For the love of Garlic

Good morning fellow foodies,

I really love re-creating a restaurant dish at home. There is such an accomplished feeling that I get when I can whip up (almost) the exact same thing that I normally would pay good money for at a fraction of the cost. As a side note, I also have a hard time paying $10 a glass for a mediocre chardonnay when I can buy a whole bottle of the same darn thing for less. Oh, the shameless markup of wine in restaurants, but I feel that is a topic for another blog entirely.

I had this dish once a while ago in a buca di beppo. I think it was called shrimp Diablo (shrimp of the devil) or something along those lines. It basically is just a few things, crushed tomatoes, lots-o-garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, a touch of white wine, ( hey, look folks,we’re cooking with wine!) all sautéed up with big shrimp and tossed with al dente spaghetti. It was really good and while I was eating it, I was thinking, ‘I could so make this…’

Speaking of lots-o-garlic, I’m fairly certain that garlic comes out my pores at times. I once worked with a guy who definitely like his cocktails, and when he would sweat, tequila would permeate out of his pores. Mmmm….sweaty tequila. (Not). I much prefer sweating garlic if I had to choose, but I digress. I purchased the mother load of peeled fresh garlic during one of my latest trips to the famed warehouse costco. It’s 3 pounds of pure garlic goodness. Yes, I really did buy 3 pounds of garlic and yes, I only cook for 2 people. So, as you can imagine, I have been handing out Ziploc baggies of garlic cloves to people like a drug dealer. But, when you buy enough garlic to feed the entire state of Florida, you have to share the wealth. On the bright side, our condo is free from vampires.

Well, since this dish’s main ingredient was shrimp, I set out to find the perfect ones. I am plagued with what I like to call “shrimp apprehension.” It all stems from a very bad experience I had about a year ago with sour shrimp in a shrimp curry. It took me a good while to get over that and to work up the courage to put another shrimp in my mouth. It’s not unusual for me to ask the person behind the seafood counter if I can smell the shrimp before I buy it. I don’t care if he thinks I’m one grape short a fruit salad, I refuse to relive that dreaded sour shrimp night again. My nose does not lie, so take that Mr. Seafood man.

I have made this dish once before at home a few weeks ago, and loved the simplicity of it. It’s just a few simple steps. First, finely chop the garlic gloves. I recommend chopping over putting them through a garlic press to really keep the garlic flavor/texture in tact because there aren’t a lot of ingredients in this so every flavor is at the front. Sauté up the garlic in olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add 2 cans diced tomatoes, a touch of red pepper flakes, salt, and about ½ cup white wine. Let this all cook down while your spaghetti is cooking to al dente. Once your spaghetti has cooked, drain it and give it a cold shock of water to stop the cooking process. To the tomato sauce, add your shrimp. I had previously cooked shrimp, so placing the shrimp in the sauce was essentially just warming them up, not cooking them. I also added a touch of cream to the sauce, although it’s not in the buca di beppo version. It just sweetens up the sauce a little bit and makes a nice soft pink color. Add your pasta and toss to incorporate all of the ingredients in the pan. I served with chopped fresh basil and freshly grated parmigianno regiano. Everything is better with cheese.

Side note about shrimp….I was disappointed last night with them. It’s hard to find good shrimp in this town, which you wouldn’t think would be the case since we live on the COAST but whatever. The best shrimp that I have found are sold at Costco on the weekends. They are mammoth shrimp that were fed steroids; I think one shrimp is about ½ pound! If I saw one of those things in the water I would run away. But they are good and fresh. Fresh is KEY when it comes to seafood.

Something I would like to briefly mention before I close is how thankful I am for my fellow food enthusiast husband. He understands and appreciates good food. He is always game to try one of my new concoctions and always gives me honest feedback. Thanks hubby for being such an appreciative guinea pig. You rock.

Well foodies, it’s time I leave you. But I did take some pictures so I do hope you enjoy.

Cheers and happy cooking,