Sweet and Spicy Shrimp

One of the thing's I've had to learn once I had a child was how to put meals together in a hurry. While I would love frozen pizzas and cold cereal on a regular basis, it is nice to have a meal made from scratch now and then. This particular meal came together because we discovered our Dollar General sells shrimp. Yup. Seriously. So we got some and went to work. Everything else I had on hand in the house. The whole thing came together in about half an hour. The Wife claimed it a winner. I felt it needed more heat and added some extra Sriracha. Either way it's a keeper. As I'll mention below, finding the specific preserves we used may be a challenge unless you make it yourself. Just find a store bought one you like and experiment! As always, notes are in blue.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 lb. medium frozen cooked peeled shrimp
• 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon pineapple sage preserves (I totally understand many of you won't have this exact thing on hand. Feel free to substitute orange preserves or something like that. Then just add the sage)
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 8 ounce can of edamame, drained
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• cooked white rice for serving

Directions

1. Defrost shrimp in a large bowl of water. If the tails are still on, pinch them off (put the tails in a baggie and freeze them to use to make stock for something else)
2. Heat a large saucepan or wok over medium hot heat. Add oil. 
3. Add the onions and carrots and sautee for 3-5 minutes
4. Add the edamame and cook another 2-3 minutes
5. Add the preserves and mix until preserves are totally broken down into the vegetables. 
6. Add the milk and sriracha. Mix. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Bring to a simmer and let simmer about 7-10 minutes. Do NOT let come to a boil. Stir often.
8. Add the shrimp stir to coat. Since the shrimp is pre-cooked, you'll only need to leave them in there a minute or two to warm up.
9. Serve over a bed of rice (though would be good over noodles, too)

Good Times!

Linguine with Shrimp and Bacon in Red Wine Cream Sauce

     We love our pasta. If I made pasta every night, The Wife would be the happiest woman in the world. She'd also weigh 400 pounds and hold me responsible. Anyways, we love pasta. And shrimp. And bacon. I figured I'd combine them all into a new pasta dish. The addition of red wine was, in my humble opinion, a great idea. We used a red table wine and it gave the sauce a really good flavor. If liquor is not an option for your cooking, just use an equal amount of stock. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Unless you don't like it, in which case leave me the hell alone. As always, notes are in blue.

Linguine with Shrimp and Bacon
in Red Wine Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• 1 pound shrimp
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup stock (you can use the water from cooking the shrimp)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a pan, cook the bacon until starting to crisp. Drain, saving 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Remove bacon to a paper towel.
2. In a medium pot, boil the shrimp for a few minutes, until pink. Peel and remove tails. Put shrimp aside to drain. (Leave the tails in the peelings in the water to boil. That will serve as your stock)
3. In the pan with the grease, set heat to medium high. Add onion and garlic and sautee for 5-7 minutes. Do not let the garlic brown too much. 
4. Stir in the stock and the tomato paste. Bring to a simmer. Add the wine and simmer, stirring until the tomato paste is totally incorporated. 
5. Lower heat and add cream, and Parmesan. Stir until cheese is incorporated. (If you think the sauce is too thick, cut it with a little more stock)
6. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and return to pot. Pour sauce in over pasta. Toss with chopped parsley and black pepper. 

Good Times!

Pasta with Zucchini and Shrimp

     Our garden has been zucchini fabulous this season. Even in late October, it's still producing. We have been desperately searching for ways to use it up. There's only so many zucchini breads or zucchini boats you can eat. The recipe we settled on turned out to be extremely easy and tasty. While we made some adjustments for what was actually on hand, I think we're actually pretty close to the intended recipe here. We're calling it a winner. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Pasta with Zucchini and Shrimp
Originally Maccheroni alla Chitarra con Gamberi e Zucchini
via The Geometry of Pasta

Ingredients

• About 1/2 pound maccheroni all chitarra (that's the same thing as medium shells, right? Because that's what I used)
• 2-3 zucchini (about 2/3 pound) (they must have some weak-ass garden where they are, because our zucchini are about 2/3 pound EACH. That's just how badass we are. We used one zucchini and one small yellow squash)
• 4-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, cut into matchsticks
• 1/2-2/3 pound raw shell-on prawns, shelled (prawns! La-de-da! Unfortunately, my chauffeur had the flu so I couldn't get to my man on the coast. I had to make due with a bag of frozen shrimp from Wal-mart. Scandalous.)
• 3-1/2 tablespoons butter
• 10 basil leaves, torn or shredded

Directions

1. Top and tail the zucchini, then cut across into half to make them a manageable length. Slice each section lengthwise in thin, 1-2 millimeter slices, then stack the slices and cut into julienne strips the same width as the pasta will be when cooked. You could lightly season these with salt a few minutes, but it isn't really necessary.

   

   Yeah, it's totally not going to happen like that.

   (Now the previous instructions as we did it: Cut the ends off the zucchini. Run the bastard through a mandoline with the julienne blades in. Don't worry about how long you cut them. Carry on.)
2. Put the pasta on. (I would, but it doesn't go with my outfit at all)
3. A few minutes before the pasta is cooked, heat a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and garlic, which should fry a little, but not color. 
4. Add the zucchini, prawns (shrimp), and salt and pepper to taste. Fry until prawns are half cooked, then add the butter. Sautee until the sauce is luscious (Whoo! Somebody had their thesaurus out when they wrote this!) and the zucchini is wilted, but with some bite.
5. Drain the pasta and toss into the sauce, increasing the heat to high for the last 30 seconds. Stir in the basil and serve.

Good times!

Lemon-Chile Seafood Delight

     Some days I really want something light, but full of flavor. I also want it quickly and with minimal effort. This recipe is the culmination of those desires. It came together in about a half an hour. Aside from the rice I served it on, this dish is phenomenally low on calories. The lemon and sriracha gave this dish a nice kick. The Wife certainly enjoyed it, so I'll call it a winner. When naming it, I decided to go with one of those goofy sounding names you find in Chinese restaurants. I thought "Monkeys Chasing the Heaven's Gate on Fire" was good, but it sounded too much like something you'd buy at a fireworks stand. Anyway, give it a try if you want. Hopefully you will like it as much as we did. As always, notes are in blue.

Lemon-Chile Seafood Delight

Ingredients

• 12 ounces shrimp, tails removed (I used frozen shrimp, since fresh is prohibitively expensive right now. If you use fresh, make sure to cook them until they are pink. Also, save the tails to use later to make shrimp stock!)
• 1 pound imitation crab meat ("Crabuluxe," as we call it. Feel free to use real crab meat if you want. Make sure to have the butler get the Ferrari waxed while he's out picking it up.)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound fresh broccoli 
• 1 can (14 ounce) stir-fry vegetables, drained
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha (we used our own home-made Sriracha)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (use Worcestershire sauce if you don't have fish sauce. Use soy sauce if you don't have either of those. If you have none, just stop and go out for a pizza.)
• Slurry of 2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

1. Steam broccoli until it starts to get tender. You still want a little snap on it. 
2. Heat oil in a large pan to medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, stir for a minute or two or until garlic begins to turn golden. 
3. Add the stir-fry veggies and sriracha. Stir and let cook for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice, fish sauce and seafood. Stir to mix and let cook for 2-3 more minutes (longer if you are using fresh seafood)
5. Add broccoli and slurry. Remove from heat and stir until sauce thickens. Serve over rice. Thank me at your convenience. 

Good times!

Chile Shrimp with Butter Beans and Lemony Couscous

     I'm always a bit leery about picking a recipe based solely on reviews. I've worked in retail long enough to know that people generally only come forward with complaints. That's because most people are fucking morons. This particular recipe came out of a Food & Wine magazine. I checked online and it had a 2-1/2 star review by the public. If Roger Ebert has taught me anything, it is that 2-1/2 stars does not mean it is bad, or even below-average. It means it did what it set out to do, but some people (fucking morons) will not like it. Those are likely the same people who ate paste as children. The Wife and I loved this dish. It had a great combo of flavors. It had heat from the chile, and a salty, lemony bite that appealed to The Wife. As a bonus, this dish comes together in a hurry, so it's great for a weeknight dinner. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Chile Shrimp with Butter Beans
and Lemony Couscous
via Food & Wine

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup couscous
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp (as I never have fresh shrimp in the house, I went with a pound of frozen. I kept the tails to make shrimp stock for later use)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (that's the same thing as margarine, right? Because that's what I used)
• One 15-ounce can butter beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (fresh from the bottle!)
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (we hadn't started growing our own yet, so I used 1 teaspoon of dried)

Directions

1. In a bowl, stir the couscous with 3/4 cup of boiling water (if you want a little more depth, boil the shrimp tails in this water for 10 minutes before you add the couscous. Make sure to remove the tails before adding the couscous, because leaving them in would be dumb) Cover with a lid and steam for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shrimp and crushed red pepper and cook over moderately high heat until golden, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the butter to the skillet. Add the beans, capers and lemon juice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Fold the bean mixture, parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the couscous; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with the shrimp.

Good times, baby!

Too Damned Easy Ceviche

     I discovered ceviche at our favorite Mexican restaurant. As you know, I count all of my calories, so I was looking for something that wouldn't break the bank. I found their Ceviche Bowl. It was just vegetables and shrimp with some crackers on the side. I had it and was hooked. I figured there's not much to making it they way they do, so I'd try to make it at home. For the $12 they charged at the restaurant, I can buy enough ingredients to make four! I know that many versions of ceviche use fish that is cooking in the acids of the citrus, but I'm keeping it simple and just parroting what I got in the restaurant. As always, any notes are in blue. 

Too Damned Easy Ceviche

Ingredients

• 12 ounces frozen shrimp, defrosted and tails removed (Don't throw the tails away! Boil them in some water and make yourself some shrimp stock to freeze for another day!)
• 2 avocados, cut into into 3/4" cubes (if you did this without first pitting the avocado and scooping it from the shell, just put everything away and go order a pizza)
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (the stuff from the little plastic lime is fine)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 medium jalapenos, diced (if you're a wuss and can't handle the heat, throw the seeds away. If you are a stud like myself, leave them in)
• 1 teaspoon salt (I actually had some pink Himalayan salt on hand and went with that)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients except avocado and salt in a large bowl. Toss to incorporate ingredients (I will not be held responsible for overenthusiastic tossing)
2. Add avocado and sprinkle salt. Lightly toss to incorporate (I held the avocado back because it tends to get mushed up if you toss it too much. Ideally you want the cubes of avocado to remain cube-shaped. This is one of the few times where I actually worry about presentation. To me, ceviche should taste and LOOK clean)
3. Serve up in a small bowl or goblet with nacho chips (or as I've seen in several restaurants, with packs of Saltine crackers)

Good times!

Slow Cooker Cajun Stew

     Now and again I like to totally improvise a recipe. The inspiration came about from the desire to burn through a surplus of pork that had been building up in our freezer. I also had a can of okra I don't remember buying. I figured pork+okra=Cajun food. I suppose it could also equal porkra, which sounds like something Godzilla would fight.

From the 1964 classic, "Godzilla vs. Porkra"

     You can ramp the heat up or down on this recipe by changing out the spices. I used some generic Cajun seasoning along with some local stuff. Feel free to use whatever you want. Cayenne would certainly be at home here. Hell, go nuts and throw in some Old Bay seasoning. Serve it over rice. Or noodles, or on its own. I won't tell. Just enjoy it as much as I did!

Slow Cooker Cajun Stew

Ingredients

• 1 lb spicy ground pork sausage
• 1 lb boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1"cubes
• 13 ounces (one package) smoked sausage (I used a bacon and cheddar smoked sausage), cut into 1/2" thick slices
• 8 ounces peeled shrimp, tails removed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 sliced jalapenos
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) sliced okra, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• File powder (optional)

Directions

1. Cook ground pork sausage until browned, drain and add to 5 quart slow cooker.
2. Brown cubed pork 2-3 minutes, add to slow cooker along with smoked sausage.
3. In a saucepan, combine okra, diced tomatoes, jalapenos and white vinegar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes then add to slow cooker.
4. Add all remaining ingredients except shrimp to slow cooker. Heat on LOW for 6 hours. Add shrimp during last 20 minutes of cooking.
5. Add file powder when serving, if desired.

Good times!

Shrimp Lafayette via Pol Martin

     We love shrimp. We are never without a couple of pounds in the freezer. The are low in calories and so versatile. More often than not, when we're trying to figure out what's for dinner and we're feeling lazy, we end up making some sort of shrimp dish.  There's just so much you can do. Appetizers, entrees, even children's toys!

Not monkeys, SHRIMP! I know, right?

     This particular shrimp recipe comes from my close, personal friend, Pol Martin* and his quintessential 1990's-era cookbook: Pol Martin's Supreme Cuisine. This is a great mid-week meal. The ingredients are simple and should be in most kitchens at any given time. It also comes together quickly, probably about 45 minutes or so start to finish. It does have a bit of heat, so if you are of weak constitution you may want to back off on the peppers on this recipe. As always, changes and notes appear in blue.

Shrimp Lafayette
via Pol Martin's Supreme Cuisine

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 green peppers, chopped (my wife isn't a huge fan of green peppers, so we used red)
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper (if the heat is going to be an issue, you could probably get away with poblano.)
• 4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, blanched, peeled and chopped (didn't blanch the garlic. Don't judge me.)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you're considering omitting this AND the jalapeno, don't tell me. Just make sure you're strapped securely into your high chair, you big baby.)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup shrimp stock (If you bought tail-on shrimp, you can make basic shrimp stock. Take the tails and boil them in some water. PRESTO! Low-rent shrimp stock!)
• 1-1/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (we used tail-on frozen. We survived.)
• salt

Directions

1. Heat half of butter in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add onion and both peppers, Cook 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Add tomatoes, garlic, spices and brown sugar. Mix well and cook 10 minutes over low heat.
3. Add shrimp stock and continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Have a nice glass of wine. Go ahead, you deserve it.
5. Heat remaining butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes. Mix once during cooking.
6. Add shrimp to tomato mixture, mix and let simmer 2 minutes over low heat. Serve over hot pasta (we used farfalle. Bow-tie pasta is awesome.)

Good times!

*I totally don't know Pol Martin. I'm not even sure if he's still alive.

Monday Recipe: Salmon and Shrimp in Chili-Lime Tomato Sauce

     Normally I like to work from a recipe. I may make omissions and substitutions or add something here and there, but I like to have that framework to build on. Sometimes, I just wing it. This was one of those times.  Last week I wanted something fairly low in calories but big on flavor. I wanted to feel like I was really eating something substantial.  I figured that chili-lime was a classic combo. However, I decided on an alternative lime source. I thought Rose's Lime juice from the bar would be a nice compliment to the sriracha and sweet onion. I was right. This was fantastic and healthy to boot!

Salmon and Shrimp in Chili-Lime Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets
• 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, cleaned and de-tailed
• 1 large, sweet onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pints tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon Rose's Lime Juice
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in pan, add garlic, celery and onion. Saute until tender. 3-5 minutes.
2. Take medium saucepan. Add tomatoes.  Stir in basil, Sriracha, and Rose's Lime. Blitz with an immersion blender until smooth. Add onion, celery and garlic. Bring to boil, lower to simmer and let simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes.
3. While sauce is simmering, heat grapeseed oil in pan and cook salmon on medium heat until fish flakes easily with a fork. Add shrimp near end of cooking time and cook until pink.
4. Take immersion blender and blend sauce until smooth, add heavy cream and stir. 
5. Put salmon on plate, place shrimp on salmon. Cover with tomato sauce.

Serves 4 (or two really hungry people)

Good times!

Kung Pao Pork and Vegetables with Noodles

     Sometimes you have more leftovers than you know what to do with. That happened to me when I made a seven pound pork shoulder. I started running out of things to do with it. I finally wound up digging around for ingredients and cobbled this dinner together. I posted it on Facebook and people responded fairly well. A couple people asked for the recipe. Looking at the picture, it appears that this is a very involved dish. Edamame? That's not something most people have in the house? How did this dish happen?
     I cheated. The veggies are a microwave steamer pack. The sauce is store bought. The noodles are 10 cent Ramen. However, the meal was delicious. Maybe a touch high in sodium, but overall fairly healthy. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated to be good.

Kung Pao Pork and Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 pack Ramen noodles (do not use seasoning packet)
• 1 10 oz pack Pict Sweet Steamables frozen Broccoli Florets, Celery, Carrots and Edamame
• 2 cups pork (beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu would all work. Hell, throw them all in there if you want!), cut or torn into 1-2" pieces
• 1/4 cup Yings Kitchen Extra Spicy Kung Pao Sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions

1. Heat oil in pan. Cook until browned on all sides.
2. Cook frozen vegetables in microwave according to directions. Use minimum cooking time suggested.
3. Reduce heat on pork, add cooked vegetables from bag.
4. In a saucepan, bring water to boil. Cook noodles until al dente. Drain. Add noodles to pork and vegetables in pan. 
5. Add Kung Pao sauce. Toss so sauce covers everything evenly. 
6. Serve and enjoy!

Good times!

Weekday Meal Project

     I've been doing a lot more cooking than normal lately, and really enjoying it. We've been eating well and not working too hard to make it happen. During that time, I've heard some naysayers claim it's too expensive to eat healthy. I suppose that depends on your definition of healthy. Organic? Yes, that's expensive. We count calories for the most part in my house. We try to keep sodium and fat down, but if you watch calories, everything else falls into place, more or less.
     For a week I made it a point to cook at least four of the five workdays. I wanted to see if I could make quick meals that were not more than 300 calories. I also wanted to do this without breaking the bank. I'm going to tell you what I cooked each night and give an approximate cost assuming you only had the spices on hand. I am basing costs on shopping at ALDI, Wal-Mart and County Market.

Monday: Shrimp Scampi (two servings). 340 calories with rice.
About $3.50-$4.00 per serving.

Tuesday: I had to work late. Bought two 6-inch subs with a coupon. The subs were around 350-400 calories a piece. $5.50

Wednesday: Orange-Teriyaki Beef and Noodles (two servings). 300 calories.
About $3.50-$4.50 per serving

Thursday: Thai Curry Chicken Soup (3 servings). 210 calories.
About $1.00-$1.50 per serving

Friday: Crab and Spinach Enchiladas (4 servings) 265 calories.
About $2.00-$2.50 per serving

     So there you have it. A work week of meals. Good, healthy foods. Total cost? Somewhere in the range of $14.50-$18.00. That's feeding two people, with two nights having leftovers. Only one meal I cooked went over 300 calories, and that was only 40 over. It's not easy to eat right for not a lot of money. You only need to remember one thing.

Shop Smart.

Good times!

Monday Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

     I've been banging on about the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook for a good reason. Unfortunately, that reason is not a fat sponsorship deal. It is because the recipes are generally quick, easy and never more than 300 calories. I'm going to hit you with another one I was extremely pleased with. As I've been doing of late, any changes to the recipe will be shown in blue.

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. deveined and peeled shrimp, thawed if frozen
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2t chopped fresh or 1/2t dried basil
• 2t chopped fresh or 1/4t dried parsley
• 1T fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)
• 1/8t salt (omitted)
• 2T shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4t red pepper flakes
• 1 cup cooked white rice

Directions

1. Rinse shrimp in cold water and pat dry on paper towel. If the shrimp has a tail, remove if desired (we removed the tails to save for shrimp stock).
2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat, 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese. Cook 2-3 minute, stirring frequently, until shrimp are pink. Do not overcook the shrimp or they will become tough. Sprinkle with cheese. (I continued to cook another minute or so after adding the cheese. It resulted in a slightly thicker sauce.)
3. Serve over rice

Serves two. 240 calories per serving (340 with 1/2 cup rice)

Good times!

Recipe Monday (on Wednesday) Fried Polenta With Mozzarella and Shrimp

     Well I missed my Monday post and nobody noticed, which is sort of discouraging. However, for the two people who actually read this blog, I shall plod ahead and post a recipe that I threw together for an appetizer for Christmas dinner. It went over pretty well. Nobody spit it out or got sick, so I'm calling it a success. Here  it is:

Fried Polenta with Mozzarella, Shrimp and White Truffle Oil

Ingredients

• 1 tube firm polenta
• Mozzarella cheese, sliced
• A dozen or so shrimp, peeled, cleaned and de-tailed. 
• White truffle oil
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Slice polenta into 1/4" slices, set on paper towel to absorb excess water
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. Heat some olive oil in a pan
4. Fry polenta in oil until lightly brown on both sides (about 3-5 minutes per side)
5. Put polenta on greased cookie sheet.
6. Put a slice of mozzarella and a shrimp or two on each slice of polenta
7. Drizzle white truffle oil over the top of each piece
8. Put sheet in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 10-12 minutes)
9. Optionally you can put a dollop of marinara on each slice as well before heating

Good times and Happy Holidays!