- 6
- 25 mins
- 50 mins
Ingredients
- 3/4 pounds Penne Pasta
- 1 pound Shrimp
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 whole Onion (small)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup White Wine, Or To Taste
- 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- Fresh Parsley, to taste
- Fresh Basil - To Taste
- Salt To Taste
- Pepper To Taste
Preparation
Step 1
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Marlboro Man had to go out of town for a couple of days, so one of the things Betsy and I made was our favorite pasta dish of all time. I taught her how to make it long, long ago, just after I’d left Los Angeles. I was a food snob extraordinaire, and I decided I needed to impart all my culinary knowledge to my sister, who hadn’t yet left for college. Among the many dishes I felt compelled to share with her was this pasta, made with an unbeatable combination of shrimp, tomato sauce, cream, garlic, wine and herbs. Then she left home and became a woman while I married a cattle rancher and said goodbye, essentially forever, to my beloved repertoire of gourmet cuisine.
Betsy graduated from college, lived in various big cities, and now resides in Austin, Texas with her tech-nerd husband, Matt, where she spends her days cooking all the food snob dishes I so unselfishly taught her to make so many years ago. And she calls me as she’s eating them and makes me cry real tears. Then I go fry up another pork chop and get over myself.
Come along with Betsy and me as we make one of our favorites: Penne a la Betsy, as I like to call it. It’s simple, flavorful, and whomever you make it for will pledge their eternal admiration and support for you. And they’ll kiss your big toe.
Just for kicks, put a pot of water on the stove to boil. This will come in handy later, when you want to cook the pasta. I tell ya, it’s tips like these that’ll keep you guys coming back here, I just know it.
Now heat about a tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a skillet.
Add the raw shrimp…
Turn each half on its side and make long, vertical slices…
To make a fine dice.
Now heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet…
And add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add garlic…
And begin cooking, stirring occasionally.
Now pour yourself a glass of dry white wine, if you believe in that stuff. This glass belonged to our grandmother, Grandma Helen. She was prim and proper and sometimes a little on the fretful side. But she
Harlequin Romances. And I loved Grandma Helen more than life itself. Drinking wine from her glasses makes me happy. It makes Betsy happy, too. And I’m sure that has nothing to do with the wine itself.
After you take a big sip or two, pour the rest of the glass into the skillet…
And let the wine evaporate for a couple of minutes. NOTE: If you’re not a wine person, don’t worry! You can use low-sodium chicken broth instead. About 1/2 cup will do, just be sure not to add too much salt later.
Now add an 8 oz can of plain tomato sauce.
Stir together well.
And begin pouring it in, too.
Stir together well and your fantasizing can begin.
Okay, we talked about it. Now, turn the heat to low and let’s go chop some herbs.
Until it’s all done. Now, this is beautiful and all, but my method of chiffonading basil involves grabbing a bunch of basil, wadding it into a tight ball, and giving it a rough chop. Differences make the world go ’round, that’s what Grandma Helen always told me.
Give it a good stir, and add some salt and black pepper to taste. And be sure to taste as you go along!
And stir together.
Until well combined. What I love about this dish is that it’s so textural; it isn’t a soupy, thin sauce with a couple of shrimps thrown in. The shrimp is a huge part of the dish.
And add it into the sauce.
Mmmm….now stir together…
Until well combined. See how chunky and hearty it looks? Now, taste one more time and add more salt and pepper if needed. Always check your seasonings at the end!
Now to serve, give everyone a fork and eat straight from the pan, OR you can pour it into a heated serving bowl.
Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).
Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE tomato cream sauce. I pink puffy heart it so. Except sometimes instead of the wine I add vodka and VOILA! Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce. It’s sheer heaven; in fact I think heaven is made of cream, oh and fat cells…definitely cream and fat cells. I need to get on the treadmill. Thanks for the recipes. I make them all the time!
We make a similar dish with crawfish and a bit of spice!
You have now made me want my sister to make a visit so we can be silly together…..but not because of the wine we would drink. Oh no, not the wine.
The two of you make me wish I had a pumk-ass sister of my very own! Oh well, I do have a husband who will hoover down this stuff. But damn, Ree, I meant to let that container of heavy cream go bad in the back of the fridge so it wouldn’t end up on my hips. NOW I’m gonna hafta use it. Thanks (thanks a lot!)
Do you think it makes a difference if you remove the tails before you cook them? I buy the same bag of shrimp you have but I usually pinch off the tails in the beginning.
Ooh, I love tomato cream sauce too! Yummy! And how did I never put it together that Wetsy = Betsy? Makes too much sense! =)
My sister is visiting me this week, too. We’ll make this tonight. Thanks!
I absolutely love whipping cream. Add that to tomato sauce…AND shrimp…AND basil…and Lord have mercy on my hips.
MMM this looks fabulous! Especially if you’re a card addict like me!!!
How fun to have a sister – I always wanted one (two brothers) – glad you are enjoying her visit. I will have to make this,it looks SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing.
This dish brought back memories for me. We always called it Mom’s Special Shrimp (sorry Betsy). We served it over linguine or angel hair pasta. My mom made this every year for Christmas night supper. Only the grown-ups were allowed to eat it–the cost of shrimp I’m sure! When I was in my first year of high school (yes, in the 80′s), my mom served this to me for the first time–it was her way of telling me that I was growing up! It was one of the best meals I have ever eaten! I still make it everyone once in a while for me and hubby–but the 6 kids will have to wait until they “grow up”, just like I did!
You have NOOO idea how often I visit your recipes when I want something decadent to eat. Just reading them makes me full. She can tell when I’m cybereating; my eyes are glazey. My coworker thinks I’m crazy, but believe it or not, it works for me. Then I eat a peach or something. Keep it up, Ree! You are my inspiration to my diet!
Looks yummy! Where do I get a “heated” serving dish?
Makes me wish I had a sister too!
I make a lemon shrimp with lemon basil and parmesan cheese,lemon zest and juice all mixed into a roux with some sauted onions and garlic. But I don’t remember ever making a creamy tomato sauce. It sounds de-lish. I will have to try it.
Mmmm. I have everything but the cream and fresh parsley. I think I’ll make this for my mom this coming week. Yummm.
As a matter of fact, I went to a good fish monger down in Seabrook yesterday. While there I bought 5 lbs of fresh shrimp. I cold boiled it with corn and potatoes, but I have left over shrimp. I bet it would work with this recipe.
Yay another recipe!! It looks delicious, I will make it this weekend and then request a foot-rub from my grateful husband. Have a great visit with Betsy and drink some wine for me!
Looks absolutely wonderful—and this post makes me miss my two sisters who live far away from me.
Let’s say, for arguments sake, that shrimp will make you die a horrible death- what would you use instead (and if you were also a vegetarian just to make things fun!)
Are you and Betsy both lefties? If so, yay for team lefty. If not, well, you are so wonderful in other ways and this recipe makes me want to melt. And it makes me miss my own sister so very much. Come back to Texas, Dolly!
Your recipes make me feel full too, just by looking at them (which is great for my diet). Especially the butter sandwich, er, I mean steak sandwich one. I love the lasagna recipe, I make it all the time now.
When I saw the first photo I grabbed pen and paper to make my shopping list! Yum! Was wondering what on earth to make for dinner tonight. My hips hate you.
My DH has learned to love rice & pasta and I have learned to like beans. I always hated them, thought they tasted like dirt, but after 9 years of marriage I actually think beans are not so bad. Even used your recipe a few weeks ago. I added some pinto bean seasoning and a couple of chopped jalapenos. Yummy!
There’s nothing I love more than cooking and acting utterly ridiculous with my sisters! If any of us liked shrimp, I might make this with them… Don’t shoot me (I’ve been shunned by many a shrimp lover), but I might try it with some other type of meat.
I’m not real into shrimp (unless it’s at a Japanese hibachi place), but this one sounds good enough to try!
This looks scrumptious and delectable. My husband loves to make the Spicy BBQ Shrimp recipe from this site so I bet he’ll love this, too. Of course he’ll want me to make it because it’s not as easy as the BBQ Shrimp but I ain’t complaining.
Looks yummy! Where do I get a “heated” serving dish?
Just make sure you have nice heavy pot holders to pick up the now very hot serving dish.
Okay, I’m going to repeat a question that’s been asked several times already: what if the thought of eating shrimp makes you want to hurl? Seafood of any kind is an abomination in my book. Suggestions? I really want to try this recipe, but I will not be bringing that… creature… in to my house.
Miss Junebug, I recently sent Ree a picture of ‘her’ place and it is right by me. It is called “P-dubs” [just like her nickname - no kidding!] And it is for sale and I told her I would help clean it (I don’t do that for just anyone!)
Mmm Pasta & Vino? Can’t beat that!! Looks good Ree…How you find all the time for two websites and everything else you do is beyond me..Tell MM you want a RAISE!!!
You have to get on pretty early to beat the rush of folks that read this blog…they were commenting one after another, very impressive!
Be still my heart! You’re so lucky to have sisters and if I cooked half the food you make I too would have to start getting up at daybreak (as I figure that’s the only way you keep so lean and mean!) and that’s just not going to happen! Of course you get more accomplished in a day than I do in a week!
yum! too bad my bf HATES inoins. he loves the way it smells, just not the sight or texture of them. :[ makes me sad.
i’ll try to put onions in the blender first….
I saw this post this morning, and I knew what we would be having for dinner tonight. It was fantastic! The kids and hubby loved it, and it was so fast to make. I’m sure it would have been more fun if I’d had a sister to make it with, but maybe the next time my Mom visits…. she is always good for some wine consumption!
To all the shrimp haters: I make this all the time w/out the shrimp. The sauce recipe is the same. And at the end (before the herbs) I grate in a bunch of parmigiano reggiano. Yum. Chicken would probably be great, too. You could douse a cockroach in this sauce, and it would be good.
Inspired by a trip to ABQ, these ridiculously easy enchiladas will make your skirt fly up in a major way.
Add a Pinch