An invented recipe

A few years ago, I was living in Alaska with my wife and three kids. We actually lived in the downstairs of her parents' massive house. But we all ate together most every night. Now I have a lot of experience cooking in both short order and good restaurants, so I am comfortable at the stove. My passion is Mediterranean food, although I have yet to look in a cookbook. I prefer to experiment. One evening when it was my turn to cook, I tried the recipe here out. I was lucky with what I found in the fridge. Anyway, within seconds of her first bite, my wife turned to me, her eyes wide. She asked where I got the recipe. My mouth full, I pointed at my head. "Write it down!" her mom shouted- my wife nodding enthusiastically.

So I did. My amounts are somewhat approximate, but I have since duplicated the dish and it came out perfectly. Here it is. I call this Tangy Mediterranean Shrimp

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds uncooked, cleaned fresh medium shrimp (don't chop)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (the ones that come in a jar w/ olive oil and herbs) (chop)
6.5 oz jar/can marinated artichoke hearts, chopped small
10-15 green olives w/pimientos, chop in half or quarters (I use Mexican style)
3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
8-10 oz can tomato sauce (not Italian style, just plain)
Have some Extra Virgin Olive Oil handy
Have about 2tsp of Corn Starch handy as well.. just in case.
2-3 dashes citrus pepper
1/2 tsp thyme scant dash marjoram
1 T lemon juice salt to taste

Procedure:
You need to have all of your ingredients chopped, cleaned and ready to go the moment you start cooking. Cooking time is five minutes or less, so be prepared! By the end of this, you will feel like the Iron Chef!

First, heat a nice deep skillet on a hot burner. HOT! Medium is not gonna get this done- so if you fear the heat, you can go just under HOT! but not much. Throw the sun-dried tomatoes with all of their olive oil glory, the artichoke hearts and the garlic into the skillet. Saute for about 1 minute, stirring conscientiously to keep the tomatoes from burning too much. A little blackening is fine. If you don't feel there is enough oil, pour a couple tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in there. Then toss your cleaned, tail-less, drained shrimp in there, immediately splashing the lemon juice atop it. Cook for 2- 3 minutes in your HOT! pan.

When the shrimp is fairly pink, pour in about 7 oz of tomato sauce and add all spices. Fold everything together and let it saute and spit until at a power boil. This needs to happen fast. As soon as it is boiling, lower the heat to very low and let it simmer.

Now assess the wateriness of your sauce. Do you want it thicker? If so, mix the corn starch into the leftover tomato sauce, beating out all lumps. Then add it to the simmering delight on the stove before you. If you want thinner sauce, pour the leftover tomato sauce in the simmering skillet and mix well.

Add the chopped olives and taste. If you need salt, then salt to taste and serve right away! Don't let that shrimp overcook.

Finally, I first served this on Angel Hair, which worked wonderfully. But Angel Hair cooks so fast and is so hard to strain that I am now using Penne.

This is now a family favorite. If my wife goes more than a month without it, she gives me looks on my cooking days. I have quickly learned to interpret the meaning of said looks. Oh yeah, this goes great with Artisan or French Bread. Sourdough is my favorite.