Creepy Linguini with Clam Sauce

Happy Monday, readers! We're at the beginning of another week and are once again chugging along to the weekend - GO US! Yesterday was spent purging our spare closet of stuff we haven't looked at in 2 years, football watching, bourbon drinking and exercising. After a quick gym sesh, I came home and made Ree Drummond's Linguini with Clam Sauce from her original The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook and the only thing "creepy" about it was how simple the recipe was! I've said it before, and I'll say it 100 times more, I love Ree Drummond, but not in a creepy stalker way. Her recipes are short, sweet and to the point. She's just an everyday woman feeding her family and I love that. So Ree, if you ever see this blog, thank you for being so awesome and if I ever go through wherever it is in Oklahoma you reside, I'm going to stop at the Merc and thank you personally.


Linguini with Clam Sauce

1 lb linguini
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 10 oz cans clams, juice reserved
3/4 C dry white wine
1/2 lemon, juiced
3/4 C heavy cream
2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Shredded parmesan cheese, for garnish


Cook pasta according to package instruction and set aside.


In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the garlic and clams for 3 minutes in the olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add in the wine and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add in the remaining Tbsp of butter and allow to melt.


Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir in the heavy cream. Allow the sauce to boil and thicken, using any reserved clam juice to thin it out if necessary. I didn't use any of my reserved juice at all.


Remove from heat, toss in the fresh parsley (which will smell amazing), season and stir in the parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce over the cooked noodles and toss to combine. I highly suggest adding in more parmesan cheese because why not?


I have always been a little skeptical about canned meats and seafood (they smell like cat food and no one can deny it) but this dish was delicious! The sauce was luscious and citrusy, the clams had that amazing flavor only seafood has (you know the one) and the linguini was the perfect vessel for all the goodness.


I paired this dish with some leftover Boo Bread from one of last week's dinners and a glass of red wine (yeah, I know red wine is a weird pairing for seafood, let me live my life) and settled in for a night on the couch with my main men (Nate and the cats).


Stay tuned for some more tasty Halloween-themed meals coming up!