Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Over Cheese Grits, Fried Spinach & Tomato Jam

Ingredients:
18 strips bacon
18 jumbo shrimp (16-20's) about 1 1/4 pounds
1 1/2 teaspoons Essence
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 recipe Cheese Grits

1 recipe Fried Spinach

1 recipe Tomato Jam
Preparing the bacon-wrapped shrimp:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails attached. Devein and set aside, refrigerated, until ready to use.

Cut 2 inches off of each strip of bacon and reserve the short pieces for another use. Place the trimmed strips of bacon on a sheet pan and bake the bacon until slightly pink and some of the fat has rendered out of it, about 6 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the bacon to cool.

Season the shrimp with the Essence and wrap a strip of the partially cooked bacon around each shrimp, slightly overlapping the bacon as you twist it around the shrimp. Set aside and repeat with the remaining shrimp and bacon slices.

Set a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat, and add the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, lay the shrimp in the pan and cook for 2 1/2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over and cook another 2 1/2 minutes.

Serve the shrimp over the top of cheese grits. Serve with fried spinach on the side, and drizzle tomato jam over the whole plate.

Serves 6