April 29: National Shrimp Scampi Day

So you could take the easy way out and buy frozen shrimp scampi, heat it up in a pan quickly, and then eat it. And I wouldn't judge you if you did this. Trust me, my life is crazy and only getting crazier and sometimes you just don't have time to make home made shrimp scampi. But I did. And it was delicious. My only complaint is that I didn't make enough to have leftovers.

JazzyJ's Scrumptious Shrimp Scampi:

Note: I made this to feed four people. There were not leftovers. Some of us are big eaters, and one or two of us may have had third helpings. Please take this into account when cooking this for a group.

Ingredients:
- 40 shrimp (this was 10 per/person)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- linguini pasta (enough to feed the number you are serving)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (about juice from one lemon)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions:
1. Start boiling water, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the water, and when ready add the pasta and cook according to the directions. My linguini cooked for about 14 minutes.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the minced garlic being careful not to let it burn.
3. Add the shrimp and pepper and sautee for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.
4. In a serving bowl, add to the pasta, toss with the lemon juice and red pepper flakes and serve.

My friend Allison gets credit for zesting and juicing the lemon, along with making this beautiful salad pictured above. We paired our shrimp scampi with fruit salad, regular salad, garlic butter cheese buns, and red wine. It was a feast fit for kings and queens!

The fresh squeezed lemon juice gave the pasta a bit of a twang - which made for a refreshing meal. I'm going to start adding fresh lemon juice to more of my pastas.

And trust me, I will be making this meal again (more likely sooner rather than later.)