Shrimp Portofino

It's lent! And that means seafood on Friday's. We love seafood, of course we do, we live in Louisiana. But for some reason, I don't cook much of it. I'm trying to venture out a little bit, so thought I would try my favorite shrimp dish from Macaroni Grill. I found this recipe online at work, but now that I'm home, I can't find the link to include it here. If you google it, you will find several recipes that call for artichoke hearts, and that is not the one I used. So I'm sorry I can't link to the original source.

This dish was very good. I especially loved the butter sauce. I will make that again and pour over pasta and served with grilled chicken. It has a very distinct flavor.

24 large shrimp (peeled and deveined) (I used one pound of shrimp)

3 cups sliced mushrooms (washed and sliced ( 1/4 inch thick)
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts (couldn't find these, so used slivered almonds)
6 cups fresh spinach leaves (only used about 4 cups)
6 cups cooked vermicelli
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh garlic (minced, up to 4)

Lemon Butter Sauce:
1 tablespoon shallots (minced) (used yellow onion)
1 tablespoon fresh garlic , minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed) (only used about 1/4 a cup, per many reviews)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 lb lightly-salted butter (cut into tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread pine nuts over bottom of sheet pan and place pan in oven on top rack. Roast until golden brown, approximately 2 to 4 minutes.

For the Lemon Butter Sauce:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots and garlic until translucent. Add white wine and reduce slightly more than 1/2, whisking occasionally. Add cream and reduce by 1/2. Add lemon juice and reduce by 1/2. Add white pepper. Reduce heat to low. Add remaining butter 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking continuously after each addition to completely incorporate butter. Continue to simmer, whisking until sauce just coats spoon.

In separate large skillet over medium-high heat melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add garlic and sauté until garlic is translucent. Stir in mushrooms, shrimp, and pine nuts. Sauté several minutes or until shrimp are done and show color. Remove skillet from heat and gently stir in spinach. Place warm pasta on plate with shrimp mixture to the side. Pour lemon sauce over cooked pasta, permitting a bit of sauce onto shrimp.