Thursday, August 26, 2010

Shrimp and Grits

Wow! With a 7 and 3 year old home all day long this summer, I had almost no time to even log on to my blog or anyone else's! We have been swimming and playing, doing crafts and having play dates. I'm sad for school to start but it IS nice to have just a little bit of time to do something besides laundry!

My husband and I went with some friends to Destin this past weekend. It was a 30th birthday celebration and for dinner Saturday night, we went to a place called "Vintage Wine Boutique" I believe. It's a wine store that also has the most exquisite food ever! I decided to get a pecan crusted chicken that was served over polenta - but essentially it tasted like shrimp and grits. Because polenta is basically boiled cornmeal, and cornmeal is ground corn - well, that's what grits are. Sooo, I thought I'd attempt shrimp and grits in a desperate attempt to replicate that delicious meal I had at dinner Saturday night. I won't say that it was just as good - and there are things I'll do different with this when I make it again, I'll tell YOU what they are now though, so you won't have to learn from experience. ;-) It was still pretty darned good even though I'd do some things different. And my husband tore it up, and brought it out this morning for breakfast.
So, without further ado -

Shrimp and Grits

2 cups 2% milk
3/4 cup chicken broth (I made my own from granules b/c it tastes better)
1 cup uncooked grits (I used quick cooking - next time I will use stone ground)
1/4 tsp salt
1 (3 oz pckg) of cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbspns butter
3 tbs chopped, fresh, flat leaf parsley (I subbed with dry parsley)
1 tbsp chives
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 large egg whites (I used the whole eggs - and I'd do it again)
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
Cooking Spray
Tabasco (optional)

Preparation:

1. preheat oven to 375

2. Combine milk and broth in saucepan (use a big one). Once it's at a boil, gradually add your grits and salt. IF you use quick cooking, obviously this step will last about 5 minutes - I'm not sure about it if you use stone ground, I imagine it will take quite a bit longer but will be worth it for sure. And milk/chicken broth could be added if needed if cooked with stone ground

3. Remove the grits from the heat once they are nice and thick. The texture should be similar to mashed potatoes but thinner. Not as thin as gravy. Stir in parmesan, butter and cream cheese. Stir in parsley and next 4 ingredients.

4. Saute shrimp until cooked. Chop them up in a food processor by pulsing. Don't puree them because, well, ewww.

5. Mix them in with the grits, grease your 11x7 pan, and pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes or until they look "set" you'll know because the edges will start to stand a bit on their own rather then look soupy. Serve with hot sauce if desired.

****I did put cheddar cheese on top of mine, because I figured it couldn't hurt. And I also added garlic powder - because I think just about everything tastes better with garlic! If you want, you can saute minced garlic with the shrimp. You can use frozen shrimp - but you really want to make sure it won't be soggy when it's cooked. You want it to be firm, not mushy.


There ya go!! I hope you enjoy!

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