Kiss My Grits!

I don't know what to do with myself. After school activities are in full swing now, and Mondays is karate day. The beauty of karate day is that our oldest takes karate at school. Which means no rushing to the car pool line and then rushing somewhere else (it also means his poor little brother is stuck in aftercare for a while longer, but an extra hour of playground time never hurt a kid). Which also means I have an entire extra hour on Mondays to do something incredibly productive, like write a blog post.

When I was in Atlanta last week (and DH and the kids were eating bagels for dinner), Atlanta Mom and I made this shrimp and grits recipe. Let me just say, I am a total and complete shrimp and grits snob. It's amazing how many people get it flat out wrong, and try to turn it into something fancy. But leave it to Paula Deen, she of Savannah fame, to get it just right. This is the perfect shrimp and grits recipe, quite possibly the best I've ever had. Sorry no picture - we inhaled it so fast no one thought to document it.

Shrimp and Creamy Cheddar Grits
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (might want to make it 7 slices if you can't help yourself from snacking on it once it's sitting there on the counter, all chopped and tantalizing...)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning (Atlanta Mom got Paula's recommended Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, and it had some serious kick to it. We decided we might dial this back a bit next time.)
1/2 cup dry white wine (Whatever you're drinking that night)
1 pound large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (wild caught, not farmed!)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives (I think we left these off. We didn't miss them.)
Creamy cheddar grits (recipe follows)

Cook your bacon, set aside. Once it cools, chop it up and force yourself not to just eat it then and there. Drain the pain, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the pan. Add peppers, garlic, and Creole seasoning, and cook 2 minutes. Add wine, cook 2 more minutes. Make sure heat is on medium-high, and add the shrimp until pink and firm. Do not over cook! They should take about 2-3 minutes to cook. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and chives. Serve over cheddar grits and sprinkle with the bacon. Delish!

Cheddar grits
32 ounces chicken broth (either a box of Kitchen Basics, or your own homemade, if you have it)
1 cup water
1 cup stone ground white grits (All Southern cooks have their favorites; I love Bob's Red Mill Grits) (Do not use instant or any kind that are not stone ground.)
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (Paula calls for white pepper, which is very popular when you use the white cheddar cheese with the grits, but I don't think it makes a bit of difference in cooking and wouldn't buy some just for this. Regular black pepper is fine.)

In a medium saucepan, combine chicken broth and water, bring to a boil. Add grits, stir until combined. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently for an hour. Stir in half-and-half, cook for 45 minutes or until desired consistency. Remove from heat, add cheese, butter, and pepper. Stir well. Ladle into bowls, top with the shrimp, and ENJOY.

The Best Laid Plans

Dear Readers, I really, really do try to be consistent about my posting. My goal is always to post at least twice each week, and three times if I'm feeling especially verbose. But little things like work, sweet boys, DH, errands, household chores, socializing, and exercising always seem to get in the way of sitting down and writing about food.

This week is a classic example of the days getting away from me. For those of you eagerly following my menu planning, here's what the week was supposed to look like:
Sunday: Chicken stew with biscuits
Monday: Leftovers (chicken stew is even better the next day!)
Tuesday: Pan fried flounder, green beans, rice (or, in cold weather, chili on rice or baked potatoes)
Wednesday: Spinach lasagna
Thursday: Steaks, salad, potatoes (with hot dogs for the kiddos)
Friday: Pizza night

Here's what it really looked like:
Sunday: I left for Atlanta to work there for a couple days this week. DH fed the kids cereal for dinner.
Monday: Still in Atlanta. DH fed the kids bagels for dinner.
Tuesday: Walk in the door from Atlanta just in time for dinner. Thank goodness for my mother, who stopped by earlier in the day and put a casserole in the oven for us.
Wednesday: No one has gone to the grocery store for a week. The kids had waffles for dinner. DH had a peanut butter sandwich. I abandoned them all again and ate dinner with my book club.
Thursday: Today. Still no grocery store run. Thankfully we got a farmbox delivery today, so we at least have a few vegetables in the house and a nice fresh loaf of ciabatta bread. I hear a frittata calling our names...
***
I am SO behind on posting recipes, and I have some good ones lined up! This one is from our friend (and one of my husband's partners) Jennifer. It is FABULOUS. She served this at a dinner party a few weeks ago with rice, roasted asparagus, and salad. So amazingly yummy.

Shrimp Dejonghe (a family favorite for at least 40 years now)

2 cups white bread crumbs
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (I use 4)
1/3 cup chopped parsley with extra set aside for garnish
1 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash cayenne pepper
2/3 cup cooking sherry
7-8 cups shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails off (approximately 4 lbs)

Boil shrimp until just done (Editorial note: that should be no more than 3 minutes at the most) and spread on the bottom of a greased baking dish. Set aside.

Melt butter. Add garlic, parsley, paprika, cayenne pepper, and sherry. Mix well. Add breadcrumbs to the liquid mixture at the last minute. Toss gently with hands (do not stir with spoon because it will make the mixture too "pasty.") Spread this mixture on top of the boiled shrimp. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley toward the end of the baking.

I usually do all of the chopping by hand just for the joy of preparing and cooking food but it can be easily and quickly done with the aid of a food processor if you're in a hurry. Just do the breadcrumbs first to keep them dry as long as possible.

Enjoy!

Not Lost In Translation

This is one of those evenings when I'm so tired I am having trouble staying upright. It's only 8:30pm as I type this, yet I could so happily crawl into bed and fall asleep right this very moment. But, dear readers, I promised you shrimp pizza, and shrimp pizza you shall get.

This pizza is one of our all time, very favorite meals. I have been making this forever, and it's one of my husband's most requested dinners. But since we've been on this grilled pizza kick, I haven't made it. Honestly, I was worried it wouldn't do as well on the grill, since the shrimp needs time to cook, and all the pizzas I do on the grill are pretty quick-cooking. But we were missing it, and shrimp season will be over before too long, so I decided to try it last week.

Hello, fabulous.

It was so good. Better, even, than in the oven. The downside is that the prep for it is a smidgen time consuming. But I promise it's worth it. If you don't want to grill your pizza, this does great on one of the thin Boboli crusts you can buy at the grocery store.

Ingredients

12 large, wild caught shrimp, peeled and deveined, and cut in half horizontally (as if you meant to butterfly them and got carried away) (this makes the shrimp thinner, which helps it cook more quickly on the pizza)

3 Tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro

1 shallot, finely chopped

pinch of ground pepper

1/3 cup of good white wine - whatever you're going to be drinking with the pizza that night

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 chicken boullion cube

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 white onion, finely sliced (the thinner the better so it will cook a bit on the grill)

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and cilantro and cook until light brown. Stir often so it doesn't burn! Add pepper, wine, and lemon juice. Cook approximately another 5 minutes, stirring often - you want the liquid to reduce down so it's a bit thick. Remove from heat, and whisk in the last 2 tablespoons of butter (now might be a good time to put your cardiologist on speed dial) (hmmm...I know a good one if you need a recommendation...)

Follow instructions for grilled pizza. Once you flip to the second side, quickly brush on your butter/wine/lemon sauce. Top pizza with the shredded cheese, then shrimp, then onion. Close your grill, and if you're using a gas grill, turn the heat down to low. Leave covered for 8 minutes or until shrimp are a lovely pink and no longer translucent at all. Do not overcook! You may want to check the pizza crust once or twice to make sure it's not burning and scoot it over to a cooler spot on the grill if it gets a little scorched.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

25 Minute Meals, Part I

I have a theme for the rest of this month's posts. On the Wall Street Journal "Juggle" blog today, there was a great discussion of how hard it is to walk through the door at 5:30 or 6:00 and get a homemade, healthy dinner on the table 30 minutes later. This is really the great daily dilemma for parents every where, isn't it? (See Ray, Rachael for the huge industry that has cropped up around solving this problem). So for the rest of the month, I'm going to be blogging about how we deal with this around here (some days more effectively than others).

Here are 2 suggestions for the days when you've been gone all day, and walk through the door in the evening starving.


1) Pasta with roasted shrimp. (Caveat: you have to peel and devein your shrimp the night before, or buy them already peeled and deveined). Everyone has their favorite easy pasta and veggies recipe, right? Just add roasted shrimp to it, and it feels like even more of a meal. Salt your water, set it on the stove to boil. An obvious note that all of us know but never actually do anything about - it will boil faster if you use less water! If you're anything like me, you put in twice as much water as you actually need, and then get irritated when it isn't boiling 3 minutes later. Preheat your oven to 400. While that's coming to a boil, toss the shrimp with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put them on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Water boiling now? Excellent. Toss the pasta in, and your oven has probably preheated. Put the shrimp in, set the timer for 8 minutes. You now have 8 minutes slice a package of cherry tomatoes in half, open and drain a jar of pitted kalamata olives, and crumble some feta cheese. (While you're at it, pour yourself a glass of wine. You deserve). 8 minutes up? Take shrimp out of the oven, set aside. Drain the pasta, return to pot. Toss with the cherry tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, shrimp, a little olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with another veggie on the side that doesn't require any cooking. Maybe snowpeas with a little ranch dressing for dipping?

2) Baked potatoes with chili. I know, it's still summer so this doesn't sound so appealing. But it's such a great meal to come home to, especially once there's a little crispness in the air, because you can do the potatoes in the oven with the "delay start" function - just have them start cooking 1.5 hours before you want to eat, and it's not going to hurt them to party in the oven all day. Put your favorite chili recipe in the crockpot, and dinner is ready for you when you walk in. My crockpot chili recipe is: 1lb ground beef, 1 can kidney beans, 1 small diced onion, 1 can diced tomatoes, and 1 package McCormick mild chili seasoning. Cook on low for 8 hours. If you're going to be gone for 9-10 hours, I am of the opinion that nothing bad is going to happen to that meat if you put your crockpot on a timer and it hangs out for an hour or a little more before the cooking process starts. After all, chefs at steakhouses recommend letting your steak sit on the counter for an hour before grilling it. Surely ground beef is just as tough? (Note to readers: if you have evidence to the contrary, I don't really want to know). Slice open the baked potatoes, top with chili and a handful of shredded cheese, and enjoy. So good. We also like chili on rice, which is easily made ahead of time (and perhaps rice steamers come with timers, too? I don't know).

Happy eating!

Survivor, Savannah Style

I was apparently traumatized by the Enchilada Incident, because I haven't cooked a meal since! We've either been eating burgers by the pool or rooting around for peanut butter and jelly. Now, however, I've refocused on cooking. We are heading out on vacation in 9 short days (not that I'm counting...), so I have temporarily abandoned meal planning. Instead, I am trying to use up all the odds and ends in our freezers and pantry, so that I can start fresh when we get home.

Cleaning out the freezers and pantry is one of those endeavors that always starts off well, when you're relatively well-stocked, and ends with you trying to make a meal out of pepper jelly, canned tuna, and unidentifiable cheese ends. Happily, we're at the beginning of the clean out, and real food is still on hand. I have shrimp in the freezer, linguine in the pantry, and lemons in the fridge, so tonight is...you guessed it...Linguine with Shrimp Scampi (from Ina Garten). This is a new recipe for me, but I've included notes from a couple people who have made it before.

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined (editorial note: get wild shrimp!)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) (editorial note: 2 people have told me this makes the dish overall too lemon-y. I'm trying it tonight with half this amount)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions:

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. (Editorial note: my husband thinks this is not quite enough time to cook shrimp if you have the big fat ones, and all the wild Georgia shrimp are big and fat right now, like little mini-lobsters. I'll cook them for more like 6-7 minutes, and you should too). Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Happy eating!

A Menu For You

I was talking to Atlanta Mom today, and she commented that she finds it much harder to cook in the summer than the rest of the year. I totally agree. Not just because it's so hot that it's hard to make yourself turn on the oven or stand over a stove (side note: I've never understood how grilling outside solves this problem. It's just as sweltering outside, and then you stand over a fire?! I don't get it. I'd much rather grill in the spring and fall.), but also because our routine is completely thrown off. We make more weekend beach trips, we have more company, we meet friends for impromptu dinners at the pool. We're outside more often, which means I have less time to be inside cooking, and I'm not searching as hard for activities for the boys, which means I'm not planning meals or foods they can cook with me as our afternoon entertainment. Overall, it's just harder to plan.

That said, here's a great summertime menu for you. It just feels like summer to make and eat it, which I love.

Oven roasted shrimp: 1 lb wild shrimp (please! no farmed shrimp!), peeled and deveined. Toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast on baking sheet in oven at 400 degrees for exactly 8 minutes. (If you peel and devein your shrimp the night before, put them in a resealable baggie and then on top of a bowl of ice in the fridge. Then when you come home from work the next day, it's the easiest and fastest thing in the world to toss them with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and throw them in the oven)

Serve with sliced tomatoes and fettuccine tossed with pesto. Given my over-achieving basil plant, I've tried a lot of pesto recipes out there, and this one is truly the best. But that said, the high quality jar stuff can be pretty darn good as well.

Happy eating!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Whew. I am a traveling fool these days. Miami for 4 days last week, Atlanta for 3 days this week, and then Charleston this weekend. Not much time for cooking! But I did get to play sous chef this week at Atlanta Mom's house, which was so much fun. Since I don't have a husband who cooks, I rarely cook with someone else. It was a real pleasure to pour some wine, chop some veggies, marinate some shrimp, and catch up for a bit. Here's what we have determined is the absolute perfect summer meal:

Barefoot Contessa's grilled shrimp served over mixed greens tossed with mustard vinaigrette
Crusty french bread
Sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzerella and basil
Crisp and well-chilled white wine
Blondie brownies

Load up with bug spray, head outside, and enjoy. Heaven.

Off to unpack one bag and pack up another. Happy eating!