Moomy and the Devilish Bowl of Pasta Twirls

Have you ever left a restaurant after a wonderful, satisfying meal and wonder if you could ever re-create that dish in your own kitchen?

I have!!

My darling hubby's parents introduced us to this delightful lil eatery at old town Newport, OR called OceanBleu at Gino's Fish Market and Cafe in 2011. We enjoyed our first meal there so much that we kept coming back to OceanBleu almost each time we passed through town.

http://www.oceanbleuseafoods.com

OceanBleu at Gino's Fish Market & Cafe is located at

808 SW Bay Blvd., Newport, OR 97365.

OceanBleu owns an active fishing boat; they caught most of the seafood that's sold and cooked in their establishment. I enjoy looking at their huge display cooler - they always have a wonderful selection of salmon, variety of fish fillets, crabs, shellfish ... SCALLOPS!

I always get excited when it comes to scallops. O YUM!!

They smoked their fish too; we tried some of their smoked salmon and it was smoking awesome (pardon the pun intended)!! Hehehe :D

Their Dungeness Crab Cocktail :D

I always order this appetizer when I'm at Gino's because 

1. its crab! Dungeness crab!! 2. All that fresh meat is already

cracked open for you :D 3. Their house 

cocktail sauce has just got the perfect zingggg! :D

Trust me, you cannot go wrong with this one :D

My darling hubby loves his side of Caesar Salad with

Grilled Prawns and Pan Seared Salmon Sandwich :D

My main was their famous Popcorn Shrimp with Gino Fries.

That was one bloody delicious lunch during our visit in 2012!! :D:D:D

And these were items off their menu! Gino's has a specials board too and it was during our lunch visit last December that I fell in love with their pasta in Diablo sauce.

Funny thing was ... it wasn't even my lunch! That was my darling hubby's main and he liked it so much that he said I simply must try it. And it was just amazing!

Shame I did not take any pictures of our lunch that day. I remembered both boys were sleeping and if you're a MoB (Mother of Boys) like me, you know that God and all his Angels had taken mercy on you and decided to put a sleeping spell on your little boys so you could enjoy your lunch and not inhale your food as if your life depended on it hehehe

So with no pictures (I looked through my camera and phone but couldn't find any!) but sheer memory of the wonderful taste of that bowl of pasta, I tried to look online for a similar recipe. Here's my take on the Shrimp & Twirly Pasta in Diablo sauce:

 Recently, I read that colorful food is good for you.

Apparently Mother Nature used colors to highlight

certain nutrients in food. For instance, tomatoes redness

help protect against prostate and breast cancers,

beta carotene that is found in orange carrots

keeps bones strong and eyes healthy.

So make your meals colorful, OK? :D

Based on what I'd read, diablo (that's Spanish for devil) sauce is a spicy, tomato-based and garlicky goodness which goes nicely with seafood.

I am using what I have in my pantry and fridge so for this recipe, I've chopped up 1 carrot (skinned), 1 zucchini, 1 stalk of celery and 1 yellow pepper. I've also got a handful of lil tomatoes from the garden, which I've cut into halves.

Prepare a big pot for water to boil your choice of pasta. I used a box and a half of this beautiful pasta from Freddy's (Fred Meyer's Rainbow Twirls). Cook the pasta al dente, according to directions on the box. And don't forget to save 1 cup of that pasta water, OK? This water is already salted and the starchiness will act like a glue to makes your pasta and sauce stick together. So don't throw it all out!

There's nothing like the smell of onions and garlic

being sauteed in a mixture of butter and olive oil :D

In my huge wok over medium-high heat, I dropped a small knob of butter and a couple of swirls of olive oil. Once the butter and oil have warmed up, into the wok went half an onion (diced) and 5 cloves of minced garlic. Saute, saute, saute for about 3 to 4 minutes :D

Then I added the chopped carrots and celery; saute these for another 5 minutes. 

I chopped all the veggies in small chunks so that

all that colorful tiny bits will be worked into

the twirly pasta when tossed together later.

Next items to go into the wok were: half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes (you can add more if you like your sauce spicy, but my lil boys are going to eat this too so I can't have the sauce all crazy-spicy), 1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes, the chopped peppers & zucchini, a teaspoon of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of tomato paste, 3 generous tablespoons of tomato ketchup, a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce and a couple of dashes of smoked paprika. Stir to combine and let this simmer for about 6 minutes.

Look at that color! :D 

Because I used frozen already-cooked medium shrimps, I added a good handful (about 15 medium ones) into the above simmering mixture at the 7th minute. Stir to combine and let the mixture cook for another 5 minutes.

Then toss in the cooked pasta, together with about 2/3 cup of pasta water, into the wok. Sprinkle in some freshly chopped parsley, if you have them (I used dried parsley from my pantry). Season with freshly ground black pepper and it's all done! :D

The small orange tomatoes came from our garden :D

We're growing parsley too although there wasn't enough

to chop up to mix into the sauce. But I did pluck a wee bit for garnish!

Now is that a tempting spoonful of pasta or what?

Short of asking the chef at OceanBleu for his diablo sauce recipe, I'm pretty satisfied with my take on it. My darling hubby commented that the chunky sauce worked well with the pasta; the twirls helped to trap the sauce in. My youngest son enjoyed it too; I just love the mixture of red, green, orange and yellow in my bowl.

I made enough to have leftovers the next day (even after my darling hubby went for a second helping at dinner). I love recipes like these; it's just very ... satisfying :D

Bon Appétit, y'all! If you happen to drive along Highway 101 through the gorgeous Oregon Coast, don't forget to swing by Newport and pop into OceanBleu at Gino's for lunch, OK? 

You're welcome :D *winks*

P.S. There is a delightful lil coffee drive-through along the same route, called Seal Rock Espresso & Bakery. We first tried their coffee during our first trip to the area in 2011 and have stopped there almost every time we passed by Seal Rock. My darling hubby swore their Mexican Mocha is the best while I love their Café Mocha offering and chocolate croissants. Try them - their service is excellent and always cheery!

They baked their pastries from scratch; that explains

why their chocolate croissants are often sold out :D

Seal Rock Espresso & Bakery is located at

10797 NW Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Rock, OR 97376.

Have a great day, you guys! :D:D:D