balsamic cremini mushrooms and shallots over polenta

I should start out by saying that I absolutely love polenta. If it's on a menu, I'm ordering it. This recipe is very loosely inspired by a dish I had at Greens. It only makes 1 or 2 servings, but since Kenny hates mushrooms, that was really all I was looking to make anyway!

Ingredients:
6 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 Tbsp butter
1 shallot, peeled and trimmed
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinches of sugar and dried rosemary
1/2 cup polenta
2 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup pecorino romano
salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Add the shallots to an oven-safe ramekin. If you don't have a small oven-safe ramekin, (we don't) just make a little bowl out of tin foil. Add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and pinches of salt, pepper, sugar and dried rosemary. Bake for 15 minutes. The mushrooms should only take about ten minutes to cook, so you can prep them in the meantime. Melt the butter in a small non-stick pan, then add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, cover and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the shallots are done, combine them with the mushrooms and be sure to pour in any of the delicious balsamic vinegar juices. Feel free to remove any stray pieces of rosemary. The shallots should be tender and the layers will naturally separate if you push down on them a bit.

To prepare the polenta, boil 2 cups of vegetable stock in a small pot, then whisk in the polenta and stir constantly until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Plate and pour the mushrooms and shallots over top.