Fettucini in a White Wine Reduction w/ Shallots, Asparagus, and Shrimp

Despite the theme of this blog you may have had a difficult time inferring that I like to use the same ingredients in different venues, but that isn't the case. There's a few things that I like to cook with that I think can usually make any dish exponentially better. Shrimp happens to be one of these ingredients. I'm writing this introduction because I already have a recipe that has shrimp, shallots, and asparagus. I'm going to be adding another one today, and not surprisingly: I still have more to add later. This is a really easy pasta dish that you can put together quickly. There are times when you can be in the mood for long drawn out recipes and then there's most of the time, when you aren't. Subsequently this recipe is perfect for most of the time.

Ingredients:
3/4 box of Fettucini
3/4 of a lb of shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 medium shallot, sliced
1/2 bunch of asparagus, chopped
1/2 cup of white wine (whatever is open)
Parmesan cheese to taste
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt to taste




Instructions:

 The first step to this meal is putting water in a large sauce pan on an alternate burner than what you're going to be using to cook your shallots, asparagus and shrimp. This is going to be for the Fettucini. The water coming to a boil and the pasta cooking are the things about this dish that takes the longest. (When the water is coming to a boil, add the pasta.) Then just like when you're making the risotto what you want to do is heat up a large shallow pan. Add your two tablespoons of olive oil and your sliced shallot. Cook your shallot until it becomes iridescent but not browned. Take your shallots out of the pan. Add your 1/2 cup of wine and make sure the heat is low. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get any remnants of shallot to mix in with your wine. Let the wine slowly simmer and reduce. When the wine is coming to the consistency you're looking for (don't let it all evaporate, feel free to add more if it begins to) you want to add the asparagus and the cooked shallots. Cook those for a few minutes or until the asparagus is almost getting soft. Add your shrimp. Salt to taste. What you're looking to do is have everything finish at the same time. The shrimp is the one ingredient that really shows when it's overdone. When the shrimp is turning pink on both sides and your asparagus is cooked but still firm and crispy, then hopefully your pasta is being drained. After I drain the pasta I usually like to add about another tablespoon of olive oil to it and mix it all together. Then incorporate all of your pasta to your shallow sauce pan and mix it all together. I usually add a little Parmesan cheese and mix that into the dish as well, in addition to adding some after plating. Feel open to the idea of cooking some garlic along with the shallots and the beginning, or squirting some lemon juice over it all before you add the pasta in the end. You can even add a tomato that has been chopped into large pieces when you add the shrimp. This is your dish and I hope you enjoy it.