Shrimp po'boys recipe

Cooking for two can be difficult. While Geoff and I are doing very well eating our leftovers, it's always nice to find a recipe that works for two, and sandwiches are exactly that!
This recipe is a combination of one from my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (we have all three of these books and I love them, by the way) and my Weight Watchers Comfort Classics cookbook. I had intended to make the ATK recipe completely, but when I read that they wanted to fry the shrimp I decided to use the method from the Weight Watchers cookbook instead.

As a bit of history, the term po' boy is short for poor boy, and it's used to describe a sandwich put on submarine bread. As the story goes, a restaurant owner passed out sandwiches to boys who were working on the street cars but were currently on strike. Short for poor boys, that's how the sandwiches got their name!

Anyway, onto the recipe.
To start, peel your shrimp. I accidentally bought a bag of frozen small shrimp which become tiny when you cook them in the skillet. I was disappointed until I realized they would be perfect for this recipe!
Dip the shrimp in eggs and coat them in the cornmeal mixture. I recommend using one hand to dip the shrimp and the other to cover them with the cornmeal. That way your wet fingers don't get coated with the cornmeal.

Line a baking sheet (or, in my case, a broiler pan) with foil and spray some cooking spray on it. Put the shrimp on the pan in a single layer and spray them with the cooking spray again. Bake the shrimp at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until they are opaque in the middle.

For the sandwich part, cut a hoagie roll in half and peel out some of the bread in the inside. Spread some mayonnaise, sprinkle with lemon juice, and then a layer of diced pickles. Spread the shrimp on top, then top with lettuce and tomatoes. I choose to use baby spinach because it's healthier and we had it in the house, and we were out of tomatoes so I didn't use any of them.

The verdict? Geoff told me I can make them again! I guess that means they were a hit!

Shrimp po'boys

Shrimp:
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (I leave this out because I don't like spicy!)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs (or egg whites, if you want to be healthier), lightly beaten
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. LIne a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray the foil with non-stick spray. Combine the cornmeal, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper on a piece of wax paper. Place the eggs in a shallow bowl. Dip the shrimp into the eggs, then the cornmeal mixture. Arrange in a single later on the baking sheet and spray lightly with non stick spray. Bake until the shrimp are opaque in the middle, about 8-10 minutes.

Sandwich:
Hoagie rolls
Mayonnaise
Pickles, diced
1 tomato, sliced thin
Lettuce

Hollow out the inside of the hoagie rolls by removing some of the interior crumb from both the top and bottom crusts. Spread mayonnaise inside each hollow, sprinkle with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Spread the pickles and shrimp into the bottom crusts. Top each sandwich with several slices of tomato, lettuce, and finally the upper crust.