Mama Mary's

Instead of seeing The Shrimp and The Whale last weekend, I joined my Uncle, his ex-wife and their two children for the holidays. The evening started out cordial enough with king crab from Costco and poached shrimp with dipping sauce. The adults made peppy small talk for what must have been a full seven minutes before Uncle retired to the living room to play the electric piano (a Christmas gift). Loudly.

Their dispute seemed to be about whether or not their 14-year old son, who was holed up in his room playing video games, was or wasn’t sick. Uncle was arguing that the kid was just tired from his no-sleep-sleepover-party the night before. His ex-wife, who had given permission for the sleepover, wanted the kid taken to the emergency room for an immediate throat culture.

Over dinner, aka the next time all adults were in the same room together, the phrase “this is what parenthood is all about” was repeated a total of three times by the ex-wife while their eleven year old daughter abandoned the table in favor of an electric drum set, also a Christmas gift. That’s the moment when I would have given my two front teeth to be home with a nice, hot, pizza.

MAMA MARY'S "2005 PIZZA CREATIONS RECIPE CONTEST"

The Rules: Recipes must use Mama Mary's® Gourmet Pizza Crusts and be submitted under one of the following categories: Your Mama’s Favorite Pizza or Creative Creations Traditional or Dessert Pizza). Recipes will be judged on the basis of originality, taste, presentation and compatibility with associated lifestyles and locations.

The Prize: Grand Prize winners (2) will each receive a trip to Disney World plus $5,000, half of which ($2,500) will be donated by Spartan Foods of America, Inc. to the charity of each winner's choice.

The Entry: Baja Shrimp Pizza
Yields 8 slices

1 Mama Mary’s 12 inch Gourmet Pizza Crust
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 cup alfredo sauce
1/3 cup salsa verde
1 cup canned black beans, drained
1 pound medium shrimp, shells and tail removed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
1 cup jalapeno jack, shredded
½ cup cilantro leaves
3 chopped scallions
1 lime, cut in 8 wedges

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Line a vented pizza pan with parchment baking paper that has been trimmed so edges will not hang over the pan or touch the oven wall, place crust on the pan. Paint crust and rim with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder.

Mix alfredo sauce with salsa verde. Spread sauce over the crust. Scatter black beans evenly over the sauce.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt, cumin and granulated garlic. Sauté until shrimp turns pink on the bottom and turn them over, continue to sauté until shrimp are firm and pink. Arrange shrimp on top of alfredo sauce. Top with cheese.

Reduce oven temperature to 425° F. Keeping pizza on the pan, bake for 10 minutes. To crisp the crust remove from the parchment-lined pan and place directly on the oven rack for 3 additional minutes.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and chopped scallions and cool 4-5 minutes before slicing. Serve garnished with lime wedges.