Shrimp fettuccine and "When Harry Met Sally"

You can mix just about anything with some pasta and it's going to be delicious. One of my favorite ways to come up with a new recipe or an idea for dinner is just going to the grocery store, seeing what items are fresh or on sale that week, and letting that be my inspiration. Some nice green scallions, red bell peppers, and some wild caught Atlantic shrimp mixed with some fettuccine in a white wine cream sauce was a quick, easy, and elegant meal that would be perfect for a dinner and a movie date night for two or for the whole family.

Serves 2-4

3 Tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 Large Shallot diced
1lb of wild caught Shrimp (peeled and cleaned) 
½ cup of Chopped fresh Scallions
1 large Red Bell Pepper chopped 
½ cup of dry white wine (Pino Grigio)
1 pint of Heavy cream
Freshly Squeezed Juice of 1 Lemon
1 box of dried fettuccine or any kind of pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Fill a large pot with water, salt the water heavily, and add a drop of olive oil. The salt will flavor the pasta and the oil will keep it from sticking together. Once the water is boiled, drop the pasta in and cook as the box instructs. While you're waiting for the water to boil, start the sauce.

Start by sautéing the diced shallot and bell pepper in a large skillet with the butter and olive oil for about 7-10 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for an additional 5 minutes to let some of the alcohol cook off. Next add the shrimp and the scallions and stir together. The shrimp will cook very quickly, as soon as they have no translucency left to them they're coooked. To finish the sauce, pour in the heavy cream and the fresh lemon juice and stir together. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta, and transfer directly into the sauce pan and mix together with sauce so that all the pasta coated. Serve the pasta with a slice of fresh Italian bread and a generous topping of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and dinner is served.

For this weeks movie, I chose one of my favorites that I love to kick back and enjoy on a quiet evening. I know we could all use a laid back movies since we're all still tired from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. "When Harry Met Sally" is the classic 1989 romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. The film follows the two characters, Harry and Sally, and how their friendship grows over the many years the two know each other. Their first meeting doesn't go very well at all as the two drive from Chicago to New York together. Trying to make small talk, they can't seem to agree on any topic at all.  Once arriving in New York, the two go their separate ways and don't see each other for years. After a few random meetings over the years, and realizing they enjoyed each others company more than either would admit, the two grow into close friend. Nothing in their lives stay the same and the two friends are always there for each other- as all good friends should. One night when their relationship goes to the next step, it could either be the beginning or a romance everyone on the outside knew was in the making or it could be the end of the friendship Harry and Sally have depended on for years. Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby co-star in this film that's full of heart and laughs for both men and woman. Here is the preview for "When Harry Met Sally"