Seafood Alfredo

Yesterday was my husband and my 5th anniversary. Instead of going out to eat we decided to make a seafood dinner at home. You may think that with all the seafood that this would be more expensive than going out but this recipe made 6-7 servings. If you wanted to stretch it even more just add a whole pound of pasta. At Red Lobster, which is where I got the recipe from, you would probably pay $20 a plate. I am not overly sure on the exact price but I looked up a lobster dish on their site and it was $25 so I am just guessing it would be about $20. Now you don't have to use fresh shrimp and lobster, I used frozen raw shrimp and frozen lobster tails. I could not find raw crab where I live so I had to buy precooked crab which is fine but just add the cooked crab at the very end to heat up or else it will fall apart. A couple of years ago when my husband first ordered this dish there was crab meat in it but they have since removed the crab meat from the plate as well as making the portion smaller with less meat. So I would say for what you would get in a restaurant and pay for as apposed to making this at home, you end up walking away with quite a bit of money in your pocket. As well as impressing a few people along the way.

• 2 c. lobster meat cut in 1/2" chunks, about two tails
  
• 2 c. medium shrimp (90-120 count), raw and peeled
• 2 c. crab meat cut into 1/2' chunks, about 3 legs
  
• 1/2 lb. penne pasta, cooked
• 24 spears of asparagus, standard/medium and blanched
  
• 15 oz. Alfredo Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 garlic clove; minced
  
• Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Wash asparagus thoroughly and cut off tough woody ends.
2. Cut asparagus into 1" pieces.
3. Place asparagus into boiling salted water for two minutes.
4. Drain and chill in ice water to stop cooking and to help retain its color. Drain again.
5. Cook penne pasta according to directions on the box.
6. Drain and chill in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again.
7. In a hot saute pan, melt the two tbsp. of butter and add garlic.
8. Add lobster meat, crab meat and shrimp, cooking until the shrimp is opaque.
9. Add asparagus, pasta and Alfredo sauce, cooking until everything is heated through.
10. Garnish with Parmesan cheese