My husband is the seafood cook in our house. He is always suprising me with the quality of the dishes he turns out. I usually try to stay out of his way while he is in the kitchen because it is hard for me to turn over the job to him without commenting on the way he is doing things. I am a control freak in that way. So I let him get creative and then I clean up the mess when he is finished. It is always worth it.
Shrimp scampi is so delightful and so rich. It is even better when that richness is tempered with angel hair pasta which soaks up all of the buttery goodness. He found a recipe on Epicurious and adapted it to his liking. We are both big fans of lemon flavors and capers so he added them to the recipe. This was such a refreshing pasta dish. I could have eaten the whole bowl. It was also very simple to make and didn’t require a whole lot of clean up by the sous chef.
With the pasta, he grilled a tasty cantaloupe recipe that we have been making for a few years. The original recipe came from one of the Food Network Stars who did not actually win, but her recipes were featured in Bon Appeptit magazine. The cantaloupe does not spend much time on the grill; just enough time to give it the grill marks and warm it. It is seasoned with honey and cayenne pepper. It is an explosion of flavor on your palate! Hope you enjoy these recipes. It is so very much worth it to share the cooking.
SHRIMP SCAMPI PASTA
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp (raw; 20 to 25 per lb)
4 large garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons drained capers
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 lb angel hair pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Bring a large stock pot of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes, and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add garlic to oil remaining in skillet along with red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, wine, salt, and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and stir in shrimp. Remove skillet from heat.
Cook pasta in boiling water until just tender. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander. Toss pasta well with shrimp mixture and parsley in large bowl, adding some of the reserved cooking water if necessary to keep moist.
GRILLED CANTALOUPE ( Recipe courtesy of Rory Schepisi)
1 cantaloupe peeled and cut into wedges
honey to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
Grill cantaloupe slices on 1 side until showing grill marks, about 3 minutes. Turn and grill for another minute. Mound grilled side up on platter. Brush with honey; sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
Note: It seems I forgot how to spell cantaloupe. Thanks for the wake up call in your comments. I checked the spelling in my copy of Food Lover’s Companion.
I would happily be sous chef to have one taste of this delicious pasta dish.
This looks like something we’d both enjoy – it could become The Great Dane’s specialty-of-the-summer!
I love scampi and this looks like a wonderful recipe! That grilled melon sounds delicious too!!
Hugs,
Penny
This looks like something I’d LOVE. Grilling fruits has become an obsession here!
xoxo Pattie
On first seeing the grill-marked cantaloupe on NFNS, I immediately thought, “Why haven’t I thought of that?” as we have grilled peaches and nectarines and plums, etc, for dessert whilst dinner was cooking on the other part of the grill. (a few minutes cut-side down, then onto foil with butter and brown sugar into the cup where the seed was).
The pasta looks scrumptious, as well, especially with all that garlic! That’s a bread-sopping sauce, for sure, if there’s any that escaped into the bottom of the bowl.
Scampi is one of our favorites and I can’t wait to try the grilled cantelope. Great dinner David.
Sam
How smart is that to grill cantelope;looks really good with that pasta dish.
Rita
Scampi… it’s whats for dinner… internationally
Looks great!
O, that looks delicious! And grilled cantalope…how unique and perfect for summer.
That really looks delicious. I have never had grilled cantalope, but it sounds interesting.
I love grilled melon with a rich balsamic glaze… great recipe and fun blog!!!
The scampi over pasta has become a favorite here this summer and yours sounds delicious.
I am liking the sound of the explosion of flavors from the grilled cantaloupe. I would be more than happy to do the dishes any day for your husband’s cooking skills. To answer your question, I did not get to make it to Ree’s party, but I did get to meet the incredible Pioneer woman the next day with her good looking entourage.
I love shrimp and pasta. I never used to like capers, but I guess my tastes changed and now I’m in love with them. I just bought a cantaloupe at the Farmers Market today – it’s getting grilled tonite 🙂