2017 Florida RV Trip, Days 12-13, Ft. Myers Beach, Shrimp & Pasta

Friday, I finally washed the filthy, buggy car and got to show Cindy how dryer sheets easily remove bugs and road tar.  After that, we ran some errands and drove through Ft. Myers Beach located on a barrier island south of Ft Myers and Sanibel Island.  It looked like other Florida beach towns that had seen their heydays mid last century - it is still popular and in very good shape but has the architecture of the period.

Within a day of picking up some fresh, preservative-free shrimp from Skip One Seafood, Chef Lea Ann, at Cooking On The Ranch, posted (on FB I think) a recipe for Grilled Shrimp over Creamy Spicy Spaghetti with a link to another recipe for Shrimp and Scallops With Orange Cream Sauce and since we were in Florida with fresh OJ in the fridge, we opted for the later with a couple of modifications.  We already had about 20 shrimp so we bought 6 scallops (none for Pat), then we decided to char-grill the seafood rather than pan frying it.

 Shrimp and Scallops With Orange Cream Sauce - Adapted from Cooking On The Ranch

Ingredients:

Fresh lemon juice from one wedge

20 shrimp (16-20 count) peeled, deveined, and skewered

6 sea scallops, skewered

6 T. butter, divided

2 shallots fine chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/4 C. dry white wine

2/3 C. orange juice

1 C. heavy cream

1/2 t. dried basil or 4 fresh leaves chopped

Angel hair pasta for 4 servings (8-12 ounces)

Instructions:

1. Heat up the grill to very hot and get the pasta water boiling then do the next four steps at the same time in the order listed.

2. Squeeze the lemon juice into 4 T. melted butter and brush on both sides of the shrimp & scallops.

3. In a skillet, sauté shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoons butter.  Pour wine over shallots and reduce by 1/2.  Add orange juice and reduce by 1/3.  Add heavy cream and cook mixture for about 10 minutes.
4. Cook the pasta in salted water.

5. Grill scallops and shrimp (scallops on first), flipping every minute and brushing top with more butter such that it flames up a little.

6. Add basil, shrimp and scallops to the sauce and stir to coat the seafood.  Heat quickly and serve over angel hair pasta.  (I just added the sauce to the plated pasta then placed the seafood on top).

As expected it was a hit, especially for Cindy who just raved about the dish.  Thanks Lea Ann for a fine meal.

On Friday night, the cold front that had been moving south finally made it down this far so Saturday was pretty well a wash out from the rain preceding it.  Despite the rain, the ladies just had to go to the Punta Gorda Farmers Market, voted the best small market in Florida, and I spent the day relaxing, stowing the outside stuff, and preparing the coach for travel.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/8-12/9/17 Event Dates