Italian Shrimp & Calamari in a Creme Friache Basil Sauce with Garlic Basil Pasta

So I happened upon this recipe from my own self. I was debating what to make for dinner, and opened the cupboards and found my base, which ended up being some basil garlic pasta which was purchased in Italy by Clint. My mind started to churn and churn some more and then I thought, ah yes, creme friache.

Creme friache is just one of the most heavenly dairy products in the world. It's all about sour cream meets butter. Now I know this doesn't sound very Italian with sour cream, but I worked with what I had, and since there was pasta involved, it's Italian OK! It sure tasted like heavenly Italian once the dish was complete. So please try this new spin on a creamy Italian pasta dish.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb of peeled shrimp
1/4 lb of calamari
Basil Garlic Pasta or any pasta that is linguine style
6 cloves of minced garlic
4 TBS olive oil
1 cup of half and half or heavy cream
1/2 cup of creme friache
1 cup of parmesean cheese
1/2 cup of basil cut chiffinade style (roll the basil leaves up and slice thinly) Learn how HERE
In a pasta pot bring your water to a boil.

In a large pan, heat olive oil up on medium high heat. Once the olive oil starts to become waving when you lift the pan up to swirl the oil across the bottom of the pan add the garlic. Turn heat down to medium low. You don't want to brown the garlic, just heat it through until it becomes very fragrant. Now you will saute the shrimp until it starts to turn pink. Then add the calamari and saute with the shrimp for a couple of minutes. Remove the shrimp and calamari from the pan so it doesn't get over-cooked. There is nothing worse than rubbery shrimp and calamari.

Now add the half and half (or heavey cream), and creme friache to the pan turning heat up to medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then add parmesean. Reduce the sauce until it starts to become a little thick now add the shrimp and calamari back for 2 minutes and toss the basil in for another minute. Turn heat off and cover the pan to let the heat infuse the sauce with the basil.

Serve sauce over pasta preferably al dente, but cooked to your preference.