Spicy Lemon Shrimp

Another great find from Pinterest.  I probably need to work on my food photography skills because I guarantee you this looked much better in real life.  And, it was awesomely delicious.   I was working with this Spicy Lemon Shrimp Skewers recipe from the FoodNetwork.  I altered it a bit because I didn't have skewers and I was missing a few key ingredients.  I was shocked to discover that Whole Foods did not have fish sauce. They did have some lovely raw shrimp though so I forgave them.   I forgot to buy lemongrass which I know WF has but I wasn't about to go back to the store when I discovered I had forgotten it.  To replace the fish sauce, I used some soy sauce and a little anchovy paste.  Someone on the web suggested soy sauce and Worcestershire but I love anchovies and decided to go with the paste instead.  The shrimp were shelled and deveined by WF.  I marinated them the hour and them cooked them in a hot non-stick pan.  I served them with some avocado and rice.  So good!  So spicy!  Give them a try.

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

If you like pasta and garlic and Parmesan, I think you'll really love this Creamy Garlic Pasta. The secret is cooking the pasta in the sauce. Saute some garlic in olive oil and add the butter, salt and pepper and then add your broth (I used vegetable stock).  Bring the broth to a boil and cook the pasta normally.  When the pasta is just how you like it, add the cheese, parsley and cream.  Voilà, you have a great, creamy pasta dish.

I used whole wheat pasta and thought maybe it would absorb more water so I used a bit less than the 1/2lb called for.  Turns out that wasn't really necessary, there was plenty of broth for some more pasta.  I also used cilantro instead of parsley because that is what I had in the house.  And, of course, I added some red chile flakes to the broth because that is what I do.

I also caramelized some Crimini mushrooms while the pasta was cooking and then added the pasta to my pan with the caramelized mushrooms.  I could have added the mushrooms to the pasta but I thought by adding the pasta to the pan with the mushrooms, I'd take advantage of all the caramelized goodness in the pan.

This may become my default way to make pasta.  Next time I'll probably use this technique but also use some wine and whiskey à la Pioneer Woman.  And then, the next time use asparagus instead of mushrooms.  Or maybe artichokes.  You get the idea.