Pepper’s Spicy Shrimp and Pasta: Cooking Through Cravings

Here’s our experience making a dish from Chrissy’s mom, Pepper, in our ongoing journey through Cravings. We made this dish with spicy shrimp, the original recipe calls for clams. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not by Lilies and Loafers.

Five years, that’s how long I’ve been at my current job. In junior year of college, I landed an internship and followed by a full-time offer. Reaching this milestone got me thinking how and why I stayed so long, and the one reason I kept coming back: the relationships I formed with coworkers. Over the years, I’ve made some pretty amazing friendships and I want to tell you about one in particular. Christine and I met during my summer internship in 2010. She is one of those people you instantly feel comfortable around. She is a genuine, kind and overall fun person. Our friendship grew stronger because we share the same sense of humor and love for food.

“…there is something special about making dinner for someone and seeing their reaction to trying your food.”

As you already know, I love cooking and so does Christine. A few years ago, we started to make dinners at my place. Christine supplies the wine and I do the cooking. We usually don’t start eating until late because we’re too busy gossiping and drinking. Living in the city, you are always tempted to explore all the restaurants or put in a quick order into Seamless, but there is something special about making dinner for someone and seeing their reaction to trying your food.

One day, I got a text from Christine after not seeing her for months. Once I saw her name pop up on my phone, I knew I needed to start thinking about what I was making for dinner. I grabbed my Cravings cookbook and started searching. This particular week, was exhausting, so I needed to find a dish that was easy. Fumbling through the cookbook, I found “Pepper’s Spicy Clams and Pasta,” but the only problem was that I’m not a fan clams. I decided to substitute the clams with spicy shrimp. I apologize to Chrissy’s mom, Pepper, because I know from reading the book she love clams. The next time I cook this dish, I will give the clams a fair chance, I pinky promise.

This recipe was incredible, quick and easy. The simple but amazing taste of butter, garlic and red pepper flakes was everything; it was the perfect combination. I wanted to make sure I got the most flavor out of my shrimp, so I found a great tip in The Food Lab cookbook. I infused my oil with the shells from my shrimp. Most of the flavor from shrimp is in the shell and for an obvious reason, some people don’t like eating the shells. You’re able to extract the flavor from the shells by infusing them with the oil you’re going to use to cook your dish. This trick was great and it took my dish to the next level.

Overall, the night was a success. The food was amazing and the company was even better. As I get older, I realize my days, weeks, months and years seem to go by faster. I want to make sure the time I spend with people is special and sharing my love of cooking is doing just that.

Do you have a favorite dish you love to make with your friends? Let us know in the comments!