Bring your appetite to this dinner.

I’ve mentioned before that hubby and I love to hike.  What I failed to mention, is that we are certifiably insane and we will quite literally hike in all kinds of weather.  And when I say all kinds, I mean all kinds.  Sure, we like to hike on those nice, pleasant, 70-degrees-and-sunny kinds of days.  But we’ve also hiked in the rain (Buttermere in the English Lake District) and the mist (Isle of Skye, Scotland) and in the snow.  We got a few inches in the DC suburbs on Saturday, and hubby and I decided to take advantage of it by throwing on the Smartwool socks and the hiking boots and the snowpants and going traipsing through our favorite neighborhood woodlands at Great Falls National Park.  Aside from the park rangers and one other crazy hiker, we were the only ones on the trails – well, with the exception of a huge flock of geese and one rather cold-looking heron (who let us get very close, since he was either too cold or too blase to fly away).  After about three hours of wading through the freshly fallen snow, hubby and I were: (1) freezing, and (2) ravenous.  We hurried home to this dinner, which took care of both the cold and the hunger in one shot.

Lemon-Buttered Pasta with Shrimp

1/3 package pasta, any shape (I used fusilli)
3 tablespoons butter, separated
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
4-5 shakes Tabasco sauce
black pepper
chopped chives (optional)

• Boil a pot of water for pasta.  When water is at a rolling boil, salt liberally and add pasta.  Cook pasta according to package directions.
• In a non-stick or cast-iron skillet or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil until butter has just melted.  Add shrimp and saute, tossing constantly, until shrimp turn pink.
• When shrimp are cooked through, melt in the remaining butter.  Add lemon zest, juice, Tabasco sauce and pepper, and stir to incorporate all the flavors.
• When pasta is finished cooking, transfer pasta with a slotted spoon over to the shrimp and sauce.  Toss pasta to coat completely.  If desired, sprinkle chopped chives (either fresh or freeze-dried) over pasta.  Serve immediately.

Source: Covered In Flour