Wonderful recipe! I made the following changes, many of which were recommended by others.
A) Reduce: Cream by 1/5, Salt by 1/4, and
Chilis by 1/3- 1/2. B)Increase the seafood, because people will inevitably want more of it. C) Use Bay scallops instead of other scallops, if available. D) Saute fresh green peppers and mushrooms in butter with the green onions before adding them to the cream. E) Reserve a small portion of the cream mixture and toss the pasta with it just before serving. F) Don't prepare the pasta until the cream mixture is ready, as the pasta will only take a few minutes to cook and the sauce took longer to prepare than the recipe indicated-- its taste REALLY improves if it is allowed to simmer.
My fiance came across this recipe a couple of months ago and it's been a staple in our kitchen since. After reading a couple of other reviews, I would recommend the following..
Change the order when adding the ingredients:
-Heavy cream, as directed (+ addl 1/4 cup)
-Peppers, onions, parsley as directed (reduce red pepper by at least half if you are sensitive to spicy foods).
-Cheese, as directed
**Let reduce until desired consistency. This will achieve that traditional Alfredo texture and body w/o add'l unecessary ingredients.**
-Add shrimp and scallops last(make sure shrimp and scallops are comparable in size so they have similar cooking times). By adding the seafood last, you are avoiding overcooking when letting your sauce thicken.
Hope this helps- Happy Cooking :).
This is a well written recipe and tastes good, but if you are looking for a creamier (more alfredo style) recipe you should continue searching. Based upon previous reviews I made the following changes: I added approximately 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, added 1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning, did not use the parsley, used mozorella instead of swiss and used dry herbs (for the basil and thyme) instead of fresh. I would have used fresh herbs but I did not have any on hand and I did not want to make a special trip to the grocery store. My roommate enjoyed this dish immensely, but I was hoping for a more "alfredo" style sauce. I will probably not be making this again.
If you expect this to be seafood alfredo, you will be disappointed, but if you want a flavorful cream-based sauce with a kick, you'll love this. I make a few modifcations to streamline the dish: 1. sauted the seafood seperately from the cream while the cream was boiling and mixing the seafood into the cream at the last second, 2. added 1/2 tsp of low-salt cajun seasoning and 2 cloves of minced garlic to the seafood while sauting, 3. save a 1/4 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce if needed to thin, 4. pre-warn the pasta bowl otherwise the sauce congeals before you can serve it. 5. add the pasta to the bowl, then the sauce, it will spread to every noodle much better. 6. serve immediately, this dish does not sit well. My husband loves this and can't for me to make again.
Lots of people have commented on this being too peppery. Most people, however, like the consistency of the sauce. I think I've found a nice balance. DON'T reduce the peppers -- just INCREASE the liquid. For example, in addition to the 2 cups of cream, I add one cup of regular milk, whisked together in a separate bowl with 1 tsp. corn starch or flour for thickening. Add that to the cream in the skillet -- it dilutes the peppery taste, but preserves the natural flavor balance and allows for even MORE (and lower fat) sauce! Nice job, Star Pooley.
This was a fabulous recipe. I changed it up just a little - used chicken instead of scallops added some fresh mushrooms and broccoli....oh yes and used mozza instead of swiss. Could have used just a touch more moisture - I think one of the other reviewer's suggestion of adding a cup of milk together with a bit of cornstarch would make it that much better. But either way excellent recipe. Oh yes one other thing - not as good leftover so if you don't need such a big amount I'd half the recipe.
This recipe is Very Good! I used 2cups of half-&-half and 2 cups of milk. I made with 1lb scallops and 0.5lb shrimps. I did not add much more of other spice (pepper) but with addition of 1/2tsp of cajun spice.
We used frozen bay scallops, and frozen shrimp with some shredded crab meat.....eliminated the red pepper and halved the other peppers...served with angel hair pasta....and it was fantastic. I can understand why people might feel inclined to add a thickener while cooking, but the sauce thickened wonderfully when removed from the heat. Not an inexpensive dish to make here in the Midwest, but worth it for my husband's birthday dinner. Thank you!!!
this recipe is great. The first time I made it I left out the white pepper and it was perfect. The second time I made it at my sisters and found it oo peppery. I now leave out the white pepper.
Whoa! What did I miss?? I have never posted a review before as all of the recipes I've tried have been fantastic. This one just wasn't. I can see how it might be good if you omitted most of the pepper (especially the white pepper). But it is unfortunate that you have to try the recipe first to discover this; what a waste of good shrimp & scallops. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spicy food, but this was just obscenely peppery, and I even cut back on the pepper flakes! Although I see the potential for a good recipe, I am just so disappointed that I probably won't bother trying it again.
