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Daily Archives: July 1, 2016

Shrimp and Grits

When I started my first year of college, my daddy flew down with me to help me move into my dorm room and provide a familiar buffer against all of the unknowns. Well, that and to get more free checked baggage…

The night before the big “move -in” day, we stayed in a nice downtown hotel. In the morning, we headed down to the continental breakfast to fuel up before lugging duffel bags and suitcases up 11 flights of stairs.

I remember several snapshots from that morning.

It’s silly how memory works: I know exactly what I wore – short jean shorts with an army green tank top and a short sleeve beige cardigan, with a wooden headband holding back my new haircut. I remember putting so much effort to pick the perfect outfit simply to sweat in… but joking aside, I didn’t want my new roommate to think I was lame.

I remember there being a lot of options for a hotel breakfast. Sure, they had cereal and yogurt and a waffle iron… in fact, no matter how good of a cook I ever will be, no waffle will top a hotel waffle. There is something about the beeping that made me so nervous when I was kid, the sheer joy of being able to have a waffle just because I wanted one, and the anticipation to go on to wherever the hotel was a detour from… the nostalgia is better than any recipe.

But again, I digress. Aside from what you might expect, they had eggs and bacon and sausage and…. lumpy grey stuff. The label said grits.

I had heard of these. Deep South grits that for some reason people seemed to enjoy even though the name was inherently unappetizing. But hey, if I was going to make it in the South, I was going to like grits. Here goes bite one as this new Southern Belle. Watch out, Scarlett.

I think I spit it into my napkin.

From that moment, I decided grits were nasty. My later experience in the university dining hall confirmed this conviction. But eventually, when I was talking to a nice Southern man, he told me that I only despised them so much because I never had them the right way. And boy, was he right.

Now I’m in love…

Cheese grits, plain grits, shrimp ’n grits. I love them all. So of course I had to learn to make them.

This is my favorite recipe for my Southern brunch. They are velvety and tangy; they go well with shrimp or just on their own.

I assure you, these won’t end up in a napkin.

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Step One. 

Prep Step! Get your grits ingredients ready. No rush on the shrimp part – you have time while the grits cool. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

 

Step Two. 

Bring the milk, butter, and water to boil over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Add the grits, whisking them in. For you northerners out there, don’t just dump the grits in. They will clump. Bad.

 

Step Three. 

Cover it, stick it in the oven, and bake, bake, bake. They’ll stay in there about 20 – 30 minutes. But you have to take them out about halfway through to add some wine, so pay attention. Halfway through, stir in the wine, and return it to the oven.

 

Step Four. 

More Prep! Get all that shrimp stuff ready. Chop, chop!

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Step Five. 

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for two to three minutes. Dump in the peppers and tomatoes, and sauté for another four minutes. Now, deglaze the pan with the wine and lemon juice.

What is this “deglazing” business?

Deglazing happens when you add a cold liquid to a very hot pan or pot- it releases the little brown, tasty bits from the bottom of the pan and adds them to the sauce. Om nom.

 

Step Six.

Add those shrimp and continue to cook until the shrimp are just done – they should be pink.

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Step Seven.

Take the grits out – add the cheeses. Plate and add the shrimp – serve!

 

Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and Grits

Another Southern Classic! The cheeses and wine zest it up!

Ingredients

    Grits
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup quick- cooking grits
  • longish pour white wine - about 1/3 cup
  • 2 oz shredded parmesan
  • 2 oz crumbled goat cheese
    For the Shrimp
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 14 shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

    For the Grits
  1. Prep Step! Measure everything out for the grits and preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Bring the butter, milk, and water to a boil over medium heat in a cast iron pot. SLOWLY add the grits, and whisk so that there are no clumps.
  3. Put the grits in the oven - bake for 25 - 30 minutes. At 15 minutes, pull it out to stir in the white wine. ((The cheese step is at the end of the recipe))
    For the Shrimp
  1. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for two to three minutes.
  2. Add the peppers and tomatoes, and sauté for another four minutes. Now, deglaze the pan with the wine and lemon juice.
  3. Add the shrimp to the pan and continue to cook until the shrimp are just done - they should be pink.
  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste
    Put it Together
  1. Remove the grits from the oven and stir in the cheeses. Plate, top with shrimp, and serve!
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