Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Pasta (Like Carino's)

Sooz Cooks's Note:

This is my FAVORITE dish at Johnny Carino's in my town and this is my rendition of the recipe. My husband says it tastes exactly like theirs. I have played around with how much cayenne pepper to put in this dish because the recipe I found originally just said "to taste". For me, one teaspoon is too mild, but two teaspoons is pretty spicy. I'd put some in and do a taste test before you add more. The original recipe was in Denver's Rocky Mountain News, but I have modified it to our tastes, including leaving out the green onion and increasing the amount of the sauce. Also, the original recipe said it served 4, but we have no problem getting 6-8 servings of this. I serve it with a tossed salad and my Crusty Italian Garlic Bread.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 (8 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 20 medium raw shrimp, peeled, tail removed, and cleaned
• 1 cup fresh button mushroom, cleaned and sliced
• 1 cup sun-dried tomato, sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup romano cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 16 ounces dry penne pasta

Directions:

1. Season and grill the chicken breasts until done. Cool and slice into bite sized pieces.
2. Add butter to a large sauté pan on medium heat.
3. Once butter is melted, add the shrimp, sliced chicken, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper.
4. Saute mixture until shrimp and mushrooms are cooked.
5. Add the cream, Romano cheese and cayenne pepper. Let cream reduce by half while stirring frequently.
6. Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente according to package directions; drain excess water.
7. Toss cooked pasta with contents of sauté pan. Serve.

Reviews

[macintoshx11]

This recipe is perfect! My girlfriend and I have made it twice, LOVING it both times, but the second time around was definitely an improvement The second time we increased the amount of shrimp (20 isn't nearly enough. We bought 40 shrimp at Kroger for 3.50 and it was perfect.) We also made sure to sure romano cheese and not a mixture - the first time we used parmesean mixed with romano. Not nearly as good. I definitely recommend this recipe to anyone - tastes just like Carinos!!

[EAT2live&LIVE2eat]

wow. exactly like Carino' s. very good. i left out the tomatoes and mushrooms and seasoned my chicken and shrimp with olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. ill definitely make it again. thanks!

[RaeMay]

This is so worth every gram of fat in it! My husband & I love it this dish at Carino's - now I can make it at home, too! I only used about 1/2 a jar of the sundried tomatoes & used 4 c of whipping cream instead of 3. We love shrimp & mine were kind of small so I'd either use bigger shrimp next time or more of them. I'd also add some green onions next time. The only thing missing was the french bread with olive oil & roasted garlic. It didn't reheat well (it separated like other alfredo kind of sauces) but is definitely a keeper & I'll make it again. Thanks, SoozieQ!