Shrimp & Grits!

I was excited to cook today!  I had HIGH expectations too...  This is one of my all time favorite dishes.  I've had it all over the U.S. in my travels and the key thing I took away from this dish, was using "White Stone Ground" grits.  And that using grits from South Carolina is what I was after.  This would prove almost impossible to find locally.  Famous Foods does carry coarse white stone ground grits.  I used them once when making this dish and it took much longer than an hour  - like almost two if I remember correctly...  I don't want to stand, stirring constantly at the stove longer than that ever again...  The dish was delicious but the grits were not as creamy as I desired, after all that time!

So, I decided to try ordering from the U.S. to my co-worker's mailbox in Washington State.  This wasn't cheap and shipping rates going to Canada directly is simply not even affordable to me.  After shipping and exchange, a 2 lb. bag cost me $27 CAD.  In hindsight, I would have paid less going directly to Palmetto Farms, rather than using Amazon, but I didn't do my "web research homework", so I can't complain...These grits below are from South Carolina.

I might try ordering one more time from the U.S. because I really want to try these grits.  (Though...I might just go back to those coarse grits I can get here locally for $6 and tough out the standing/cooking time, lol).    The ones I ordered (above) were quicker cooking time - 20 to 25 minutes.

Onto the recipe.  I liked this one as my baseline for this time.  I used my own measurements and changed it up a little.  I'm not even going to bother with all my measurements here because I'm sure the recipe ones are fine.  I used thick sliced bacon instead of andouille sausage (can't find the andouille I want in town) and I used a red pepper instead of roasted red peppers.  I also added a few cremini mushrooms.  I used Clamato juice instead of clam and tomato.  I bought jumbo 16 - 20 count shrimp.  I wanted cheesy grits, so I added about a cup of grated Gruyere cheese.

Mise en place first, as per usual.  Sweet onion, celery, red pepper, Serrano pepper, mushrooms, garlic.

Roma tomatoes next which I mixed with the Clamato and Old Bay seasoning & chili flakes.

Then I did the fresh thyme and Italian parsley.

My "absent sous chef" son grated the cheese.

Finally, I shelled all the shrimp and sprinkled a little kosher salt over them.

Everything went back into the fridge, as I did this all in stages over the afternoon.  I sliced the bacon into small pieces and crisped that first, then removed from the fry pan.

Next up was the grits.  I used half Kirkland organic no salt chicken broth & half milk instead of water.  The measurements in the recipe were exactly what I used.  A whisk was my tool for this.  20 minutes later, I took off the heat, mixed in the cheese and a pat of butter.  I covered it and left aside while I finished the shrimp.

I sauteed the holy trinity, et al., in the bacon fat.

I added the tomatoes next with some fresh cracked pepper and finally the shrimp, bacon and herbs.  The shrimp only needed to simmer a couple of minutes.

I plated the grits in a bowl with the shrimp mixture on top.

So, the grits were the best I've tasted!  These were HEAVEN in a bowl!  The Gruyere cheese was perfect in them, and I just fell in love with the creamy goodness!!!  The shrimp mixture was good, though, I created it better the last time I made this .  It didn't really matter though, the grits stole the show.  I could have just ate them and nothing else.  To me, that bag was worth the price tag.