Pantry Pasta Done Right!

I just LOVE when I do not have to leave my house to go to the grocery store just so I can make the night's dinner- I love even more when it turns out to be incredible. If you live on the east coast, or happen to turn on the news, you will know that we are currently trapped inside a 'polar vortex' aka its freakin cold as balls. Sorry for the profanity, but it is. I could only manage to get outside in todays snow to go get lunch, other than that- I'm homeward bound, which I can't even deny that I love. So when it came to figuring out dinner on a saturday night, surrounded by great places to eat, I took a better look at what I had already to see if I could take some weight out of my freezer and pantry. Hm… lets see here- I've got: frozen shrimp, a can of chopped clams, garlic, shallots, pernod (fennel flavored liquer)… ding ding ding… seafood pasta? Yes please. It's saturday night, ya damn skippy i'm feelin' a little naughty- I think i'll give myself a food spanking. Ya know, it may seem like I've been cooking a little naughty lately but ya know what, it's OKAY, salmon recipe on the way tomorrow! I didn't even need to leave the house- winning! The best thing about this is all you have to do is go put these things in your pantry: Pernod, frozen shrimp, canned chopped clams- the rest is as easy as onions, garlic, and some butter- simplicity at its finest. For real.

Pantry-Seafood Spaghetti

1/2 lb cooked spaghetti (salt the water! cook al-dente, about 7-8 minutes)
2 tbs olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup Pernod
1 can chopped clams
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 lb shrimp- peeled and deveined, chopped into bite size chunks
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Step 1: preheat a skillet with the olive oil on medium heat, add your shallots and sauté for about 4 minutes stirring frequently until translucent, add your garlic and stir until light golden color, about 2 minutes.

Step 2: Add your Pernod, bring to a boil and then add your clams in their juices and butter. Take it down to a simmer and add your shrimp- season with salt and pepper and add your shrimp. Crank the heat up a bit, keep tossing the shrimp in the sauce until just turned pink- should not take more than 4-5 minutes!

 Step 3: Add your strained pasta to the pan, toss to coat, season with a little salt and pepper- and serve! I mean… restaurant quality seafood pasta, and you didn't even have to go to the market. ENJOY!