Need ideas for dinner tonight

[Constance]

I have a nice mess of fresh snow peas from my garden, 2 packages of imitation crab meat, and a pound of large shrimp thawing.
My little 7 year old grandson is coming to spend the night, and he's good at trying new things, so I was thinking of either a pasta or a stir fry.
Any suggestions?

 

[Alix]

Pasta. With a little parmesan and cream, mmmmmmmmmm! Can I come for dinner too?

 

[kitchenelf]

Right off the top of my head I think "Alfredo" with these ingredients.

You could do a crab salad (Miracle Whip, or mayo/sour cream, or a combination of Ranch Dressing and mayo, celery, celery seed, a bit of onion/spring onion maybe, a bit of Old Bay, salt, pepper, with our without pasta, green pepper if he likes that.

 

[ironchef]

Like KElf said, a crab salad using the snow peas will be good for a first course. I would use the shrimp for a pasta but rather than an Alfredo or Cream sauce, do a Shrimp Fra Diavlo or alla Olio using the Anchovy paste. The sauce is easy:

Heat 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan. Add 4-5 cloves of thinly sliced garlic and cook until the edges turn a light golden brown. Add 1 tsp. crushed red chili flakes, and 2 tsp. anchovy paste. Using a wooden spoon, stir the anchovy paste until it is emulsified in the oil. Add the shrimp to the pan and saute until cooked through. Add the juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest, and 2 Tbsp. of Italian Parsley. Season the shrimp to taste, then add the spaghetti to the pan and toss. Off the the heat, drizzle the pasta with a little more extra virgin olive oil and serve. Spaghetti pasta works the best for this dish.

 

[buckytom]

i'm with the iron chef. go with a fra diavolo, served over angel hair. cream hides too many of the subtle flavors of crab, imo.

and sautee the snow peas in the garlic oil (alio olio) for a side dish.

for the fra diavolo, fry a diced onion until just getting browned in evoo over medium-high heat, reduce to medium low and add 3 or 4 cloves of thin sliced garlic. when the garlic begins to turn golden, stir in a teaspoon of anchovy paste, then put in a large can of muir glen tomatoes (i actually used a can of hunt's tomato sauce last time and it came out very good), a teaspoon or two of oregano, basil (a good handful of fresh chopped if possible), and a tablespoon or two of crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how hot you like it. add it gradually as it gets hotter as it cooks). let bubble and simmer uncovered until it thickens a little, then add your shellfish. cover and simmer for just a few minutes, until the shrimp are just opaque throughout.

 

[buckytom]

lol ironchef, you beat me to the recipe. they are pretty close, but with the addition of tomatoes...

 

[Constance]

Wow, you all are good! I'm so glad I asked...the fra diavolo sounds wonderful, and is something I have never tried before. It also sounds a little easier than the Alfredo.
I'll just stir fry the snow peas the way I usually do, and fix some nice crusty bread to sop up the juices.

My Alredo is a little "off the wall", but it's very good and less fattening. I'll post the recipe in the pasta section, and see what you think of it.