi with pasta, using homemade shrimp stock, I decided to hold my nose and take the plunge.

Here I have my frozen shrimp shells in my new 2.5 liter saucepan. Also along for the ride are garlic, celery (the inner ribs with leaves), a carrot, two scallions, dried thyme and dried dill. A bay leaf and black peppercorns were also added to the pot.

The vegetables were cleaned and roughly chopped and the garlic cloves were smashed before being added to the pot. The herbs and peppercorns were then tossed in to add their flavor to the mix.

I allowed this to simmer for a couple of hours over medium heat. And yes, my house did smell like shrimp. Not perhaps my favorite smell in the world, but all in all it was not intolerable.

The stock was strained through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a heat-proof container.

At this point I had 1-1/2 quarts of shrimp stock. I decided that based on available freezer space, I needed to further reduce the stock. So I returned the stock to the sauce pan and allowed it to simmer for another hour or so, until I was left with one quart of the fragrant elixir.

After cooling, the stock was portioned out, labeled and frozen. Two cups was set aside for the shrimp scampi with linguine.

First, I added about a cup of the stock to water and after it reached a boil, I added kosher salt and the linguine. This cooked until al dente and then was removed from the water. The water was dumped and the pan was returned to the stove.

While the pasta cooked I prepped the remaining ingredients for the dish: peeled shrimp, diced shallot, grated garlic (3 large cloves), shrimp stock and unsalted butter.

Once the pan was returned to the hot burner, I added the butter, shallot and garlic. The shrimp go in and are quickly cooked. Remember that the shrimp will not take more than a minute or two per side to cook. In fact, at this point it is better to slightly under-cook the shrimp since they will be returned to the heat later.

I removed the shrimp from the pan and added the remaining shrimp stock. I let this reduce for just a moment before continuing to the next step.

The shrimp and linguine are added back into the pan and are tossed in the sauce.

The shrimp scampi with linguine is immediately plated and ready for the table.

A wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a fine grater are on the table so that the diners can grate the cheese over their serving. The shrimp stock adds a rich chord to the composition, rounding out the flavors nicely. My only regret is that I had no fresh Italian parsley to sprinkle over the dish.

Quick, Make Me a Meal

Monday night dinners now present a challenge for me as my daughter has a Monday evening class and my husband has meetings sometimes on Mondays and once a month I have a meeting on Mondays. Confused? That's okay: I am too.

So, anyway, this evening my daughter called to say that, because of a power outage, football practice was cut short - and can I make something quick for dinner? Why, yes I can. And without a seasoning packet in sight. Don't believe me? Just watch:

I have some frozen shrimp (shell-on, but that is easily remedied), black pepper, salt (well, what do you know, I opted to not use this - but then again, I dislike salty foods), red pepper flakes, pinot grigio wine, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, garlic and flat-leaf parsley.

If your shrimp is frozen, place it in a bowl and add cold water. In just a few minutes the shrimp will begin to safely thaw. Now you can also easily peel the shrimp.

I have fettucini cooking in the pot in the back while 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil, 4 tbs. butter, 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper, and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes heat in a pan on the front burner.

After chopping 2 cloves of garlic and adding that to the pot, I added the shelled shrimp and the juice from half a lemon (about 2 tbs.) to the pan.

Kelley is a big fan of her "aunt" Rosie Hawthorne and her awesome photography skills.

My dear daughter worked hard to get a good picture of me adding shrimp to the pan.

Working quickly, I added a splash of white wine and the cooked fettucini to the mix. Just before serving, the chopped flat-leaf parsley is sprinkled on top.

Our family prefers to add grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese on top of our shrimp scampi pasta. Kelley came home in time to put together a quick salad to accompany this very simple and very quick dinner. And all with nary a seasoning packet in sight.