Sometimes new friends feel like forever friends. Laurina Kilby became our friend for life on May 6 of last year, the day she entered my daughter Reilly’s ICU room at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. She turned our frowns upside down and instantly became our Angel nurse. She is the age of my own daughters and calmed all of us in a precarious situation. Laurina made an effort to check in on Reilly throughout her six weeks in the ICU and when Reilly transferred to a rehab hospital, Laurina visited on her days off bringing us a portable feast.

Now we are home and Laurina scheduled a visit to Baton Rouge for Reilly’s birthday. That’s on hold and our angel nurse is now out of trauma ICU and working in a COVID-19 ICU, an experience she described in a Facebook post that frankly went viral. It is hard to imagine how the healthcare teams cope during this unprecedented crisis. Now our FaceTime calls with Laurina feature the new puppy that she and her husband DJ just welcomed into their lives, planned long before the pandemic.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? We just moved into a new apartment so we are trying to get into a better routine. We are surrounded by great restaurants and our kitchen is tiny, so we aren’t always cooking at home. I do a creamy pasta dish with spinach and shrimp that’s really fast.

What’s your favorite city? Probably here, I love it! The customer service is so great, everything stays open late, I don’t get home until after 9 so I can usually find a place that’s open on my way home.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? There’s a pizza place called Sofia’s, it is the BEST pizza I’ve ever had! They use these tiny pepperonis, they’re spicy. The crust is really thin and crispy. I LOVE it!. In Phoenix where I’m from there’s a burger place that makes the BEST burger with pb&j, sriracha and bacon. Sweet salty spicy. It’s delicious! The warm burger melts the peanut butter, it is soo good!

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Probably a jar of Claussen pickles.

Who taught you to cook? Actually I didn’t start getting into cooking until I was in college. My aunt has a passion for cooking and is really good at just throwing things together. I would visit her regularly when I was in college and we would cook together. It was so fun! Cooking is really hard in New York, ingredients are expensive, then you have to carry it all home and cook in your tiny kitchen. When i do cook DJ really appreciates it!

Surf? or Turf? Turf.

What’s on your cooking playlist? Actually prefer to listen to a podcast. I like Crime Junkie, I really like it. I also like to FaceTime people when I cook.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee. I’ve been making oat milk lattes. Oh my gosh, it’s the best thing! We bought a Nespresso machine after our trip to Italy. We had fallen in love with affogato and had to make espresso when we got back, so this is perfect!

Date night—at home? or out? Out. I like going out to eat. It’s one of my favorite things! It’s nice being served and not having dishes to wash.

Most stained cookbook? My phone! I usually go on Pinterest, really good recipes and they’re easy to find.

Indispensable kitchen tool? I have a really expensive blender that I love. It’s a Blendtec. You can make really good soups, it will crush a whole apple. Makes great mixed drinks and smoothies and it’s awesome for acai bowls in the summer.

Staple childhood comfort food? I really love meatloaf. And you know what’s funny, the other day I made meatloaf and put gravy on it. DJ wasn’t familiar with having gravy on meatloaf. He likes his with a ketchup sauce.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My mom. I miss her! She was supposed to come visit this week but she can’t with the pandemic. She’ll get here eventually.

Ideal grilled cheese? Sourdough bread from the deli with Gouda cheese.

How do you like your toast? Not too burnt, with butter. Just toasted enough to melt the butter.

Favorite pizza topping? I really like pepperoni and olives.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I kinda want to learn how to make sushi, that would be fun. I feel like I could learn somewhere in the city, maybe Sugarfish? We had Sugarfish donated to the hospital last week. Each of us had our own huge container. I’ve been in the COVID ICU for 2 months now and we have had meals donated every day!

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I usually follow a recipe as it is the first time through and then change it up the next time to customize it.

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? I’m a sucker for pretzels, I’ll get Auntie Anne’s when I’m in an airport.

What’s your favorite sports team? I’m only into this because DJ always has them on. The Tottenham Hotspurs. We’ll go out to bars in the city when the games are on. It’s standing room only and everyone’s singing the songs. It’s so great!

Laurina’s creamy pasta dish with spinach and shrimp is lovely for a spring supper

Creamy Pasta with Spinach and Shrimp

Start your pasta water, assemble your ingredients, and you are serving a beautiful meal in 20 flat!

1 pound pasta, we used tagliatelle, borrowed from a neighbor’s pantry (I had angel hair on hand, wanted something a little sturdier. Anything goes here…use what you have or can barter for)

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound shrimp

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (out of Old Bay? Tony Chachere’s works great! Choose a seasoning salt that goes well with seafood)

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (definitely a treasured find in my freezer!)

5 ounce bag of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup cream

generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese

lemon wedges, crushed red pepper and chopped green onions for serving (optional)

COOK the pasta according to cooking instructions, reserving a mugful of cooking water before straining.

HEAT a large skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter, swirling the skillet to melt the butter without it burning. Add the shrimp in one crowded layer, sprinkle evenly with the seasoning, and cook about one minute before stirring. Give it all a good toss and when most of the shrimp are just pink, scoop them from the skillet into a small bowl using a slotted spoon.

ADD the remaining tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet and cook the spinach just until it wilts. Stir in the cream, let it bubble for a minute, then add the shrimp back in, stirring to coat.

RETURN the strained pasta back to its cooking pot and add the creamy spinach and shrimp along with a good handful or so of parmesan and some of the reserved pasta water. Toss well with tongs or a pasta tool, adding additional parmesan as desired.

DIVIDE among 6 bowls (or save extras for later if serving fewer than 6) and top with another sprinkle of parmesan, some green onions, crushed red pepper and a wedge of lemon if desired.