Shrimp & Crab Linguine

Man, I am seriously soaring with resolution #4 (Try something new at least ONCE a month)!  I've tried so many new things slash switched up the way I regularly do things since I started this blog.  Yesterday, for instance, I went out to dinner with family.  We went to Zio Fraedos, which is one of our faves.  When it comes to Italian restaurants, my boyfriend is an Alfredo guy and I'm a Chicken Parm girl.  Not last night!  I passed on my regular choice of Chicken Parmesan and ordered the Shrimp and Crab Linguine. 

WHY is that important and HOW does it matter?  Well, let me share with you the fact that I am an extremely EXTREMELY picky eater.  I could go into details, but people usually find that annoying.  When it comes to Italian food, I'll be found ordering things off the menu that strictly include red sauce only.  None of that white stuff for me!    Well, although this may counteract resolution #1 (Lose ONE pound per week.) because red sauces are typically lower in calories than white, for the first time in my life I ordered a dish with alfredo sauce.... And I LOVED it!  

My dad always nagged, "...broaden your horizons, try new things!" while I grew up on a farm in Southwestern Ohio (see the irony?).  I hated almost everything they served and had many a late night at the dinner table (anybody else hear the challenge in, "you're going to sit here all night until you eat that!"?).  Well, flashforward several years later to my college graduation.  My dad, stepmother, and mom visited and I took them on a tour of Reno/Sacramento/San Francisco.  They ate the most plain food possible on every menu (fish and chips, hamburgers, you get the picture) that you could find ANYWHERE in America and would even order TWO of the same thing instead of sharing and ordering two different things.  Crazy!  Anyway, by the end of the trip, my dad said he just wanted a steak and was tired of the "California experience" (what me and my boyfriend were referring to when we would take them to weird restaurants or local joints).  That when the ultimate revenge statement came out of my mouth, "But Dad, don't you want to broaden your horizons and try new things?"  

My taste-bud horizons have significantly broadened in the last four years.  I have tried lots of weird stuff and grown to love the three S's:  seafood, salad/salad dressing, and Sushi!  I'm really excited to see how much more growth I experience this year while following through with my resolutions!