Creamy Garlic Butter Fettuccine with Shrimp and Scallops

Nearly two years ago, I introduced our family to a low-carb eating lifestyle.  I really cut back on our consumption of potatoes, bread and pasta, mostly. Homemade pasta dishes at our house have been few and far between since then. I haven't made a creamy pasta dish since I can't even remember when, so I thought I'd  treat ourselves for dinner tonight.  What did I make?  A seafood pasta in a creamy garlic butter sauce.  It turned out so delicious, I wanted to share my recipe with you.  My recipe serves 4-6.  You can, of course, divide the recipe in half, to serve 2-3 people.

Creamy Garlic Butter Fettuccine with Shrimp and Scallops

Ingredients:

4 tbsp or 1/4 cup butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups heavy cream (35% fat content)

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

pinch freshly ground black pepper

2 cups thawed, peeled raw shrimp

2 cups thawed scallops

1 cup frozen peas 

2 tsp freshly chopped thyme (optional)

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (optional) 

1 1/2 pounds fettuccine pasta

salt

Directions:

First heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter melts, 

add the garlic and stir until soft, but not brown.

Add heavy cream and raise heat to medium high until mixture begins to boil (five minutes). Stir occasionally.
Add salt and pepper. Lower the heat to low and simmer slowly for ten minutes to thicken the cream; stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, while you are waiting for the cream to thicken, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (I used a dutch oven) and cook the fettuccine until al dente. Once cooked, drain the water and set aside.

Next, add the shrimp, scallops, peas and thyme to your thickened cream mixture.  You will need to raise the heat to high again to bring the mixture back to a boil.  Once the shrimp turn pink, turn off the heat.  A couple minutes should do the trick. Make sure not to overcook the seafood, or it will turn tough.

Pour the creamy seafood mixture into the pot of fettuccine you had set aside. With a wooden spoon, incorporate the sauce into the pasta until evenly distributed.  Cover the pot with the lid and let stand for several minutes to thicken up.  You can serve it hot, as is, or you can...

Add bread crumbs over top and place your dutch oven (or broiler safe dish) under the broiler for just a few minutes until crumbs are golden brown (watching ever so carefully, so the breadcrumbs don't burn!).

The bread crumbs add a delicious, crunchy texture to the dish!

And here it is served on a plate...

Mmm!  It was so delicious!

Bon Appetit!

A Week of Celebrations!

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate Oprah Winfrey


To say that I have had my hands full this past week would be a huge understatement.  In the short span of seven days, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday, Valentine's Day, Family Day, and a few other things in between! 

It all started with our pancake dinner party on Shrove Tuesday...

My nieces Emily and Chloe joined us for our pancake dinner, in pajamas, of course!

We had pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner!

For Valentine's day, I baked my first ever heart-shaped cheesecake...

with a cinnamon graham cracker crust.  I baked it in a water bath - a fool-proof method to prevent cracking and sinking.  I topped it with cherries. It looked so pretty and was so delicious! 

This is the gorgeous bouquet of flowers my husband surprised me with on Valentine's day!

And...he cooked a special dinner for us too...

Is there anything more romantic than a man who can cook?

Here's Anita, having a little fun...

One of the best things we celebrated this week, was my father-in-law's last day of chemo and radiation therapy.  We are all thrilled with his progress.  To see him doing so well after everything he has been through these past six weeks, is a blessing!  Our family got together on the weekend, as we do every weekend, and shared a delicious meal lovingly made my mother-in-law.  We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for good news next month when he follows up with the doctor.  Please keep him in your thoughts.  

Yesterday, we celebrated Family Day - a statutory holiday celebrated in parts of Canada.  We went out for breakfast in the morning and spent the rest of the day indoors, tucked away from the cold.  We relaxed, watched TV, enjoyed a fire and made a yummy mixed seafood platter for dinner.

Crab, shrimp, squid, scallops and clams

before...

...and after

All in all, it was a joyous week filled with happy occasions and many reasons to celebrate.
 How was your week?  Was it busy for you too?  Did you celebrate anything?

Wishing you all a happy week with many little reasons to celebrate!  xoxo

Caldeirada / Portuguese Fish Stew

Caldeirada is a very typical Portuguese dish.  It is similar to the French dish, Bouillabaisse.  It's a type of fish stew cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, paprika, and of course fish.  I remember the first time I ate this meal...it was at my Mother-in-law's house, back when my husband and I were dating.  This is one of my husband's favourite meals.  I know how much he loves it, so I made it for dinner last night.  I would like to share the recipe with you:

Caldeirada - serves 4

1 large onion
2 large tomatoes
1 green bell pepper OR 1/2 green, 1/2 red bell pepper
4 garlic cloves
12-15 small boiling potatoes (of similar size)
3 tsp coarse salt
3 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 pounds assorted fresh fish
fresh seafood (if desired)

First, peel and cut onion into thin slices.  Chop 2 large tomatoes into coarse chunks.  Cut green pepper in half, lengthwise, remove seeds, and slice into thin strips.(You can also use 1/2 green pepper & 1/2 red pepper). Peel and thinly slice garlic cloves.  Set aside.  Peel 12-15 small potatoes, cut in half, and keep submerged in water until ready to use.

The trick to Caldeirada seems to be the importance of layering.  Here's how I do it...

Layer 1 - In a large pot, add half of each (onions, tomatoes, garlic, peppers).  Add 1 tsp coarse salt, 1 tsp paprika powder, and bay leaf.

Layer 2 - Add all of the halved potatoes over the first layer.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of paprika powder.

Layer 3 - Over the potatoes, add remaining half of each (onions, tomatoes, garlic, peppers).  Add 1 tsp of coarse salt, 1 tsp of paprika and 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cilantro leaves.

Next, add 1 cup dry white wine to the layers and fill the rest of the pot with water, just until the potatoes are covered.  (I used 6 cups of water for my large pot).  Add 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.  Bring the water to a boil, over high heat. 

Let the stew boil for 5 minutes before you add the fish.  This is what it should look like.  Set the heat to medium high.  Now it's time to add the fish...

You can use 2-3 pounds of fresh fish.  I used sea bass, grouper, red snapper, skate fish, and 2 sardines (typical of Portuguese Caldeirada).  This fish was bought fresh and cut at the market.  You must use fresh, frozen just won't give you the same flavour.  I also added some mussels, clams, and a couple of blue crabs. (You don't have to add the seafood if you don't want to).  You can also add shrimp or scallops, if you like. Seafood adds great flavour to the stew. 

Place mussels, clams, and crabs on top of your stew, and then the sliced, assorted fish over top.  Cover the pot with its lid and cook over medium high heat for approximately 20 minutes, or just until potatoes are cooked.  The steam from the sealed pot will cook the fish, without having to immerse it in water.  Be sure to check the potatoes, you wouldn't want them to overcook and break.  It will make a mess in the stew. And of course, don't forget to taste for salt. 

And here is the stew, served on a typical Portuguese plate.  Use a ladle to pour some of the delicious sauce over the fish and make sure you have some fresh, crusty bread for dipping!  Add some chopped cilantro over top and you have a delicious meal! 

ENJOY!!  xoxo