Dinner Date

One of my favorite easy recipes that looks difficult is pasta with cream sauce, asparagus and shrimp. (I sort of ripped this off from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but modified it a little bit.) All you need are the four aforementioned ingredients. Once you have them together, here's what you do to yield a meal for two...

Take a container of white cream sauce (I get a brand they have at Safeway, but you can get whatever kind you like. You could also make it from scratch, but this is supposed to be easy, so I would recommend not stressing yourself out.) I get a small tub the size of a hummus container - from that container, I take half of the cream sauce. Put the cream sauce in a pot and heat it on warm - you don't want it to boil. Stir it every now and then or it will get a scary skin on the top.

Then, get a pot and fill it with water. Don't watch it, or it won't boil. Or so the saying goes...ha ha. (When the jokes go bad, they go bad fast. Best to get it out of your system before your dinner date arrives.)

While you're waiting for the water to boil, take a frying pan and drop in a couple tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil - I'm not picky). Then grab the bag of pre-cooked shrimp from your freezer. I like about 10 shrimp per plate, but you can have more or less - I don't care. Put the shrimp in the hot frying pan and let them heat up. Season with salt and pepper. Let them sautee for a couple minutes on each side.

Next, take half of a bunch of asparagus and rinse it off. Break off the yucky ends. Take what's left and cut it diagonally into 1-inch pieces. Once your water boils, drop the asparagus in the pot and let it boil for about 7 minutes or so. Meanwhile, get some frozen tortellini or ravioli. Measure out two servings. After the asparagus has been in the water for about 7 minutes, drop the pasta in with it. The pasta should be in the boiling water for about 3 or 4 minutes. (Leave the asparagus in with the pasta while the pasta cooks.) Check on your shrimp and be sure to flip it over and add salt and pepper to the other side.

Your pasta and asparagus should be about done by now...do a quick taste check. If you are happy with them, take a strainer and dump then into it. Now take your asparagus, pasta, shrimp (check them first, but they should be good and hot by now) and throw them in the pot with the cream sauce. Mix it all together and - voila! - ring the dinner bell, baby, because dinner is served.

To accompany your kick-ass meal, you can get some of that weed salad (you know that fancy salad mix...it reminds me of dandelion leaves) and viniagrette dressing from Trader Joe's. While you're there, pick up some red (or white - I like white, myself) wine.

Now, sit down with your honey and chow down. Bon appetit!