Vacation Flashbacks with Gulf-Style Citrus Shrimp

My birthday is in the winter – right around the time you feel REALLY sick of snow. So, this year, I dropped a variety of not-so-subtle hints that all I wanted for a celebration was to get the heck out of here! Without exactly saying "no," my sweet husband implied that he couldn’t get away because of the pressures of law school, our budget, etc. I was bummed, but became resigned to my very cold fate.

Little did I know that this sneaky, wonderful man had planned a surprise vacation for me! He had secretly cleared the time off with my boss, made sure none of my friends would blow it by planning a separate trip and arranged all of the travel and lodging. For five days it would be just the two of us, soaking up the sunshine in Florida! It goes without saying that Ryan earned big points for this and has now set a very high standard for birthday gifts.

During our vacation, we enjoyed reading, relaxing at the beach, my first visit to Disney World, and eating great seafood! It was our best vacation yet, and is full of happy memories for me. Now that it’s summer, all it takes is a gentle breeze and dinner outdoors to give me flashbacks to our perfect vacation evenings. In honor of those yummy meals, I recently prepared Gulf-Style Citrus Shrimp for dinner.

To make this vacation-worthy meal, start by making your pasta plan. Prepare refrigerated or dry fettuccine according to instructions. While the pasta is getting started, zest the orange and lime. Cut the lime in half and juice it. Set the lime juice aside. Repeat the same process with the orange.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet until sizzling (this is more butter than that due to user error when reading the instructions).

Lower the heat down to medium-high and add the green onions, cumin and pepper sauce. Cook for a minute or two until the onions have softened. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink.

Now, I should note one important thing: you can use peeled, deveined shrimp with the tail ON – this will retain more of the seafood flavor. However, leaving the tails on makes the finished product a little trickier to eat (you have to remove the tails without spilling pasta in your lap). I prefer to rinse the shrimp and remove the tails prior to cooking so, once the meal is prepared, you can dig right in.

Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.

Turn the heat up to High. Add the reserved lime and orange juice to the skillet. Continue cooking the mixture until it is reduced to just 1/3 of a cup. This should take about five minutes.

Add the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time.

Add the shrimp and the fruit zest.

Rinse the cilantro, chop (or use kitchen shears) and add to the skillet. Toss to coat the shrimp.

Finally, serve your fettuccine hot, topped with the shrimp and a drizzle of the remaining citrus reduction. Your Gulf-Style Citrus Shrimp will pop with the fresh flavors of the coast!

Try Gulf-Style Citrus Shrimp the next time you’re craving seafood or dreaming of a vacation, then rate and review the recipe.

Check back in a few days when Liz will be making a delicious swirled brownie.

Amanda is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.