I think October is a really underappreciated month. While September has all the crazy hecticness of back-to-school and November has us careening at break-neck speed towards the insanity of the holiday season, October comes in peacefully on cool autumn breezes that usher us out the summer heat.

In October there are county fairs, hayrides, a bevy of fall vegetables (pass the pumpkins and squash please!) and games of touch football in the back yard with family and friends.  As the grand finale to this fabulous month we get to embrace our inner child and play dress-up with our kids for Halloween.  Seriously, what more could you ask for from a month?   

Well, as if all of that isn’t enough, October has two more credentials to bring to the calendar.  It is also National Seafood Month and National Pasta Month.  Oh my goodness, someone pass a fork please! I am in heaven.  October is now a great excuse to eat more of two of my favorite food groups!

In honor of this great month, for dinner tonight I am planning to make Tangy Lemon Pepper Shrimp over linguine.   What I love about this recipe is that it’s super easy yet it tastes like something that you would get at an upscale restaurant.

The picture shows the recipe made with a 1-lbs carton of SeaPak tail-on scampi (which I love because it looks so gourmet).  But you could easily substitute 2 of the regular 12 oz cartons of SeaPak Scampi without the tails in the recipe. The dish would still serve 4 people and taste just as delish!

If you’re feeling a little spicy and sassy try adding a dash of red pepper flakes to this recipe for a little bit of a kick.  Oh and since it  is National Pasta Month, if you really want to get really wild and crazy try using fresh pasta instead of your usual dry pasta.  You can find fresh pasta in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store.  It not only tastes hands-down better than dry pasta, but it also cuts your cooking time down to almost nothing.  It’s perfect when you want to go gourmet in minutes on a weeknight.

So now that you know how I am celebrating October, how about you?  What favorite seafood and pasta dish will you pull out to tempt the taste buds this month?