Love At First Bite

I love this guy. The Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro. Not in a "I wanna have his babies" kinda way (because I am DONE having babies). More in a "I wish he was my brother so he could cook me Sunday dinner" kinda way. (No offense to my own brothers, but you guys have NEVER cooked me Sunday dinner. Just sayin'.).

It started last Thanksgiving (Halloween, really) when I made his Pumpkin Pie recipe. Now, let me just say, I take my pumpkin pie VERY SERIOUSLY. It may be my all-time favorite food. All.time. So when I saw this recipe in Reader's Digest I felt like it couldn't possibly hurt to at least try to make it. I love to bake. And eat. And I feel like I am sorely lacking in the "pie" category. So I made it. And fell in love.

Then, he published his recipe for Linguine With Shrimp, Roasted Tomatoes, and Spinach in Parenting magazine (here's where I would link to that but our computer is like, 75 years old in technology years and their site wouldn't cooperate)(Incidentally, Parenting - the school years is my least favorite magazine that I currently read. It's like it is written by teenagers, complete with very poor grammar and constant use of slang that I'm now too old to understand. GET OFF MY LAWN!). And I decided he should be related. Not that two isn't enough brothers, but still.

And, in the interest of recipes, here is my favorite pie crust recipe. Important tip: Roll out the crust between two sheets of waxed paper. Once I found this tip, I've been a pie-makin' fool. Or maybe just a fool with a lot of pies. Whatever.

Best Flaky Pie Crust:

2 ½ cups flour
½ cup butter, cold
½ tsp salt
½ cup chilled shortening
6 TBSP ice water

In the bowl of food processor, combine flour, salt, shortening and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. Divide in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out between two pieces of waxed paper. Makes 2 pie crusts.

Linguine With Shrimp, Roasted Tomatoes, and Spinach (from Parenting magazine):

½ pint halved cherry tomatoes
2 tsp minced garlic – divided
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP olive oil - divided
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 lb linguine
1 lb shrimp - peeled and deveined
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups baby spinach

Preheat oven to 450°F. In a baking dish, toss together tomatoes, 1 tsp garlic and ¼ cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast 10 min. Stir in bread crumbs and roast 5 min more. Cook linguine according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, melt butter with 2 TBSP olive oil in large skillet. Saute 1 tsp garlic for 1 min. Add shrimp and sauté until pink and cooked through (3-4 min). Add ½ cup chicken broth and cook additional 2-3 min. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Toss in pasta and tomato mixture. Mix well and serve. Plan a trip to Hoboken to thank the Cake Boss for sharing. Just sayin'.