linguine with shrimp, artichokes & a bit of whine. (a Jess post)

I decided to make the linguine tonight instead of the spring pasta I planned because I got the shrimp fresh today and I wanted to use them instead of freeze them. This was a recipe I adapted from this one in Real Simple. I LOVE artichokes, but I think the marinated ones are a bit too oily so I just subbed a whole regular can of halved artichoke hearts instead. I also used regular breadcrumbs instead of panko because that is what I had on hand and they worked fine, though I'm sure the panko would have been crispier. And instead of fresh parsley, I used Lighthouse freeze dried parsley.

I'm going to go on a tangent here.

Oh. My. God. If you have not experienced freeze dried herbs, YOU MUST. They are in regular spice jars but are usually located in the produce section. I ADORE fresh herbs, but I have a bad habit of not being able to use them fast enough and I end up with bags of squishy, stinky plants in the back of the fridge that I have to throw away. I know there are all kinds of great preservation tricks like blending and freezing them, yadda yadda... maybe one day I'll get there. But in the meantime, these freeze dried herbs are like green gifts from heaven. They do not have to be refrigerated, they rehydrate in food so they have a bit more bulk, and they taste super close to the real thing. Genius!

So back to the linguine. It was ridiculously easy to make and only took about 15 minutes from start to finish. I don't have any cooking pictures because my kitchen was in serious disarray (another Drew project- a story for a different day) but here is what it looked like right before I served:

As I suspected, we had a split verdict. Griffin and I LOVED it. I thought the flavor was light and simple with just the slightest kick from the red pepper flakes. This was G's first experience with both shrimp and artichokes and he was thrilled with both. Drew, on the other hand, refused to even try an artichoke and he painstakingly picked each one out (which KILLED me!! It's like throwing away gold!!) He was also not a fan of the fact that I left the tails on the shrimp. Sooo... although I really liked it, I probably wont make it again. Hate mail and letters of utter disbelief can be forwarded to my husband. I will accept notes of sympathy. Especially if they are on pretty paper.