Italian night

Tonight was my last night of freedom before going back to classes tomorrow. But, I didn't have a meal planned for my last night of summer vacation, I just had some shrimp or some chicken and I knew I should do something with one of the two. I went to the kitchen with no recipe and nothing in mind. But after arriving in the kitchen and seeing the pizza that Dad and Jon were making, I knew I wanted something Italian.

I decided to use the shrimp and some linguini I had in the pantry to make a shrimp scampi. Having never made shrimp scampi before I wasn't exactly sure what it called for, but I had an idea of what I wanted, so I just went with that. I cooked the pasta al dente while I peeled the shrimp and chopped some squash, zucchini, and garlic to saute in another pan. In the last few minutes of cooking time on the pasta I dropped the shrimp into to boil them quickly, then drained the whole thing. I added butter, olive oil, "pasta herbs" (some mix we had in the cabinet), garlic, a touch of cream, a touch of white wine, and some fresh squeezed lemon juice. I mixed it all together and served it with parmesan, salt, and pepper on top. It was delicious! The shrimp were cooked to perfection, the sauce was light (that may seem weird with cream and butter and all, but really, it was) and it all tasted fresh and flavorful. I was really pleased, and proud of myself for creating exactly what I had in mind without the aid of a recipe. The sauteed squash and zucchini added extra texture that I enjoyed along with the pasta. The whole thing was very satisfying. I'm so glad I decided to pick up the shrimp at the store.