Still humming tunes from the Swinging Medallions we headed north from Amelia Island to Charleston on Gary and Torie’s Hylas 54, Solitude. With an 80 ft mast, there was no dreaming of puttering up the Intercoastal. But fortunately, we were blessed with fairly calm seas under way, and were able to continue the 52nd Annual Fernandina Beach Shrimp Festival celebration, preparing Shrimp Scampi on Angel Hair pasta as we navigated the Atlantic coast.

Ingredients were simple. Since you never know when, and or even if, you’ll be able to cook underway I decided against fresh shrimp, and opted for the more practical, longer lasting, frozen shrimp.

Shrimp Scampi

(serves 4) 

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4-5 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 lbs fresh or frozen shrimp, cleaned with tails on
1 teaspoon truffle salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh flat leave parsley, chopped
1 lb angel hair pasta

Starting with the tasks that take the longest…and we all know that boiling water on a galley stove is just one of those examples of “a watched pot never boils,” we’ll start with our pasta water. Torie’s trick to boiling pasta water is to start it in the tea kettle first. That gets it boiling faster on her stove. So we could use the large burner for the entire cooking process we made the angel hair pasta first…it cooks quicker than any pasta…then drained and set aside in the sink.

Next, melt the butter and olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add garlic and onions and sauté until soft and aromatic.

Add shrimp and continue to sauté until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Shut off your burner (remember to turn off the gas! I’m SO BAD at that! But since I was on someone else’s boat I actually remembered!) then stir in the parsley. Season with truffle salt. (or regular salt if you don’t have truffle salt on board) and pepper.

Next, prepare the salad. Tonight we had a very easy and light arugula and green pepper salad with Fig Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil.

The Fig Balsamic has a great sweetness to it that really compliments the meal when all the flavors merge together. And they always do on a bouncing boat!

Before placing the pasta and shrimp scampi on plates, gently stir in the grated parmesan.

Served on individual plates in a fully enclosed cockpit (or as Torie calls it, the “Florida Room”) guarantees your salad won’t blow away and we’ll all be very comfortable.

Yes, VERY comfortable. My Skipper and I were SO SPOILED on this boat! So I did what very little a Galley Pirate could do for payback…I fed them!