Shrimp Scampi

Well the weekend is over and we are back to Monday again. The weather was great this weekend. I'll take the heat any day over the cold. It was in the 90's here and beautiful. I wish it was like this year round. Graves Mountain was beautiful. I think it's even prettier this time of year than in the fall. If you ever visit Virginia this is a really nice place to visit. Besides the music and apple festival held there yearly there are also a number of hiking trails to enjoy too. The best part of this visit though is the food. They have a lodge with homestyle dining. Large platters of foods are passed around and it is all freshly cooked. Absolutely excellent! And there is always a fresh pie or cake with ice cream for dessert.

Moving on to more about food, here is a recipe for shrimp scampi. This was very good. My only mistake was not realizing the liquid in this recipe would be only enough to enjoy on the shrimp. I went ahead and cooked a box on angel hair pasta and needless to say the pasta ended up being quite bland! But I would imagine you could easily double the ingredients and it would work fine. This recipe really intrigued me since it used vermouth. Very tasty indeed! I'd make this again, no problem! This recipe came from the Food Network Kitchens.

1 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white vermouth
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Put the shrimp in a large pie pan or plate and pat them dry with a paper towel. Arrange the shrimp so they lay flat and are evenly spaced.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet. When the foaming subsides raise the heat to high and invert plate of shrimp over the pan so the shrimp fall into the pan all at once. Cook the shrimp, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the vermouth and lemon juice. Boil the liquid until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir the zest and parsley into the sauce. Pour sauce over the shrimp, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.

Divide shrimp among 4 plates or arrange on a platter and serve.