Shrimp Scampi

The boy and I have had very disfunctional dinner schedules recently. It has been hard to work out a home-cooked dinner together at a normal time, so we have had take out, leftovers, very late dinners and dinners seperately. A few nights ago was a very late dinner done seperately. At about 9:30 I finally decided I was hungry, and I wanted to make a meal that I wouldn't make for the 2 of us. Knowing his lack of affection for shrimp (or scrimps as my friends sometimes say) I decided on shrimp scampi. Ah, there are definately benefits to cooking for 1 as this was delish.

I started with frozen shrimp that still had their tails on and defrosted them in cold water while pasta water started to boil. I peeled off the tails and heated up about a tablespoon of butter in a pamed saute pan. After putting the pasta in to cook, I added pre chopped garlic to the butter. My roommate declairs her undying love to the people who invented aluminum foil and air conditioning. I would like to nominate the person who decided to jar prechopped garlic for the undying love list. I am such a wierdo. I love garlic, but if my hands smell like it, I can't eat it. So I adore the prechopped stuff. Anyway, I added about 3/4 of a teaspoon (=3/4 clove) to the hot butter, then added the shrimp as well as a touch of salt and fresh pepper.

I sauteed until the shrimp was mostly pink (meanwhile stirring the pasta), then I added some wine. I have read that shrimp scampi has white wine, but I had an open rose, so I used that instead. I decided I needed a vegetable, so I cut some brocolli florets and steamed them in the microwave. Next went in a bit of fresh basil and parsley.

As I continued to cook, I realized there wasn't enough liquid so I added some more wine. One can never have too much wine. When the pasta was done, I added it to the shrimp, then I added the brocolli.
From start to finish in just under 30 minutes, this was a great, complete dinner. Next time I will add a little more garlic and, for a touch of heat, a smidgen of crushed red pepper. Despite the hectic schedule, I am still dining well, even if alone. I may preffer cooking for a group, but I sometimes enjoy just cooking for myself as I can try new things or dishes others wouldn't fancy. Well I fancied this quite a bit. Perhaps I will have a table for 1 more often.