But that's not the point. This past Saturday, I decided to go all out and cook a delicious meal as our "first" one in the new apartment. It was also our cheat meal, since we have been hardcore dieting lately (Brad has lost 20+ pounds, I have lost 1 pound doing the exact same thing as him. Sometimes being a girl sucks).
Anyway, our meal was Shrimp & Grits. The best meal I ever ate, seriously, was the Shrimp & Grits at KaCey's Seafood in Sarasota on our vacation/engagement trip last year. I wanted to try to recreate this meal at our home. By no means was it as good as the Shrimp & Grits at KaCey's. But it was downright delicious for a meal you make at home.
Seriously, best thing I ever ate.
Take me back to KaCey's.
I found the recipe here and I will definitely be trying it again. Word of warning though, if you're from the South, like me, you realize that grits are made with hominy. This recipe calls for yellow cornmeal as the "grits". Cornmeal is super smooth and it reminded me a little bit of eating cornbread batter, not grits. Still good but just not traditional for me. Next time I make these Shrimp & Grits, I'll be using hominy, not cornmeal.
Ingredients:
2 slices of bacon
1 cup frozen yellow corn kernels, thawed
2 cups chicken stock
2 1/3 cups half and half (or heavy cream)
1 cup yellow cornmea
4 tbs softened butter
3/4 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
1 shallot, diced
2 green onions, diced
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp cajun seasoning (I used Kroger brand, but Tony Chachere's or Zatarain's would be great too!)
Step 1: Cook bacon slices (I used 3, not 2, because BACON), crumble and set aside. Leave remaining bacon fat in pan and turn heat to Med-High, add 1 cup of the thawed yellow corn to skillet. Cook until liquid cooks off and corn begins to roast and turn golden brown. Because I added the entire 12 ounce bag of corn, this took 10-12 minutes for me. Make sure to stir so that corn does not stick or burn.
Step 2: Add 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups half and half to a large saucepan. (I also added 1/2 cup water and I've always heard grits should be made according to a 5:1 rule, meaning 5 parts liquid to 1 part grits. I didn't want to mess around too much with a recipe I'd never made before though, so I only added a 1/2 cup.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and add the roasted corn kernels. Slowly, whisk in 1 cup of yellow corn meal, and then reduce to medium-low heat. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, or until grits are thickened. Make sure to stir grits to keep them from sticking. Once grits are cooked and thickened, add 2 tbsp butter and 3/4 cup colby-jack cheese. Whisk to completely incorporate cheese and butter, then set aside to prepare shrimp.
Notice the only whisk we have is the one from my KitcheAid.
How embarrassing.
Step 3: Add remaining 2 tbsp butter to a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (I used the same one I had prepared the bacon and corn in). Add diced shallot (I omitted) and the two diced green onions. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Add 1 pound medium shrimp and 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning. Stir to combine and sear shrimp on each side, until cooked through. Probably about 3-4 minutes on each side. Add the crumbled bacon and remaining 1/3 cup half and half (or heavy cream). Stir to combine and cook 2-3 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
Step 4: To serve, spoon a big helping of grits onto a plate and top with a ridiculous amount of shrimp. You can also top with more green onions should you wish. The recipe I used states that you should get at least four servings. We got about 6 servings of grits and 3 servings of shrimp. Needless to say, we ate leftover grits the next morning for breakfast. I devoured another helping of shrimp and grits on day this week for lunch.
These were SO good. I can't wait for another cheat day to make this delicious meal again. I'm so thankful to have my kitchen back. I love cooking so much, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to prepare these yummy meals again. Try it, you won't be disappointed.
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