Fettuccine with Shrimp and Basil Cream

It's been quite some time since I've posted to this blog but I haven't forgotten about it!  I had about 3/4 lb. of frozen raw shrimp in the freezer and thought I might make some of it in a butter and wine sauce with fettuccine that I had on hand.  After looking at the back of the pasta box, I noticed it had a couple of interesting recipes using shrimp and the fettuccine and this is the one I decided to prepare tonight:

Fettuccine with Shrimp and Basil Cream

1 lb. package Fettuccine, uncooked
4 Tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped or 3 tsp. garlic powder
1 lb. shrimp, deveined
1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed or 1 Tbsp. dried basil
Salt to taste
1-1/2 cups heavy cream

Cook pasta according to package directions (I did 12 minutes), drain.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned.  Add shrimp cooking 4 minutes or until shrimp is pink (not quite done).  Stir in basil, salt and cream. Let simmer 5 minutes.  Pour sauce over pasta and serve immediately.

One thing I noticed was with using sweet cream unsalted butter, I had to add slightly over a tsp. of salt to the cream.  Another thing to remember about sauces with pasta is that extra salt is often necessary as once the sauce is added to the pasta, it may not be salty enough.  I added an additional 1/4 tsp. to make up for this and once poured and mixed into the pasta, it turned out just right. 

I slightly modified the recipe by chopping about 1/4 of a small white onion and adding to the butter along with the garlic.  I used dried basil as I can't justify the price of fresh basil at almost $2.  While the sauce was simmering, I added about 4 tsp. of dry Chinese Michiu rice wine a couple of minutes before it was done and 1/8 tsp. white pepper just before pouring the basil cream sauce over the pasta.  I thought it turned out pretty good to have come off the back of a Walmart Great Value brand pasta box!  Even my wife said it was good instead of just okay which is her usual response to my cooking.  Feel free to play around with this, you might come up with something even better.  Fear no food!