Shrimp and Grits & A Weekend with Friends

For the past two years I've been blessed with the fact that my husband has gotten 4-day holiday weekends, for the most part, due to the nature of his work.  This past Labor Day weekend was no exception, so we enjoyed four wonderful days together!  To top it off, some of our very best friends cane for the weekend.  My husband has a group of friends from his college days who get together every year, typically at the beach.  This year, however, one couple in the group is living overseas, serving with the International Justice Mission. (I'd encourage you to check out the IJM website.  The work they do is pretty amazing!).  Since we knew they wouldn't be able to join us for a beach trip, we decided to gather in our home for a long weekend, instead.  We had such a great time!  It's always wonderful to catch up with friends, relax, laugh, and eat.

Saturday night we decided to hold off on dinner until all the kiddos (5 of them) were in bed.  Once they were settled down, the ladies joined efforts to make some awesome Shrimp and Grits.  If you're from the South, then I'm sure you've heard of this dish and have probably eaten it once or twice.  If not, you MUST try it!  Thanks to my sweet friend, Trish, I now have the recipe and can share it with you.  

Shrimp and Grits

Printable Version

*The amounts for this recipe serve 8 adults, with leftovers.  Adjust amounts accordingly*

For the Shrimp:

Chop and dice two large onions and three cloves of garlic.

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and butter.  Add onions and garlic and saute until tender.

Add diced smoked sausage and cook for 5 more minutes.

Sprinkle flour on top of mixture in the pot.

 

Stir the flour until combined with other ingredients.  Then, slowly add the chicken broth, about a cup at a time.

Add the bay leaves, and stir mixture until it thickens and boils. You want the consistency to be like that of gravy.  If it's boiled and for awhile and doesn't seem to be thickening, you can add a cornstarch/water mixture to help it thicken.  To do this, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with just enough water to mix it together, and pour into the pot.

Once the mixture has thickened and boiled, add the shrimp.  Let this boil for about 2-3 minutes until the shrimp are pink.

 

For the Grits:

In another large pot, combine chicken stock and half-and-half and bring to a boil.  

Once it has boiled, stir in the grits.  Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and add butter and cheese.

Spoon grits into a bowl and ladle the shrimp on top.  This would be delicious served with Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

source:  my friend Trish

Linking this to:
Home Stories A to Z, Tuesday's Tutorials and Tips
Strictly Homemade Tuesday

Shrimp Thermidor

When I married into my husband's family I quickly discovered that I was going to be eating well.  They lived in a former French colony of West Africa for 16 years, so any western food they were served in a restaurant was of course French cuisine.  They came to greatly appreciate this food and so incorporated into their home. Their favorite dish was lobster thermidor, which I tasted there a few years ago, and it is amazing.  My mother-in-law altered the dish slightly to use shrimp instead of lobster, since lobster is so expensive here in the US, so I've mixed a bit of her twists along with a recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook to create my version of this delicacy.

This recipe is not for the dieter, or the lactose intolerant, but if you enjoy the rich creaminess of French cuisine, mixed with a bit of seafood, then you will definitely fall in love with this dish.  Bon Appètit!

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen raw shrimp, with peels and tails on
1 packet Zatarain's shrimp and crab boil*

8 oz fresh mushrooms

1/3 - 1/2 of a red onion

8 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups half and half

2 dried bay leaves

1/4 cup sherry**

4 cups shredded swiss cheese (not quite a pound)

salt to taste

Rinse the shrimp under cold running water to thaw.  This takes about 5-7 minutes.

Place bag of boil in a large pot and fill the pot with water, making sure to leave enough room for the shrimp.  When water comes to a rolling boil, add the shrimp, cover, and boil for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink.

This is the shrimp boil you should look for.  

Drain shrimp and allow to cool until easy to handle.  Then, remove the peels and tails. 

Slice the mushrooms and onion.  I usually do this while the shrimp is cooling.

The onions should be sliced finely.

Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a deep saucepan.  Then, add mushrooms and onion, cutting up mushrooms into smaller chunks with the back of the spoon.  Cook until onions are tender and mushrooms are golden brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Using the same pan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.

Slowly add half and half to this mixture; add bay leaves.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens.

When mixture has thickened, add the sherry and cook for 1 minute. Remove bay leaves.  Then, stir in 2 cups of the shredded swiss cheese and stir until the cheese melts.  Add mushrooms and onions.  Remove from heat and stir in the shrimp. 

Pour thermidor into a greased baking dish, preferably a shallow one, so that each bite is adequately covered with the cheese in the next step.

Sprinkle remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese over the top.

Bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes.  When it starts to bubble, switch the heat to the broiler and broil until the cheese turns golden brown. 

Serve over rice.

*You could also use 2 pounds of cooked, frozen shrimp and just skip the steps of boiling the shrimp in the shrimp boil.  I have made this both ways, and I prefer cooking my own because it does add a better seafood flavor. 

**The sherry gives it a distinct taste, so if you're not comfortable purchasing actual sherry or cream sherry from the liquor store, white cooking wine would be an okay alternative.