Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper and Saffron Sauce

Living off unemployment leaves one with few luxuries in life, but the smell of the water during my beautiful afternoon walk around the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin left me with an unstoppable craving for seafood. Getting caught up in the moment, I texted an (employed) friend and asked if he wanted to meet me at Legal Seafoods. Very quickly after, I came to my senses and realized that, regardless of the fact that I do deserve to be rewarded every so often, I simply could not afford to splurge on a seafood dinner. Fortunately, my friend already had other plans, and I was left alone. (Due to my irrational fear of dining alone, I know that my wallet is always safe when someone is unable to meet me for dinner or drinks.) On my walk back to the Metro, I did my best to shelve that seafood craving, only to be hit with a sudden inspiration when I remembered the Roasted Red Pepper and Saffron Sauce that had been sitting in my freezer for several months, waiting for a "special occasional." I decided to improvise my favorite seafood dish (Pasta with Salmon in a Cream Sauce) by using the frozen shrimp I had splurged on at Whole Foods several weeks before when I decided to make jumbalaya. On the way home, I bought some smoked salmon, a bag of baby arugula, a bottle of Newman's Own Raspberry and Walnut Vinaigrette and some toasted walnuts. The sauce was runnier than I'd remembered, so I added some flour after heating it up, and cooked the pasta while I peeled the shrimp. Once I realized how much more expensive peeled and de-veined shrimp are, I became a lot less grossed out by their little exoskeletons! When the pasta was ready, I poured in the sauce and let it marinate for a few minutes while the shrimp cooked and I cut up the salmon. I threw the salad together and poured a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and sat down to enjoy this wonderful meal. As I waited for The Real Housewives of New York City came on, I became unbelievably proud of the fact that I'd prepared this beautiful gourmet meal in less than twenty minutes and mostly with ingredients I had lying around my own kitchen. Shrimp pasta runs between $17-25 in most restaurants, the tip and a glass of wine could easily push the bill past $30, and I'd probably be too much of a pig to save some for leftovers.

When I think about how much money I spent on restaurants before I became interested in cooking, it really makes me sick. In order to save money, I tried to go back to my college staples--frozen vegetables, yogurt mixed with granola, frozen chicken breasts...but after tasting so much good food, I couldn't go back to eating those same, boring meals, knowing what yummy treats lied waiting just around the corner. Realizing that I wanted to look forward to every meal, I threw myself into the world of fine cooking. I've been continually shocked to see how much money it has saved me, despite the cost of ingredients. Building a kitchen can be expensive in the beginning, and my grocery bills for one meal usually cost about as much as I would have spent one one dinner and a drink. It can look expensive, but the difference is that, buying ingredients from the store for one dish, you'll have enough for 4-5 meals. Think about it--lunch for a week for $25! It's easy to freeze leftovers and use ingredients, especially ones like shrimp, interchangeably. Chances are you won't use that whole can of chicken broth, or the whole onion, but I can think of very few dishes that don't call for chicken broth or onions. In fact, the only reason I thought to add roasted red peppers to this sauce was because I needed to use one I had leftover. See what I'm getting at?

Next time you're ready to pamper yourself and can't afford to eat out, try this!

Roasted Red Pepper and Saffron Sauce (adapted from Tapas by Suanna Tee)

2/3 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup chicken or fish stock
large pinch saffron threads
1 roasted red pepper
2/3 cup light cream
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Put the wine, chicken stock and saffron into a pan and let simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the roasted red pepper, and add it to the simmering sauce. Remove from heat and add the cream, squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper to taste. The flavor of this sauce is enhanced by the juice from shrimp or scallops. You may add (cooked) shrimp or scallops to the sauce before putting in the roasted red pepper, if you wish, or cook the sauce separately and drizzle it over the shrimp or scallops later. This is wonderful with angel hair pasta and smoked salmon. (The smoked salmon adds a delicious, full salty flavor--I don't think baked or sauteed salmon would be as good.)