Cajun Pasta and Da Beans

Okay so maybe you can get sick of pumpkin. I'm admitting defeat. Me and the pumpkin are taking a little break because I may have eaten a little too much of that yummy cake in my last post. But a good friend of mine sent me some pumpkin butter in the mail for my birthday so I'm pretty sure this will be a quick break so I can jump right in to that. Said friend also sent me an awesome soup cookbook from Crate & Barrel. I can't wait to share some of those recipes with you!

Last night's dinner was really good and didn't take long at all, maybe 30 minutes. The key to this meal is to make sure you time everything just right so that the pasta and the sauce are ready at the same time. (It would also help to have the green beans finished then as well.) Oh and of course, don't forget the wine! Also, I halved the actual recipes listed.

Brown Butter Beans
Source: Cuisine At Home

Ingredients:
4 cups green beans or haricot vert
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt, pepper

Steps:
Boil green beans for 4 minutes in a large saute pan. Drain,
Use pan to melt butter over medium-high heat until light brown.
Stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
Deglaze pan with lemon juice. Remove from heat.
Add beans and toss before seasoning.


Cajun Shrimp with Fettuccine
inspired by recipe from Cuisine At Home
makes 6 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. FRESH fettuccine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb. turkey kielbasa, sliced
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup green onion, chopped

Steps:

Bring water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Prepare sauce while water boils. Drain pasta.

Saute kielbasa over medium-high heat in a pan about 1 minute on each side. Add shrimp and garlic. Cook until shrimp turns pink. Be careful not to overcook. Remove shrimp and kielbasa from the pan.

Deglaze the pan with sherry. Scrap up the brown bits in the pan.

Add cream, butter, chicken broth, and cayenne to the pan. Then add the pasta, kielbasa, and shrimp back in. Off heat, mix in the egg yolks and parm. (The heat will cook the yolks.) Garnish with green onions.