Dinner for 4 with Linguine with Shrimp and Green Onions
Creamy perfect winter-into-spring pasta dish, Linguine with Shrimp and Green Onions, perfect to serve at any dinner party!
Dinner invitations are tricky, yes. But they don’t have to be complicated. Sometimes they just require a little thought about who you’re in the mood to gather with, or who you want to connect with. Which reminds me of last Friday night.
My husband and I have a couple in our lives whom we really love “one-on-one” time with. We feel that it’s more intimate and our conversation goes deeper when it’s just the 4 of us.
Large or small.
Some people do better with larger groups, and some with smaller. My husband and I purposely invite others over for dinner because we need our friends! Around our table we discuss the real stuff of life: compassion, courage, perspective, insight, and love. We try to talk “less” about people, and “more” about how to make the world a better place. Of course we’re not perfect, but we do have a purpose for getting together.
Life is always offering itself to us, but we have to be available and open to receive it–which is why I believe entertaining is important.
Introverts or extroverts.
Maybe it has to do with our personalities, whether we prefer a large or small group to dine with, which is a subject I’ve started diving in to lately. What is it about our personalities with entertaining–all of us introverts and extroverts–and do our personalities have anything to do with the size of group we like to host, or who we like to invite?
My hand is raised!
I say it makes a big difference.
Linguine with Shrimp and Green Onions.
Whatever your personality today, this recipe I’m sharing today is so yummy–easy for 4, perfect for 2, and great to double for 8. Most everyone loves shrimp, ask a guest to bring a salad or bread.
I used an organic whole wheat linguine made by DeLallo. And the white wine and whipping cream reduced to a delicious creamy sauce … oh, boy!
Served in my Le Creuset Braiser … garnished with green onions.
The sun was my best friend as I was cooking in my kitchen, and also at sunset. :)
Wah-lah! An easy meal for a lovely gathering.
What’s the magical number of guests that works best for your personality style of entertaining?
Get the Recipe:
Linguine with Shrimp and Green Onions
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 5 or 6 green onions, thinly sliced to make 1 cup
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
- About 1 tsp. kosher salt
- About 1 tsp. pepper
- 12-14 ounces linguine pasta, I use DeLallo brand
- 1.5 pounds raw peeled, deveined large shrimp
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add minced shallot and 3/4 cup green onions and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the wine, increasing heat to medium-high, and cook down until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in the cream, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until cream is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions until just tender, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.
- Add the shrimp to cream sauce, increasing heat to medium, and cooking shrimp just until pink, 4-5 minutes. Add pasta to frying pan and gently mix together. Stir in reserved pasta water (mixture will be soupy, then thicken as it stands) and toss in the rest of the green onions. Add more salt and pepper if you like.
- Serve right away!
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Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Looks delicious. Yes the personalities make a difference on how and how many and how often we entertain. That’s an interesting conversation lead for my next dinner party. Luscious main dish by the way. I had to pin it.
We have 4 kids, and our friends all have 2-4 kids, too. So inviting one family over can be quite a crowd. One other couple (and all who come with them) is good for us when we want to be intimate and personal. Three or four families is fun for something more casual (though less personal). I tend to think of it as we host the adults, our kids host the kids. Space and group dynamics dictate whether we eat together or separate from the kids. Someday I hope for a table that seats 12, and a dinner party of adults to fill it!
This looks delicious! Since we have an older home and it is tiny, 4-6 is about our limit for being able to all sit at the same table. But I have had family over and as many as 12. In that case, I put up a card table in the sun room and t.v. trays in the living room; still fun but harder for everyone to be able to talk with one another.
I LOVE DeLallo Linguine! And with shrimp, wine and green onions? This is the perfect meal that feels SO fancy but is really quite simple. Delicious as always. Pinned!
What kind of “dry white wine” did you use?
Paula, I actually used a Chardonnay and it was wonderful (that’s what I had on hand). :)
I think it just depends, but I think I ultimately enjoy a smaller group for the most part, maybe 2-4 guests, but have entertained more and it was great too. I just find with our home smaller numbers work best
This looks delicious. It’s hard to find “light” pasta dishes, but I think this hits the mark, and it looks easy – can’t beat that!
I think six is the perfect amount when we’re hosting a gathering. My husband and I are a bit more on the introvert side, so sometimes it can be hard with just 4 to keep the conversation going. Although we don’t host very often; I should work on that!