linguine...2 ways...

*Linguine with roasted asparagus & smoked mozzarella*

1/2 lb linguine (cooked approx 8 min)

1/2 lb asparagus

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup smoked mozzarella, cubed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cut tough ends off of asparagus, and cut remainder into about 3- in pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast in oven about 10 min or until tender, but still a little crisp. Meanwhile cook pasta according to pkg directions.

When pasta still has about 2 min left in cooking time heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over med heat. Add garlic & cook, stirring constantly (so garlic does not burn) about 1 min. Add pasta to skillet & turn to coat with olive oil & garlic. Add 1-2 ladles of pasta water. Remove from heat & add asparagus and mozzarella.

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*Linguine with roasted shrimp*

1/2 lb linguine

1/2 lb shrimp

3 Tbsp olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to pkg directions. Combine olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon, salt & pepper. Add shrimp & turn to coat. Place on baking sheet & roast 5-6 min (depending on size of shrimp). Drizzle remaining lemon juice over shrimp & pasta.

These are two recipes I've been wanting to try for a while. I am not a seafood lover...I repeat...I do not like seafood. However, I have a child who would do absolutely anything for shrimp. My mom used to tell me I really should cook things (aka...seafood, mushrooms, peppers...) for my kids, whether I liked to eat it or not. OK mom, I listened...finally. Well, it was a hit. The members of this house that ate it, loved it! The rest of us had the linguine with asparagus. YUM! I got the basic idea for this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, but I tweaked it a little. Again, YUM! The roasted shrimp is another genius Barefoot Contessa recipe, I just added it to pasta & added the lemon juice.