We're gonna make some seafood stuffed shells
to go with the vodka sauce.
(audience clapping)
For the vodka sauce, you start with
an onion and some garlic
and a combination of olive oil and butter.
Melt the butter into the oil, when the butter foams
add the onion, cook it low and slow
until it's very soft and sweet.
You don't wanna brown the onions.
Then we're going to add one cup of vodka.
I roll with Tito's.
And we're going to add in a little chili flake,
or I think even more palatable, a little chili paste.
This is Italian Calabrian chili paste.
I'm gonna put in a little spoonful of that.
Of course we're going to put in
a large can of tomatoes, whole, crushed or diced,
nice sweet Italian tomatoes.
I'm gonna tear in a little basil and that's the sauce.
For the seafood, before we make our filling
with the ricotta, the parm and the egg,
we have to cook and cool the seafood.
I have a few scallops cut into quarters, sea scallops.
I have a few, little handful of shrimp that I've chopped
and I have about a half a pound of lump crab meat.
(audience clapping)
To the pan with oil and butter again
I am cooking off the shrimp and the scallops.
I'm adding time and I'm using dry vermouth too
because in Italian kitchens, we think the dry vermouth,
which is just fortified white wine,
dry vermouth takes out the smell
of seafood in your house.
Add a little dry vermouth, let that cook out completely.
And then you're going to combine it with the crab.
Back here, I have some cooled, cooked seafood.
I'm gonna add that to ricotta cheese,
one egg, and parmigiano reggiano cheese,
and a little bit of nutmeg.
These are nice, big boys.
I'm gonna overstuff 16 shells
and I'm going to get ready to add
our mascarpone to our sauce.
We'll meet you right back here in a couple.
(audience clapping)
(upbeat guitar music)
Hey everybody.
So for the Valentine's meal this year,
I took a classic, a vodka cream sauce.
Instead of cream, I wanted to make it a little thicker
cause we're going to set it underneath
and on top of giant stuffed shells--
Can I eat those right now?
filled with seafood.
They're not cooked yet sweetheart.
Overstuff the shells, like really, woo!
Oh!
(laughing)
(audience clapping)
Need my drink stuff back, guys!
(audience clapping and laughing)
Now, that's a cocktail.
My seafood wanted to go for a little swim.
(audience laughing)
You couldn't do that if you tried.
The only way that could happen was by accident.
You're gonna have to make me another one
is the bottom line there.
Yup.
Anyway, we have the overstuffed shells,
which I'll leave on the tray.
(audience laughing)
And I want it a little bit thicker--
I'm gonna cover my drink if you don't mind.
(audience laughing)
A little bit thicker.
Oh honey, we are married, we have to
share and share alike.
Of course.
It's our drink now.
(audience clapping)
Okay, I wanted the sauce to be a little thicker
so instead of heavy cream, I added some mascarpone cheese.
Very creamy, very sweet, a luxurious way
to finish off our sauce.
It gives it this nice blush.
So we're going to arrange our shells
in the dish and dot the top with a little more sauce
and sprinkle it with parm, throw it into the oven.
I cook it covered to heat them through about 20 minutes,
then I take the top off and let them
brown up a little bit at the edges,
and the parm cheese that we put up on top.
So mine'll only have 15 but I have
another one in the oven that has all 16 shells in it.
(audience laughing)
We'll show you what it looks like when we come back (laughs)
(audience clapping)
So John actually has a tradition,
he only eats carbonara on Valentine's Day
which is what I'll be making later.
But you can have a pasta appetizer as well, honey.
Pasta and pasta?
Yeah I think that people will love this.
It's my old, you-won't-be-single-for-long
vodka cream pasta sauce.
But instead of just spaghetti, we have it mmm,
underneath and overtop of these
beautiful seafood stuffed shells.
And stuffed shells are such a like,
back in the day like--
Yeah they're a classic.
A little sprinkle of parsley,
a little extra cheese for you cause I know you.
I'm cheesy.
You're a very cheesy fella.
(audience clapping)