National Shrimp Scampi Day

Monday, April 29th is "National Shrimp Scampi Day". Go figure! It seems like we're always celebrating something. Like the famous line in the Forrest Gump movie, Bubba would say, "like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."  (source http://www.imdb.com/).

Shrimp Scampi ingredients

But that's not it. There's more! One of my personal favorites is Shrimp Scampi. According to Wikipedia, In the USA, the term "scampi", by itself, is also the name of a dish of shrimp served in garlic butter and dry white wine, served either with bread, or over pasta or rice, although sometimes just the shrimp alone. The word "scampi" is often construed as that style of preparation rather than an ingredient, with that preparation being called "shrimp scampi", (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scampi).

Can you smell that?

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted 

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon, scallions, chopped (optional) 

to taste salt

to taste pepper

to taste paprika

1 pound fresh shrimp, uncooked, shelled and deveined without tails

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced 

2 tablespoons white wine

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

as needed Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated 

Cottage fries, squash, broccoli, starring Shrimp Scampi

Directions

Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add shrimp and saute 2-3 minutes. Season shrimp with the salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. 

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and lemon juice. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Sprinkle with scallions and parsley. Finish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.Serve with rice, your favorite pasta, or all by itself. 

To watch Bubba talking to Forrest about shrimp go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09KL2HUXE6Q   
© TMelle 2013

Red Lobster "Lobsterfest"

Red Lobster Gurnee, Illonois

Okay I will admit that I am a sucker for a good TV ad campaign. So I went online to Red Lobsters website www.redlobster.com and downloaded a coupon to purchase one Lobsterfest entree at the regular price and get the second one at 1/2 price. I had no idea what either price was but I was going. It didn't matter that I would have to travel 20 miles each way in the rain and the fog, I needed lobster!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I went online and read many reviews for the Gurnee, Illinois location, most of which were not favorable. You just can't believe everything that you read on the Internet. Two of my children decided that they wanted to go as well. Why not? I'm sure that they thought that I was buying. I had my son print up a coupon as well. Could we use both coupons? I did not know.

Lobster Lover's Dream

Did I mention the rain and the fog? Well it was not a "fit night out for man nor beast." When we arrived I surprised to see that it was not very busy and we were able to be seated right away. The hostess showed us to a table and said that our server would be right with us. We were almost immediately approached by Amanda, our server. As she took our drink order I asked about the coupons and she explained that as long as we ordered from the Lobsterfest menu we could use both coupons. Two entrees at full price and two at half price. 

The Ultimate Feast

Amanda served our beverages and a basket of their famous "Cheddar Bay Biscuits." Watch out this biscuits are not only delicious, they're also very filling. She offered choices of sides and salads. I just had to have the mashed potatoes. Within fifteen minutes Amanda served our meal. She said that they were baking fresh biscuits and she would bring more in a moment.  

My wife ordered the "Lobster Lover's Dream," which was a Maine lobster and a rock lobster, lobster and shrimp linguine Alfredo and broccoli.  We all ordered the "Ultimate Feast" which consisted of a split Maine lobster tail, snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi, and fried breaded shrimp.

What can I say? The service was great, the restaurant was clean, the meal, on this night was amazing, and the server was attentive, friendly, and great. 

The fun part of the night was here. Time for the bill. With the coupon the dinner was not only good, it was affordable. By signing up for the coupon I apparently joined the "Fresh Catch Club," and will be receiving future promotions and coupons via email. Would we go back again? You betcha!

There are many recipes on the Red lobster website, but you won't find the Cheddar Bay Biscuits. There are many recipes for the biscuits on the Internet. 

© TMelle 2013