Again, I’m not a chef, but here is another recipe that’s a real winner. I’m not kidding. And as usual, after decades of trying, I’ve made all the mistakes necessary to get to the final product.
In fact, what I was trying to do was to come with a recipe for shrimp “scampi”. For me anyway, shrimp is not an easy thing to season, and when you don’t manage to, the taste of the animal itself can gross you out. In the scampi approach the idea is a garlic sauce of some kind. “Alfredo” is all about a parmesan flavoring. In Big red’s World Famous Shrimp Alfredo, we do both.
A few years ago my wife Pam and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Key West, and on the last day we ate at a restaurant and guess what, I ordered the shrimp “scampi” and it was so good. Their trick was a cheesy garlic sauce. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
Be sure to make enough, because when people only get a little they can become irate and unruly, and the kitchen is supposed to be such a friendly place after all. And don’t let the word out too much, because traffic could become a problem.
This recipe is for a half of a pound of shrimp, two people. I use bigger shrimp. Jumbo is minimum, and colossal is best. Peel and de-vein them, and place them on a paper towel to dry off. Set aside.
First, the garlic. Use fresh garlic cloves, 5 or 6 medium sized ones, and chop them into a fry-able particles, like the size of the cereal in grape nuts. You can use some minced garlic you buy in the small jars, and they actually sell “chopped” garlic in the same little jars now, but you’re a hack pretty quick when you cut this corner. Fresh ingredients, always.
In a frying pan melt about an inch or inch and a half of unsalted butter, and throw in let’s say a tablespoon and a half of chopped garlic. Over medium heat, the garlic will begin to brown, and the butter will start to cook, so don’t go too long with cooking the garlic. Two minutes. Then throw in the shrimp (peeled and de-veined, of course). Add another 3/4 inch of butter, and cook until the shrimp are done and have a little fried look to them, and are somewhat coated with the fried garlic. Four or five minutes on medium heat should do it. Then remove the shrimp from the pan, leaving behind the small to moderate amount of butter/fried garlic.
To this remaining goo, add another inch of butter (and BTW, unsalted sweet cream butter at all times, nothing else). When melted, scrape some of the butter and garlic crusty that’s left from the cooking of the shrimp, and then add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and stir it into the goo and heat until warm to hot.
Next add about a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese. I use the cheaper, creamier kind that doesn’t cost as much as the “regianno”, which is super dry and 3 times as expensive. And don’t use the stuff in the shaker can that’s real powdery. Freshly grated cheap parmesan is key.
Next comes a crucial step: making it more garlicky. It is the mix of garlic taste and parmesan taste that is what you’re after here. I do this with garlic salt (Lowry’s) and it will require something like 3/4 of a teaspoon. Do this until you like the taste. A little at a time, because you can over-do it. Then put the cooked shrimp back into the cheesy mixture and gently heat until hot.
I serve this dish with angel hair, but I’ve done it as a mac and cheese dish also, and ultimately, pasta is pasta to me.
So there you go. Another life-changing recipe to spring on your peeps.