When it comes to carbs, I am the queen...  And when it comes to pasta, I'm an addict.  I'm a certified pasta junkie.  I'd have it every day and for every meal if I could...  Tomato sauce, cream sauce, butter, doesn't matter.  I love, love, love it.  One of my favorite comfort foods of all time is a pasta dish, and most people would cringe when they heard it involves a sauce that's like a creamy gravy, maybe some bacon, and a ton of cheese that I call "Slop."  I'm not joking when I say that I'm kinda a fan of pasta.

All that being said, why it took me so long to do this recipe...  I have no idea.

It has all of my favorites...  Cream sauce, cheese, prosciutto, basil, garlic, and of course pasta...  And it's thrown all together in less then 10 minutes.  The only mild catch for me was the shrimp, not because I don't like it, but I have a totally irrational fear of not cooking it properly.  A part of me is always mildly amazed that my entire household doesn't come down with food poisoning after I cook seafood.  I think my son subconsciously realizes this as it's one of the only foods he just won't touch.

Anyway, this recipe is a dream in every way, a complete and total home run.  I

love how quickly it came together and how completely foolproof it is.  Seriously, it's pretty much impossible to mess up.  It also looks beautiful when served.  I was very surprised that the creamy sauce didn't wash out the flavors of the prosciutto or the basil, or even the shrimp.  This is light and fresh, not your typical heavy creamy pasta.

I will say, if I were to make this again, I'd probably only use about a half a pound of pasta, or I'd double the shrimp, garlic, and prosciutto so that there was more of it distributed in the pasta.  I like a nice, meaty sauce, and I love my prosciutto, so that may be just my preference.  I also think a little splash of fresh lemon juice or maybe some zest would take this pasta to the next level.

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Shrimp and Prosciutto Penne Pasta

As is served at Grand Floridan Cafe, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

 

°o°  1 pound penne pasta 
°o°  2 tablespoons olive oil

°o°  1 tablespoon chopped garlic

°o°  10 ounces medium-sized shrimp

°o°  1/2 cup chopped prosciutto

°o°  1/2 cup white wine

°o°  1 cup heavy cream

°o°  1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

°o°  1/4 cup fresh chopped basil 
°o°  1/4 cup diced fresh tomato

Cook until pasta until al dente and drain.  Set aside and keep warm.

Warm olive oil in a large skillet or stock pot.  Add garlic, shrimp, and prosciutto and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink, firm, and slightly opaque.  Add white wine and simmer for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add cream and cheese and gently fold in pasta until proscuitto and shrimp are evenly distributed throughout pasta.  Toss in tomatoes and basil and serve immediately, garnished with additional basil, tomatoes, and cheese.

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Lately, I'm craving seafood.  Especially shrimp.  All the time.

I blame it completely on the fact that I just got back from a 7 day stay at the Polynesian (which was gorgeous, stunning, amazing) and that you can't be in a place so beautiful and so tropical without craving something that's kind of exotic too.  Ok, so maybe shrimp isn't the most exotic thing in the world...  But in my mainly chicken/beef/pork cooking routine, shrimp is something unusual and special.  Plus, seeing as I'm in New Hampshire and it's February, my exotic and unusual selections at the grocery store are pretty limited.  So...  Do what you can with what you can find, right?

I'm actually pretty excited to say that today's recipe comes from Disney's Boardwalk Resort.  This last trip was the first time I got a really, really good look at the Boardwalk Resort, and I have to say, it's utterly gorgeous.  Gorgeous in that, if I won the lottery and it wasn't enough to afford a house in Golden Oaks (sigh), I'd DVC in Boardwalk.  And since they're getting ready to do some extensive refurb there, I can only imagine that it's going to get nothing but more stunning.  A waterside resort in walking distance to my favorite park (EPCOT)?  Sign me up.

This recipe is simply stunning.  Seriously, one of my best Disney recipe discoveries.  Light, flavorful, easy to make, one of those dishes that comes together like lightning and tastes like heaven, so everybody you serve it to thinks that you're a culinary genius.  Even if you don't like shrimp, the sauce works with chicken, pork, scallops, or as an amazing dressing to pasta and rice with no protein at all.  I served this over De Cecco's riso pasta, which is a noodle shaped like a rice.  It's finer than orzo, not as touchy to cook as rissoto, and actually it may be my new favorite pasta since it's easier and faster to make then rice, my known nemesis, and it's uniqueness adds a classy element to dishes when substituted for rice.

When I do this recipe over again, I think I will use less butter and a little more garlic, but really, it's all personal preference.  This recipe is heaven as is.  The big change I did was to not butterfly the shrimp...  I accidentally bought pre-cooked shrimp, so it didn't hold up to the butterflying that well and because it was pre-cooked it didn't have the cooking time issues that it would have if it'd been uncooked and whole.  Honestly, for those who want to use large cooked shrimp, don't butterfly it and just really watch the cooking times.  It needs to be warmed, not cooked.  Also, I used dried parsley because, again, mid-February in New Hampshire...  Fresh bunches of parsley just aren't available that aren't overly expensive or look like death, much to my chagrin.

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Lemon Garlic Shrimp

As is served at Spoodles, Disney's Boardwalk Resort

 

°o°  1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided
°o°  3-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, divided

°o°  36 large raw shrimp, deveined and butterflied (if desired)

°o°  2 large lemons (or 1/4 - 1/2 cup lemon juice), halved, divided

°o°  1 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)

°o°  1/2 teaspoon course salt

°o°  1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

°o°  1/2 bunch parsley, roughly chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)

Melt half of the butter in a large saute pan and add half of the garlic.  Saute until lightly golden.  Add shrimp and toss to coat.  Cook about 1-2 minutes per side until shrimp is almost done (pink, firm, slightly opaque).  Add juice of 1 1/2 lemons, and remaining butter and garlic.  Cook until butter is melted, but do not boil (it damages the shrimp).  

When cooked entirely, remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, toss in parsley.  Garnish with remaining lemon.  Serve immediately over pasta, rice, bread, or as a stand-alone meal.

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