Italian Classic. Recipe by a Greek

Shrimp. Butter. Garlic. Wine. What could be bad about such a combination? Why, nothing, of course. Good heavens, this is a winning combination any day of the week, especially if you have high-quality wild-caught shrimp in the freezer. Thaw in the bag placed in a large bowl of cold tap water. In a couple of hours, you should have shrimp ready to peel and devein. The rest is the easiest Italian-American classic that you'll ever make at home. Yes, it's Shrimp Scampi, and today I'll share my version with you. Here it is in printable format.

Just enough left for tomorrow's lunch.

Served steaming hot and ready for a loaf of crusty bread for dunking.

Shrimp Scampi is pretty much the same recipe anywhere you look, and it's attributed to Italian immigrants who wanted this dish in America. While they were used to a much larger variety of shrimp called Scampi, they managed with extra-large shrimp that were and still are available here. If you'd like a true Italian-American recipe, try this one from the master herself, chef Lidia Bastianich. Ingredients are a teeny bit different, and so is her method, but there is no doubt that it's going to be a dish full of authentic Italian flavors. For my take on this classic dish, click here.

Peeled and deveined extra-large shrimp.

My father used to say, "una faccia, una razza," when referring to Italians. Greeks and Italians have a long history together. There is even a Greek variation of this saying--μια φάτσα μια ράτσα. It is quite common among Greeks and Italians. I suppose this qualifies me as being better prepared to promote Italian recipes. What say you? I try to bring you authentic Greek recipes, and when I develop a recipe from another cultural region, I always explain that this is my take on a classic. It's my Americanized version. With today's recipe, maybe I'm a little closer to authentic Italian-American? Maybe Lidia might make me an honorary Italian? Maybe. If you don't care about all of that and just want my recipe, click here.

Greeks and Italians are neighbors. It is said that Sicilians still carry Greek DNA from the 7th century Greek colonization of what is now Sicily. If you care to explore this in detail, click here to read a story on The Greek Reporter website.