Thursday, October 7, 2010

Shrimp Portofino My Way

mac grill

Years ago I had a wonderful pasta dish at Romano’s Macaroni Grill. Its ingredients were all favorites of mine. And while the dish has changed names several times over the years, it’s still on the menu. Since they are not in the habit of sharing recipes, I set about to create my own version. What follows is not so much a “recipe” as a “suggestion”. The picture above is from the restaurant’s website.

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This meal was a spur of the moment dinner for a young friend who needed a little pampering. You can see the table here. One of the nice things about this meal is that I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

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Saute’ thawed frozen spinach, pine nuts, and minced garlic in butter. Add a little white wine if you like. I threw in some thawed precooked and peeled shrimp at the last minute. Serve tossed with angel hair pasta and freshly grated parmesan cheese! Delicious!

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Dessert was leftover cupcakes from a friend’s birthday. The birthday girl’s request was cupcakes as close to wedding cake as I could make them. White cake, white icing, and pearlized sugar pearls sent to me by Bridget at Bake at 350. If you love to bake and have not visited Bridget, you are in for a real treat. Beware—You may be there for hours :)

Join our good friend Michael Lee West at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday by clicking the button on the sidebar. Thanks for stopping by~~Susan

15 comments:

  1. I have everything but the pine nuts...I see this in my future. It is too late for me to be this hungry!

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  2. Wow! It looks so delicious and yet so simple to make. Thanks for the directions, Susan!...Christine

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  3. I always have a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer for uses just like this! What a lovely dish.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  4. I make this, but I omit the pine nuts and use raw shrimp. Looks like a lovely meal and the cupcakes look delicious!

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  5. That looks wonderful!! Now I am hungry. :D
    Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  6. Great post... Looks really delish! Now I'm on my way over to visit Bridget! Thanks...

    RaineyGhoul

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  7. This is my very favorite dish in the world...we have to travel 125 miles to a Macaroni Grill but sometimes it is just worth it to have this dish...Thank you so much for posting this...I may actually be able to make it!!!
    These photos are simply gorgeous!!!
    Hugs
    Becky

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  8. I am sooooooooo making this dish this coming week! It sounds delicious & the fact that I have everything...even the pine nuts!...in my pantry/freezer.

    Thanks SO very much for sharing it with us. :-)

    fondly,
    Rett

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  9. I love that same dish at Macaroni Grill. I think your recipe will come very close to the real thing.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  10. This looks so good! Thanks for stopping over, that would be funny if she only had that phone to use!

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  11. Everything looks wonderful. I love anything with shrimp in it. And those cupcakes look yummy too.

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  12. Hi Susan,

    This meal looks wonderful and the cupcakes finish it up nicely.

    Hope that you have a lovely week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  13. wow...your dinner looks fabulous & your cupcakes are so elegant and beautiful! Gorgeous meal!!!

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