Pasta with Scallops, Shrimp and Basil

Nick and I spent this past weekend in Pensacola. Obviously no trip to Pensacola is complete without a trip to our favorite fish market.

I needed some beach in my life in a major way. Unfortunately, Nick gets really bored at the beach. He lasted all of 1.5 hours. But… that was probably a blessing in disguise because I somehow forgot to put sunscreen on my stomach, and since I am normally super lubed up (and therefore very white), I got pretty fried in that short 1.5 hours. Ouch.

Long gone are my idiotic tanning bed days, and since I sometimes feel like I’m aging just a little too fast and furiously, I’d rather not look like a leather handbag. I’ll take being pale.

I haven’t had a sunburn in long time and I forgot how much they hurt.

Just another wound to add to the list with my already hurting knee.

Nick says I’m like banana. I get bruised way too easily. I don’t want to be a banana anymore!

Anyways. Per usual, we packed a cooler in the car, headed to the fish market, and brought home lots of delicious loot.

Pasta with Scallops, Shrimp and Basil

(adapted from A Southern Fairytale)

• 1/2 box pasta of choice (I used thin spaghetti)
• 1 lb large shrimp
• 1 lb sea scallops
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups dry white wine
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Rinse shrimp and scallops.

Add bacon to a saute pan over medium-high heat and cook until crispy. Add the garlic and red pepper flake to the bacon and continue cooking 1-2 minutes until garlic is golden.

Add the wine to the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the liquid to about half. Meanwhile, drop the pasta in the boiling water, cook to al dente, and drain. When wine is reduced, add the shrimp and scallops and cook, tossing occasionally, until shrimp are pink and scallops are cooked through. (We seared the scallops separately because seared scallops are the bomb… but that is not necessary).

Add pasta to the pan and toss with sauce. Remove from heat, season with salt & pepper, and add the butter and cheese, tossing to melt it all together.

Finally, add the basil and toss once more before serving.

The pasta was deeeelicious. The seafood was fresh as can be, the basil was plucked from my garden (somehow I haven’t killed it yet!), and the bacon was this thick-cut hillbilly kind you can probably only buy south of the Mason-Dixon. Top that off with the better part of a bottle of wine and some cheese and you’ve pretty much died and gone to heaven.