Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

February 7: National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

Whether we are in Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice), Little Italy in New York City or just at an Italian restaurant in town, Islander always picks a pasta dish with shrimp and garlic. She seems to be more adventurous in her travels but not so much in her meal choices. But why mess with a favorite flavoring in food? For National Fettuccine Alfredo Day, she added shrimp and garlic to flat pasta noodles, fettucine, in a classic creamy and cheesy sauce. Now, without going too far or spending too much, we can enjoy a simple taste of Italy right in the comfort of our own home. Buon appetito!

Recipe

(Adapted from All Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 pound fettuccine, cooked al dente
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided use
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (we used grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese)
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Cook the fettuccine and keep warm in a large, buttered mixing bowl while making the sauce. In a skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat and saute the shrimp until pink. Transfer the shrimp to another bowl and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the garlic in the remaining tablespoon of butter for about a minute. Stir in the half-and-half.

Gradually mix in the Parmesan cheese. Add the parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg, stirring the sauce constantly but being careful not to boil over. When thickened, gently mix the sauce with the fettuccine until well combined. Toss in the shrimp. Serve hot with a garnish of parsley (optional) and sprinkle additional cheese on top, if desired.

Notes

• The original fettuccine alfredo recipe was cooked very simply with only three ingredients. Read a short article about the dish’s origins on The Today Show site.
• Alfredo sauce can be made with full-fat or double cream and a blend of grated Parmigiano (Parmesan) and Reggiano cheeses. The cheese, not cornstarch or flour, helps to thicken the alfredo sauce.
• For added color and texture in this fettuccine alfredo recipe, saute one cup of diced tomatoes and one cup of sliced mushrooms with the shrimp. For added spice, sprinkle in some dried red pepper flakes.

Nutella Brownies

February 5: World Nutella Day

We are nuts about Nutella, so baking these brownies was a great excuse to observe World Nutella Day. We have baked many brownies before, but this one is unique in that it contains only four ingredients, including that deliciously creamy, hazelnut chocolate spread! For a fabulous filbert-flavored quick snack with a chewy chocolate center, bake Nutella brownies.

Recipe

(Adapted from the Nutella Forum)

Ingredients

• ½ cup Nutella brand hazelnut chocolate spread
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons flour
• ¼ cup filberts/hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

Line a 6-cup muffin tin with paper or foil cups.  In a mixing bowl, combine the Nutella with the egg. Gradually stir in the flour.

Scoop the brownie batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes, testing for doneness with a toothpick. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes

• Nutella brownies may be iced with a chocolate or coffee-based frosting, sprinkled with other nuts besides filberts or dusted with cinnamon.
• Instead of baking Nutella brownies in muffin tins lined with paper cups, bake them in different shaped pans. Use cookie cutters for interesting shaped brownies.
• Search our blog for other brownie and filbert/hazelnut recipes.

Le Minni di Sant’Agata

February 5: Feast Day of St. Agatha

Blog visitors might do a double take, literally, when glancing at the graphic photo above of what appear to be mammary glands. These baked “breasts” are one of many different versions of pastries made in honor of St. Agatha, the patron saint for breast cancer.

St. Agatha was martyred in 251 A.D. by having her breasts cut off, as well as being subject to other tortures, because she vowed to be chaste and faithful. Her gruesome story is as graphic as her iconography, such as the one we saw painted by Sebastiano del Piombo at the art gallery in Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy. There are other perturbing passion paintings of St. Agatha as well as unusual ones depicting her excised breasts on a plate.

Her hometown of Catania, Sicily, celebrates her feast day annually with a mass in her honor, large processions and symbolic foods, such as le minni di Sant’Agata or le minni di virgini (“breasts of St. Agatha” or “breasts of the virgin”), which we are featuring as our blog recipe post.

Recipe

(Adapted from Medical Advocates)

For the filling

• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 2 cups milk
• orange zest (grated from half an orange)
• pinch of saffron
• dried or candied cherries

Directions

In a saucepan, whisk egg yolks with the sugar. In a bowl, dissolve the corn starch with ½ cup of milk first, then gradually add the rest of the 1 ½ cups milk. Pour the milk mixture into the saucepan with the egg yolks and sugar. Stir over low heat for about 10 minutes until well blended and thickened. Remove from heat. Mix in the orange zest and saffron. Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic film wrap directly on top of the filling to prevent a skin from developing. Cool in the refrigerator.

For the dough

• 4 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 egg (beaten for the egg wash)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour with the salt. In another bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Gradually add the flour mixture and blend well. Beat in the egg yolks and water until a pliable dough is formed. Cover and chill the dough until firm (about 30 minutes).

To assemble the pastries, on a floured surface roll out the dough about ¼-inch thick into even pairs of rounds. Onto half of the rounds, scoop the cream filling in the middle. Top with a cherry. Wet the edges of the bottom rounds of the dough with water. Cover with another round of dough and press to seal. Using a three-inch round cookie cutter or rim of a glass, cut over the mounds. Shape a “nipple” from the cherry middle and make sure that the bottoms of the pastries are sealed well.

Lightly mist a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the pastries onto the sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. Dust the tops of the pastries with powdered sugar (optional). Serve them traditionally as a pair on a plate.

Notes

• For obvious reasons, St. Agatha is often invoked by those suffering from breast cancer. She prayed for mercy and was miraculously healed in an apparation of St. Peter. We pray for a cure for breast and all cancers!
• The pink ribbon symbolizes breast cancer awareness. The free clipart is available from Wikimedia Commons.
• For different recipes and photos of le minni di Sant’Agata, see the Italian-language websites Le Freccia Verde, Il Cucinario and E Cucinando.