Back when we still pretended to celebrate holidays, I sometimes made a special Valentine’s Day dinner.  One year I pulled a recipe from the newspaper that sounded like it had all our favorites in it: lime, shrimp, garlic, butter, stinky cheese, cilantro, and sake.  What’s not to love?!  It’s rich enough to be reserved for special occasions, and man is it good!  It’s definitely become a favorite, though I don’t make it too often. 

The recipe is below, and if you want a handy printable version head over here to PW’s Tasty Kitchen where I’ve posted it too.  Aside from peeling shrimp (if you buy them that way) it’s very quick to make … Enjoy! 

Recipe after the jump …

Shrimp Valentine

• 3 cups Cooked Pasta, Penne Is Wonderful
• 18 pieces Shrimp, Peeled And De-veined
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Garlic
• ½ cup Sake
• 2 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
• 1 pinch Thyme
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch, With 1 Teaspoon Sake To Moisten
• ½ cup Gorgonzola Cheese, Crumbled

Put a nicely salted pot of water on to boil for the pasta. While it’s heating, peel/de-vein your shrimp if you have to. Chop the garlic and cilantro, and make the sake/cornstarch mixture. Toss the pasta in to cook (I often do a full 12-oz bag of penne and ignore the 3 cup measure, and it’s still saucy enough for us).

On to the good stuff.

Heat butter in a large skillet. Add garlic. Saute for just a minute till the garlic starts to smell delightful. Add shrimp, and saute till pink, but just slightly undercooked. Remove shrimp from pan.

Add all other ingredients, except for cornstarch mixture and cheese. Bring mixture to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture to thicken, stirring or whisking constantly. Add shrimp back in, along with the (hopefully by now) cooked pasta, and remove from the heat. Toss in the gorgonzola just before serving, so it’s slightly gooey but not fully melted.

Serve with a light green salad and a simple steamed vegetable.