I recall hearing as a child the ol’ commercial that Wednesday is “Prince Spaghetti Day.” I guess it’s appropriate that National Spaghetti Day falls on a Wednesday this year.
So, do it up your way… and listen for “Mama’s” voice echoing down the roadways as she calls, “Anthonyyyy!”
Here’s my way… jazzed up with seafood and mushrooms. And it’s Super Simple! This recipe makes 2 entrée portions or 4 appetizers.
Seafood Spaghetti a la Scrumptious
2 T olive oil
1 lg sweet onion, chopped
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 dozen cleaned mussels or littleneck clams
8 sliced shiitake mushrooms
8 sliced crimini mushrooms
6 oz sliced calamari (frozen is aok)
12 extra-large or jumbo shrimp, de-shelled & de-veined
1 lg can petite diced tomatoes, and juices (or 1½ c diced fresh Roma tomatoes)
½ c chopped fresh basil leaves
½ tsp dried thyme or oregano
Dash of salt (sea or seasoned)
2 c favorite tomato/spaghetti sauce
½ – 1c merlot or other red wine
6 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente
Thinly sliced fresh chives or green onions & shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Sauté the onion & garlic in the olive oil for 2 min over med heat. Then add the mussels; let cook 2 min before stirring in the mushrooms. Let them cook, stirring once or twice for 4-5 minutes. Then stir in the calamari and shrimp. In 2 min, stir in the tomatoes, seasoning, sauce, wine & cooked spaghetti. Let it all warm through for 2 min, stirring once. Then divide into 2 large bowls, garnish & serve hot.
KISS Tip: You can fancify this by serving it in two medium bread rounds (or 4 smaller ones for appetizer portions). Cut a thin slice off the top of each & pull out the bread to hollow them out. Then warm them in the oven with a nice sprinkling of shredded or grated Parmesan covering the bottom of the inside of each “bowl.” And you can always use just clams or just shrimp. Not into seafood? Simply replace all seafood with meatballs and/or browned ground beef.
