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christmas

A serious bouche-amuser: Crispy Polenta and Garlic Shrimp

December 26, 2012 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

foodmodel1

…because everyone has a food model handy.

In order to understand the above picture, you need to understand my family around Christmas time.  We’re Jewish, with a Catholic dad. This means– thankfully–we are not subjected to the Chinese Food + TBS movie on Christmas Eve cliché, but we’re not exactly celebrating Jesus’ birthday either. So, naturally, we do as any other family in a similar situation does… put on a series of elaborate Christmas dinners, where the five of us take an imaginary adventure to some other time/place in bizarre costumes and toast to each other with bad accents, acting in line with offensive and/or inaccurate stereotypes. (Some gems from years past are below).

This year, I was passed the baton and was charged with taking my family on a culinary journey on Christmas Eve. Equipped with a sous-chef (my little brother), I, Frau Lulu, countess of a small Swiss village, served my esteemed guests an elaborate four-course meal in my modest country home. First on the menu, presented above ever so elegantly by one of my guests, the internationally recognized singer-model  Ze Frau Emilie, was the amuse-bouche: polenta discs with garlic shrimp, marinara sauce and goat cheese.

Serves about 14 discs, 2-3 per person

  • 1 tube pre-cooked polenta (in the pasta aisle)
  • 12 shrimp, raw, de-shelled and de-veined
  • garlic
  • marinara sauce, preferably homemade
  • goat cheese
  • S/P
  • Italian seasoning

food11)  slice the polenta into about 12-14 even slices. Season them each with S/P and Italian seasoning

2) heat a large skillet with olive oil to medium-high heat and saute the polenta. About 10 mins

3) While polenta cooks, heat another skillet. Mix shrimp with 2 T olive oil and 3 crushed garlic cloves in a small bowl. Season with S/P and place gently into skillet.  Once the shrimp hit the pan, do not flip them for 2 minutes to ensure they get good color. Turn off heat once they are pink and seared.

4) Once the polenta are crispy, place them on a large ungreased cookie sheet. Place 1 shrimp on each polenta disc, then add 1 teaspoon of marinara. Crumble an ample amount of goat cheese on top of each disk.

5) place in the oven and broil for about 5 minutes.  Watch constantly to make sure nothing burns.

6) wait about 5 minutes before transferring to a pretty plate. Serve and enjoy!

Here are some of those gems mentioned above:

Disco Christmas

Disco Christmas 2010

"Arabian Nights"...yea, this happened too.

“Arabian Nights”…yea, this happened too. Christmas 2011

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Dinner, Pasta & Grains Tagged With: appetizers, cheese, christmas, family, food, holidays, polenta, seafood, siblings

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Welcome

I’m Eva Louise and welcome to Mind in the Butter! This is my food bloggy, showcasing my favorite dishes and recipes often inspired by and cooked for my loved ones. My goal with this blog is to eventually document every single dish I make so when I’m old and stale, I will be able to remember and celebrate memories from my favorite place…the kitchen!

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