Shrimp Scampi

One of my best friends left me for the bright and beautiful LA a couple years ago. I'm still working on forgiving him. I look forward to his visits back to Central NY. Our time is normally spent having a "date night" and going to a movie and out for dinner and drinks. For this visit I decided we'd do something different, I would make dinner. My daughter is the only 10 yr old I know with a love of seafood. And I mean all seafood. She's been eating calamari for years! Clams, lobster, crab, occasionally haddock, and now she loves shrimp. One of the reasons why I love cooking so much is because I like the idea that I can control exactly what is going into my family's mouth. I can control how much salt, sugar etc. And I can use all natural ingredients. 

For anyone who lives in Central NY, you know how amazing Wegman's is. I feel like you can find anything there. It's so colorful. During the summer months there are local farmer's products you can buy. I really like the fact that the Wegman's brand product are labeled vegetarian, low sodium, vegan, gluten free etc. 


I decided to make shrimp scampi. Off to Wegman's I went. I have never bought shrimp before.  Thank goodness for my job otherwise I'd have no clue. With shrimp in hand I went home to make some delicious dinner for two of my favorite people.


Shrimp Scampi
1 pound wild 16-20 count shrimp
package of linguini
4 cloves garlic
2 lemons
3 TBSP margarine 
dry white wine, Belhurst Winery Pinot grigio
parsley
extra virgin olive oil
crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
* Don't forget to de-vein and de-poopy the shrimp. Wegman's had already  cut the shell so it was so much easier to peel. And their shrimp is available thawed or frozen. 
Dear Wegman's I love you.

Directions
1. place 2 1/2 TBSP of evoo  and margarine, fresh ground black pepper and 1 tsp salt in a saute pan on medium-low heat
2. add 4 cloves of minced garlic, cook for about a minute
3. add 1/2 cup of dry white wine, I used pinot grigio
4. add shrimp, cooking for about 5 minutes
5. take off heat add 1/3 cup of fresh parsley, lemon slices, 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon, and 1/2 lemon zest
6. place back over low heat add crushed red pepper and toss.
8. pour over cooked linguini and toss, sprinkle lightly with freshly grated parmesan cheese.


PS : I have this meal in the inexpensive meal category. The most expensive part was the shrimp. It was $10.99 for a pound which was 22 shrimp. The lemons were 79 cents a piece, parsley was $1.29 for a huge bunch of fresh parsley. Margarine, evoo, and the garlic I already had on hand. The bottle of Pinot Grigio was $8.  $23 for a dinner with a ton of leftovers!!


A bottle of wine, delicious dinner, and great conversation... My night was complete.