| Food |
| Shrimp scampi a la Salvatore Always use uncooked shrimp. It takes some time to devein but is worth it. (I am not responsible for this dish if pre-cooked shrimp are used) When selecting shrimp, size is important. Size is determined by number of shrimp per pound. My preference is for 20-25 shrimp per pound Ingredients (serves 6) 2 lbs raw shrimp ¼ stick butter ½ cup canola oil 1 lemon 4 scallions chopped fine 1/3 cup progresso bread crumbs ½ cup dry white wine 3 cloves chopped garlic directions melt butter, combine with wine and oil, add garlic. Do not overheat or burn the garlic dry shrimp before adding to pan as water affects the flavor, sautee 3-4 minutes on each side. When shrimp begins to show color they are done squeeze juice of lemon into the pan, add scallions and bread crumbs, lightly toss. serve with garlic bread and a side of linguini—or add the scampi to the linguine |
| Arena's Cucina (shrimp scampi) |
| These are the Arenas--Sam and Jeannie. They are friends from Buffalo. I knew Sam in high school and Jeannie since they married. Sam is a fantastic cook and Jeannie is a movie star. That’s her nickname--the movie star—coined by myself and the reason is: after raising 5 kids (no housekeeper) and to presently assist in the raising of 13 grandchildren— she retains her great beauty (inside and out). Every Sunday the kids, grandkids, assorted in-laws and any freeloading friends who happen to fall by gather at the house in Williamsville (suburb of Buffalo) to feast upon a spectacular meal. The average count is 25. I said every Sunday. The only time this meal fails to occur is during the winter months when they flee Buffalo for a condo in Florida. Ive been to a few of these meals and you can take it from me: this is eating. Its simple food and behooves you to like meat—the veal chop, the pork sparerib, the sausage from Scimes on Delaware ave. Lets not forget the meatballs swimming in Jeannies famous sauce (the succo) handed down through the family over many years I could mention the sides—the fried eggplant, stuffed zucchini, roasted peppers, etc, but you get the idea—the Italian idea. Sams philosophy—shared by many chefs— can be boiled down to 2 precepts: 1) keep it simple 2) DO NOT ECONOMIZE ON INGREDIENTS! Sam is self-taught as a chef. He got it from his father. The mother was a good cook but lacked the obsessive zeal required to prepare an outstanding meal. It was the father in whom the obsessive gene surfaced--with a vengeance. If there is one thing guaranteed to push an Italian male over the edge its an uninspired meal and if the offending dish is overcooked spaghetti—watch out. One day Rose was making dinner, with her mind elsewhere—maybe over at the church playing Bingo--and she committed the sin of sins. The old man took a bite, began screaming and threw the plate against the wall. (True story) He stood and issued a statement. He said: this is it! Ive had enough! From now on—I do the cooking! I am happy to welcome Sam and his recipes to the pages of bflowriter.com and leave it for you to decide if I have exaggerated the genius of this man. |