My husband, myself and another couple went on an interesting excursion this summer and caught and cooked up some krayfish. Even though the boys caught over 75 krayfish we still only got half a small ziplock baggie full of crawdad meat. My clever friend Lisa thought she'd stretch the small amount of meat by turning it into a pasta dish. She created this alfredo sauce from scratch and I was in heaven! I've always bought the jar of premade alfredo (which is good too), but definitely not the same as homemade. I emailed her and got the recipe from her. She's like me and when she makes up a recipe, it's all by feel, tasting and stirring. She emailed me very loose measurements, and I tried to keep track of them as best as I could.
I used smoked salmon because I bought a large amount of it about a month ago when my husband and I made some homemade sushi. It's been sitting and waiting for me to use it, and I remembered my Dad used to make this dish growing up.
Be warned: If you don't like the taste of fish (or if you are on a tight budget), substitute chopped diced black forest ham (my Mom always used to do that), or sauteed shrimp. This will keep the meal quick and effortless. As is, this recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare, so subbing in these other meats will keep you on the same timeline. If you like chicken, you could saute a couple chicken breasts as well (keep in mind it will be longer than 20 minutes)...or go completely meatless. It's pretty versatile.
Another substitution idea: This meal comes together really quick but if you don't want to take the time or the energy to make homemade alfredo (even though its really easy), by all means use a jar of prepared alfredo sauce.
Recipe from Lisa Kremer
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Serves 4 very generous portions
Sauce:
2 cups cream cheese
4 tbsp butter
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup milk
3 cloves garlic, grated
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 lb linguine
Small pkg smoked salmon (about 1/2 -1 cup)
2 cup sliced mushrooms
4 green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Put large pot of salted water on to boil.
In a frying pan on medium high heat, melt some butter and add sliced mushrooms and most of the green onions (save a handful of the green part). Fry 4 to 6 minutes until the mushrooms are browned and the onions are soft. Near the end of the cooking time you can add salt and pepper. If you add it at the beginning all the liquid will come out of the mushrooms and you will end up steaming them. When done, remove mushrooms to a plate.
In the same pan on medium heat melt butter and add chopped garlic. Saute for about 30 seconds then add cream cheese. Let this melt for about a minute or so. It won't be completely melted yet. Then add whipping cream, milk, and lemon juice. Let this simmer and keep stirring to get out the chunks of cream cheese. When it begins to thicken add Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
Add mushrooms back to pan, as well as smoked salmon chopped up (or sauteed shrimp, ham, chicken, etc).
When pasta is done boiling, drain and add back to the pot. Dump the sauce over top, stir together well and serve in a large serving bowl. Garnish with the reserved green onions and serve immediately.
Click here for printable version of Linguine Alfredo with Smoked Salmon
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THE RESULTS?This is a really rich meal, so I lightened it up by serving it with a garden salad. My husband and I thought it was really, really good. It is very "smokey fish" tasting, so if that doesn't turn your crank make substitutions.
P.S. Did I mention my 14 month old loved this meal?