Tagliatelle with Shrimp and Champagne Butter Sauce

Serves 4
Champagne Butter Sauce

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 cups Champagne or other sparkling wine

2/3 cups cold butter, cut into 2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper


Tagliatelle and Shrimp:

1 pound fresh tagliatelle, linguine, or spaghetti

1 tablespoon butter

1 large shallot, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound shrimp

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup Champagne or other sparkling white wine

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Make the Champagne butter sauce: combine the shallots and Champagne in a pan over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a glaze. Whisk in cold butter cubes a few at a time until sauce is thickened slightly. (For a cleaner sauce you may want to strain the shallots out, but I like the sweet astringency they lend to the dish.)

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Pour the Champagne butter sauce over the pasta and toss to combine. Set aside.

Cook the shrimp: heat the butter in the same pan you made the Champagne butter sauce in (this adds flavor and cuts down on dishes!). Add the shallots and garlic and cook until just softened. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through (this will only take a few minutes). Season with salt and pepper and deglaze the pan with the Champagne. Stir once and transfer the entire contents to the pasta pot. Toss to combine.

Serve the tagliatelle with shrimp and Champagne butter sauce in large shallow bowls. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Gingerbread Stout Cake (Spicy & Delicious)

1 cup oatmeal stout beer or 1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup dark molasses
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 pinch ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
confectioners' sugar (for dusting) (optional)

Directions:

Butter a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) bundt pan well and dust with flour, shaking out excess. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

Sift flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and both sugars.

Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into bundt pan and bang pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes.Turn out onto rack and cool completely. You can serve the gingerbread immediately, dusting lightly with confectioners sugar, and/or adding whipped cream.You can also hold the gingerbread for a day before serving, as the flavors develop with some time.