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Anaheim Shrimp Scampi

Source of Recipe

George Stella ~ Low Carb and Lovin' It


Recipe Introduction

Level 1 ~ Pro/Fat & VeggiesOH! Is this recipe good! I made some modifications as I didn't have everything on hand ~ my notes are at the end. My husband and I just "Mmmm-Mmmmed" the whole plate through.

Recipe Link: www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26766,00.html

List of Ingredients

Scampi Butter, recipe follows

1 pound raw, peeled and deveined 16 to 20 count shrimp, with tail on (recommended: tiger prawns)
1 tablespoon white wine
2 ounces Asiago cheese, cut into small chunks
*1 avocado, large diced (*Level 2 addition)

Spaghetti Squash, recipe follows
Fresh arugula, for garnish


Scampi Butter:
1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash white pepper
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon, juiced





Recipe

Scampi Instructions:

Place 2/3 of the scampi butter in a large saute pan over high heat and melt. Add in shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes, moving shrimp around in the pan. Sizzle with the white wine and cook until shrimp are opaque, only about another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining scampi butter, Asiago cheese, and avocado chunks. Serve over hot spaghetti squash and garnish with fresh arugula.


Scampi Butter:

In a bowl with a wire whisk, mix together all ingredients until well blended.


Spaghetti Squash:

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
Slice squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon as you would a pumpkin. Then completely submerge both halves in boiling water and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the inside is tender to a fork and pulls apart in strands. (It is better to undercook if you are not sure). Remove, drain, and cool with cold water or an ice bath to stop the cooking. Then use a fork to scrape the cooked squash out of its skin, and at the same time, fluff and separate the squash into spaghetti-like strands. Discard the skin.
You can reheat the squash strands by dipping with a strainer in boiling water just before serving.
Cook's Note: Spaghetti squash may be used in any recipe that calls for pasta. It is great plain with butter or with marinara sauce, scampi, or even alfredo.

Yield: 8 servings

*Deb's Notes: Scampi: I didn't have Asiago cheese, so I subbed in freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano. I didn't use the arugula for garnish (I'm not a big garnish person).

Scampi Butter: I didn't have unsalted butter, so I cut back on the kosher salt addition. I subbed in scallions for the red onion. I also used 2 teaspoons dried parsley, crushing it as I added it.

Spaghetti Squash: Everyone likes their squash prepared differently. This is our favorite way to prepare it:

Bake it in your oven @ 400 degrees for at least 1 ½ hours and up to 2 hours. You want it to actually "bleed" and that only happens when you cook it for a while. The label and most recipes will say to cook it for a half an hour or so or even to microwave it. Trust me, you do not want to do this. You want to dry the squash out as much as possible, the less water it has the sweeter it is. It's like drinking 8 ounces of soda or 8 ounces of soda with 4 ounces of water. Yeah, you're drinking the same amount of soda, but the one without the water will be sweeter. Basically you want to take the squash out right before the bottom starts to burn. You want the squash to caramelize. The squash will be much more satisfying as well when it's not all watery, particularly when eaten cold.

http://www.321recipes.com/winter_squash.html

Deb's note again: Tonight the squash was sitting looking lonely in its bowl (I baked it earlier in the day, then before dinner, I cut it open, scooped out the seeds, put it in a glass bowl and microwaved it - to reheat it. Anyway - I decided to toss in some butter, salt & pepper. Nuh-uh, don't do that. Believe me - there is plenty butter & spices in the scampi to take care of the squash.

I had 1/3 of the 3# squash leftover, so next time I'll go with a smaller squash. Okay - confession time. Perhaps George uses this as a side dish? Uhmmm - we got 2 servings from this (with squash leftover, but the scampi was gone).