Sautéed Shrimp in a Lemon Butter with Tagliatelle

The recent Spring weather inspired me to make a dinner that is light and fresh. Shrimp in a lemon butter with pasta. This quick and delicious meal is the perfect spring dish.


The hardest part of cooking shrimp is deciding how much to buy. I was making dinner for four adults. The man helping me at Byerly’s said “well that depends on how much shrimp you want in your pasta.” I prefer about equal pasta to shrimp; so with each bite of pasta there is a piece of shrimp. The shrimp that I purchased was a 41-50 count, meaning there are roughly 41-50 shrimp per pound. They were little guys. I ordered 1¼ pounds and I could tell my brother was still hungry. If you are feeding any big guys I would suggest getting 1½ pounds for four people. That comes out to 15-18 small shrimp per person assuming you buy the 41-50 count.

You will need:
• 1 Box Pasta of your choice (a long noodle is best; spaghetti, linguini, etc.)
• 1½ Pounds Shrimp; raw, peeled and deveined
• 1½ Lemon
• Olive Oil
• 4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
• ½ Cup Butter, 1 stick
• ¼ Cup White Cooking Wine
• Salt & Pepper
• Basil, sliced
• Parmesan, grated

Bring 1 gallon of lightly salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente. For the pasta, I used tagliatelle nests (photo below) which worked really well. When the pasta is done, strain and rinse with cool water to immediately cease the cooking.

While the pasta is cooking, you can start the shrimp. If frozen, rinse the shrimp in cold water until thawed. Microwave a whole lemon for 15-20 seconds; this makes squeezing the juice easy. Squeeze ½ of the lemon over the raw shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan at medium heat. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the entire pan. Add the garlic and sauté 30-60 seconds, and then add the shrimp. Once the outside of the shrimp has cooked, about 2 to 3 minutes (depending on the size), begin adding the butter tablespoon by tablespoon. Once the butter is all melted, add the white cooking wine and squeeze the rest of the lemon halves over the pan. Let simmer allowing the shrimp to finish cooking, another 1-2 minutes.

Toss the cooked pasta into the sauté pan with the shrimp. This allows the pasta to warm while being coated with the lemon butter. Sprinkle the slices of basil and grated parmesan over the shrimp and pasta mixing everything thoroughly.


Serve in a bowl or on a plate. Garnish each dish with more basil and parmesan if desired. Finally, Enjoy!

Again this serves 4-5 people and takes about 20 minutes.

Shrimp Stir-Fry

One of the features in the newest food network magazine is about stir-fries. The recipe is set up so you can mix and match different proteins, vegetables and sauces to create your favorite stir-fry in five easy steps. It was very easy! Here is the tasty stir-fry I came up with:

1. Pick a Protein: Shrimp. ¾ of a pound, raw, peeled and deveined, no tails.

2. Marinate: Whisk 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (I used dry sherry) and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Toss with your protein; cover and refrigerate, 1 hour.


3. Prep 3 cups Vegetables: Whole Snow Peas, Edamame, Slice Baby Bok Choy


Fun Fact: When slicing bok choy, you use the all of it; the leafy lettuce like part as well as the celery looking part.


4. Choose a Sauce: Clear Sauce. Mix ¾ cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon sugar.

5. Stir-Fry. Drain the excess marinade from the protein. Place your sauce, vegetables and protein near the stove. Heat ¼ inch peanut oil or vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat (it is important to make sure the bottom of the pan is covered completely in oil, the egg from the marinade will cause your protein to stick to the wok or skillet if you don’t). Add the protein; slowly stir until almost opaque, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to plate; discard the oil and wipe out the pan.


Heat the pan over high heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons oil, then 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 to 2 tablespoons minced ginger, 2 minced scallions and a pinch each of salt and sugar; stir-fry about 30 seconds.


Add the vegetables, starting with the ones that take the longest to cook; stir-fry until crisp-tender. I started with the edamame, then snow peas, then baby bok choy.




Add the protein and sauce and stir until the sauce is thick and the vegetables and protein are cooked through, about 3 minutes. I put the lid on the skillet to trap the heat and help thicken the sauce. Garnish with sliced scallions, peanuts, sesame seeds, or sliced cilantro. I used sliced scallions, sliced cilantro, and served over white rice.




I doubled the recipe (plus another half) and that fed 5 adults with little to spare. You can switch out the vegetables with others you may like more. Also, as far as the protein goes, you can use ¾ lb. of flank steak, pork tenderloin, skinless/boneless chicken breasts or thighs, or 12-ounce package extra-firm silken tofu, cubed.

This stir-fry was very good! It was a perfect mix of flavors. Not too salty, nor too sweet. The shrimp kept it light and the green veggies made it a refreshing dish with a nice, crisp texture. Everyone loved this stir-fry so I encourage you to make it and put your own twist on it!

Pork & Shrimp Dumplings

February 14th this year was not only Valentine’s Day, but the Chinese New Year. So my mom and I decided to make a nice Chinese meal. My grandma passed on a cookbook to my mom which has amazing Chinese Recipes. (It will be mine someday since my sister only likes to makes ramen). It is Betty Crocker’s “Chinese Cookbook.” Recipes by Leeann Chin. I’m not sure if it can be purchased these days since it was copyrighted in 1981. It’s older than me. And to make it even better, Leeann Chin autographed the cookbook and left the message of “Happy Cooking” to my grandmother. This obviously means the stuff inside is legit.

I made the appetizers since I have the most patience and wanted to. I made Pork Dumplings and Shrimp Dumplings with Ginger-Soy sauce. Other than the assembly they were super easy and make a ton. For the Pork Dumplings I actually cut the recipe in half because when I read that it yields 40 dumplings I thought that was a little excessive for my family. I guess if you’re feeding a small army 40 would be good. Here it goes:

Pork Dumplings
8-10 Medium Dried Black Mushrooms
1 lb. Ground Pork
½ cup Finely Chopped Canned Bamboo Shoots
¼ cup Finely Chopped Green Onions (with tops)
1 Large Egg White
2 tbsp. Cornstarch
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Light Soy Sauce
½ tsp. Sesame Oil
¼ tsp. White Pepper
40 Wonton Skins

¼ cup Light Soy Sauce
⅛ tsp. Sesame Oil

Soak mushrooms in warm water until soft, about 30 minutes; drain. Rinse in warm water; drain. Remove and discard stems; chop caps finely.


Mix mushrooms, pork, bamboo shoots, green onions, egg white, cornstarch, salt, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sesame oil and the white pepper. While the mushrooms were soaking I got everything else together in the bowl and then once they were ready, I added the mushrooms in last.

You should buy the Wonton Skins that are circular. If you buy the square ones you will be cutting them to make a circle.

Place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in center of circle.



Bring edge up around filling, leaving top open. Repeat with remaining circles. (The plate is courtesy of my brother in about 1995. Its a hockey game scene...if you couldn't figure it out.)


Place dumplings in single layer on rack in steamer; cover and steam over boiling water 20 minutes. (Add boiling water if necessary.) We do not have the proper Chinese steamer but made with other pots and pans. Repeat with remaining dumplings.


Mix ¼ cup soy sauce and ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil; serve with dumplings. Like I said before this recipe makes 40 dumplings. I cut it in half and made 14 bigger ones. They are very very good!

Shrimp Dumplings
½ lb. Fresh or Frozen Raw Shrimp (Peeled & De-veined)
¼ cup Sliced Canned Bamboo Shoots
1 tbsp. Finely Chopped Green Onions (with tops)
2 tsp. Vegetable Oil
½ tsp. Corn Starch
½ tsp. Salt
⅛ tsp. Sesame Oil
Dash of White Pepper
24 Wonton Skins (round ones)

Ginger-Soy Sauce
¼ cup Dark Soy Sauce
¼ cup White Vinegar
2 tsp. Finely Chopped Gingerroot
2 tsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Finely Chopped Garlic

If the shrimp are frozen, do not thaw; place under running cold water. Cut shrimp into ½-inch pieces. Cut bamboo shoots into ¼-inch pieces.


Mix shrimp, bamboo shoots, green onions, vegetable oil, cornstarch, salt, sesame oil and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate 10 minutes.


Place 1 teaspoon of the shrimp mixture in center of the circle.


Pinch 4-5 pleats on edge of one half of circle. Fold circle in half pressing pleated edge to unpleated edge. Repeat with remaining slices of dough.


Place dumplings ¼ inch apart on heatproof plate. Place plate on rack in steamer; cover and steam over boiling water 10 minutes. (Add boiling water if necessary.) Mix the soy sauce, white vinegar, gingerroot, sesame oil and garlic, serve with dumplings.


These are also very good but I think the crowd favorite was the pork dumplings. Be adventurous and try one of them!