Cooking For Engineers

[sheehanje]

First, to some of the inane crtique. Everywhere you go, food terminology is different. Chili peppers for example can mean one of many types of peppers, usually depending on what is available in a locale. In a lot of the U.S., if you order Shrimp Scampi, you get something similar to this dish. So, clarification is fine, but bashing shows your mentality and bias.

With that said, I usually make this with a twist. I add about 1/4 cup of dry white cooking wine during the last 2 - 3 minutes of cooking. Really gives this recipe a great twist. Try it sometime. Great easy recipe.

[Guest]

I also think this recipe should include the serving size.

[Guest]

I made some alterations to this recipe. I'm not saying it's better, just that I'm a freak for flavor and sauces. I sautéed 3 imported shallots, thinly sliced in butter and olive oil (amount depends on how much shrimp is used). I did 2 1/2 lbs shrimp so I used 5-6 TBS butter 2-3 TBS oil. Then 2-3-tsp minced garlic, put in shrimp (tails on I then added 1TBS crushed parsley, grated pepper, paprika and fresh grated parmesan cheese (coating top layer of shrimp) and lemon juice (preferred fresh squeezed), flipped the shrimp after 2 min or so, repeated same process with 1 TBS parsley, pepper, paprika, cheese and lemon juice. When shrimp starts to turn pink I do a quick flip and then add some light cream (not much, a couple of TBS). I toss it with seasoned linguini (olive oil, butter, pepper and small amount of salt-to taste) Lots of flavor is sealed in the shrimp!

[EngineeringProfessor]

[Just Me]

Geesh. Personally I loved the recipe Michael, thanks so much for sharing such a quick, delicious recipe for shrimp scampi. Lotta anal retentive folks out there though, I just wanted some shrimp and got a huge dose of cranky...lolol. We KNOW there are different types of crustations people, we simply wanna make some dang shrimp with garlic and butter, relax!!

[kaye]

I always order Scampi if it's on the menu but in Britain (and most recently) France they don't seem to peel the shrimp before serving it. My english friend said the shells are edible but my reply was "why would I want to eat them". Has anyone else run into this? I don't want to be an ignorant American but it seems a bit lazy on the part of the cook and very unappealing to my senses. Any comment?

[Dilbert]

kaye -
[[Has anyone else run into this?

yes - an Italian colleague ate shrimp in the shells, shells and all . . .

[an American in France]

"On November 29, 2007 at 10:09 PM, kaye (guest) said...
Subject: Unpeeled shrimp in France & England
I always order Scampi if it's on the menu but in Britain (and most recently) France they don't seem to peel the shrimp before serving it. My english friend said the shells are edible but my reply was "why would I want to eat them". Has anyone else run into this? I don't want to be an ignorant American but it seems a bit lazy on the part of the cook and very unappealing to my senses. Any comment? "

Well, while I don't want to call you ignorant, your comment does come off that way (a little, sorry). My passive observation of general food preparation in France (I'm afraid I can't comment on Britain's preparations) and in the States shows me this (now keep in mind, I said GENERAL):

In France, food is culture. And so, flavor is HUGE. (Seriously. You should see the way French people describe food -- their most recent meal, a new restaurant, etc. It's amazing...and kind of endearing.) Food that's cooked bone-in, shell-on, etc. is usually found to be more flavorful. Perhaps that's why they do that in France. Even if that's not the case, I don't believe that it's laziness. That's not to say all meals in France are perfect. But I've had more good meals than bad I really appreciate France's ties to its agriculture. Granted it's a MUCH smaller country, so I suppose it's easier, but they (the people I know anyway) want to know where something comes from. They take pride in how they raise their livestock and REALLY enjoy what they eat. I've never met a French person who feels guilty after enjoying a crême brûlée or a buttery pain au chocolat.

In America, food's practically sterilized and made overly convenient. Or at least, had been for many years. That is, people can't stand to be reminded that meat comes from actual animals (I know people like this, but, of course, your p.o.v. may be different depending on what your origins are). People go for the safe and ready-to-cook stuff. And when you're pressed for time, it's great. But sometimes it seems like a sort of refusal to deal with the real thing. We want things that are skinless, featherless, bloodless, boneless, etc. Agriculture has become so industrialized in the US. But I guess when you're trying to fill the demand of a country as massive as ours, it was inevitable. That's not to say that there are no more ma & pop farms. (There are! There are even such farms in NJ. I should know, I'm from NJ -- we're The Garden State, you know ) Luckily, people are starting to be more adventurous with food and becoming more interested in cooking. I'm thinking that (at least) part of that has to do with the popularity of the Food Network (I miss it!). That said, I would, kill for a good, juicy burger and fresh cut (with the skin still on!), peppery fries and a nice, plump, crispy dill pickle. Holy crap. That kind of thing I feel Americans do best

I had a point, but I'm not sure if I got there. I ended up writing more than I meant to and in doing so, I kind of lost track...but, hopefully I don't come across as anti-American, because that'd be silly. I AM American and I love my country. But I do have to admit, I was getting really bored with the general humdrumness of "American cuisine" the last year or so before I left for France. Luckily, I had my mom's cooking to fall back on. She makes some AMAZING Korean food. YUM! (..although, unfortunately, the majority of French people seem to not be able to handle their spicy food too well and so a lot of the Korean food here is "dumbed" down)

Anyway, sorry for the rambling! Happy eating & cooking to you all.

I really love and appreciate your site here, Michael.

[TaratheFoodie]

Easy, decadent, and pretty all in one dish. I LOVE shrimp scampi, but it's literally been years since I've eaten it and I've actually never made it. I have a tendency to skip over dishes that have been "done a million times before" or that are "easy". Sometimes that's a downfall of mine because I end up missing out on noshing on the classics. I consider this dish a classic. Thanks for the recipe as I will be whiping some of this up very soon!

[EE_Cook]

I had to spice up this recipe...as is it is very bland...I added about a cup of scallions and a few sweet red peppers and tomatos from the garden...It works well with chicken also.

[Not so complicated]

Scampi in the US refers to the cooking method not the ingredient. Thus you can have shrimp scampi, chicken scampi, etc.

[Guest]

Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

The best thing to do is ignore them, like an attention whore.

[biomimetical]

For a poor college kid, this is actually very inexpensive and tasty! I don't use parsley, though. When the shrimp are flipped and the second side is being cooked, I dash garlic salt and Italian seasoning onto the shrimp - it really brings out this amazing flavor that hits the spot perfectly. I also use angel hair pasta because it's the quickest to cook and doesn't stick together (the flatter pastas, like linguini, always do no matter how often I stir!).

Thanks for the recipe!

[sarah]

Well, philosophical discussion and semantics aside, this is a great recipe (scampi) and I appreciate you sharing it with everyone. I will be using it tonight!

[Guest]

I'm making this tonight:) I'll be sure to come back and post how my family liked it.

The one thing you can do to add more shrimp flavor to the dish would be to make a stock to cook the pasta in. I take a couple of carrots, couple stalks of celery, 1/2 a small onion, a few garlic cloves, some peppercorns, a few bay leaves and about 8 cups of water. Simmer that down for a few hours, then toss in the shrimp shells and cook for another 15 minutes or so, adding more water if needed. Strain all that stuff out, reserving the liquid of course;)put the stock back into the pasta pot, and add enough water to cook the pasta in. It's not a ton of water either, like the directions on the pastas will say, because you WANT that starchiness so you can add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the dish, it helps thicken the sauce I use about half the recommended water and never have trouble with stickiness or the flavor.

I'll also be doubling the garlic, we're garlic freaks, lol!

Thanks for a great recipe!~