Move over butter

Dinner from 8 Aug 2011: Grant's Special Mardi Gras Pasta

I'm not quite sure who Grant is, but I'm thinking he's related to Paula Deen.  This recipe called for...wait for it...

1 CUP of butter - eek!  That's a whole lotta butta! If that doesn't make your mouth fall open it also calls for 1 cup of heavy cream - egads!   Now I didn't use that much butter, OR cream - as I didn't really care to ingest heart attack on a plate!!! 

Immediate thoughts:  This recipe is in need of herbs/spices AND a lighter based sauce. 

Suggestions: 
-Unless you want wilted green onions, DO NOT saute them w/ the mushrooms, and andouille sausage.         -Replace the 1/2 cup of butter w/ 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil OR Extra Virgin Olive oil.  The mushrooms and andouille sausage will be fine TRUST me!
-Don't bother chopping up a tomato, just use cherry or grape tomatoes, and slice them in half
-Instead of chopping the bell pepper, just cut into strips, it makes for a prettier presentation.
-Do NOT chop up the shrimp (see next suggestion)
-Take 1 Tbsp of Creole seasoning (I used Emeril's Bayou blast) and place in a ziploc bag add the peeled, deveined shrimp, and give it a few good shakes to thoroughly coat the shrimp.  Saute the shrimp in a seperate pan w/ 1 Tbsp butter and the chopped garlic -there's a reason for this, both garlic & shrimp cook relatively fast, and the longer they cook the more bitter the garlic will become, and the more tough the shrimp will become.

Okay now we come to the major overhaul w/ the sauce (aka artery clogger) The initial sauce would've had 1/2 cup butter AND 1 cup of heavy cream...I'm going to suggest the following, and trust me you'll love it :)

Healthier Cajun Alfredo Sauce

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup evaporated milk (it's fine to use the reduced fat versions)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated provolone cheese

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp creole seasoning (or to taste your choice)

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour. Gradually add evaporated milk and broth. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese, provolone cheese, cayenne pepper and creole seasoning until cheese is melted. 
Now if you use my sauce above you will NOT need to add the lemon juice or white wine (it loses the flavour anyways)

Overall the initial recipe was a good jumping off point...if you wanna land in a morgue.  I think my changes made it tastier and healthier.