Day 5: City Grocery Shrimp & Grits

15 years ago, if you said Shrimp & Grits outside the Southern United States, you would probably get a response like, "Ewww shrimp and grits ... together??" Now, thanks to the Food Network great Southern chefs like Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse, Shrimp & Grits is thought of as a Southern delicacy. My first introduction to Shrimp & Grits was while eating at the City Grocery during college at Ole Miss in Oxford, MS. Whenever we went to City Grocery for dinner, I never deviated from my order -- always the same -- always good. During our first year of marriage I perfected my own Shrimp & Grits recipe. We'd always make it on beach trips or for dinner parties with friends. Since then, chef John Currence of City Grocery, has published his recipe. It's amazingly similar to the one I tried to copy.

While we're talking grits, let me share my grits knowledge. I learned how to cook grits when I was tall enough to see over the range. If you've ever been to a restaurant and tried grits and they were lumpy and tasteless, then they were cooked wrong. If you had a bad experience, try them again.

The trick to cooking grits is salting the water (add the salt before you add the grits). You need to add at least 1/2 tsp of salt for every 1 cup of grits.

Second, as you're adding the grits you must continuously stir or whisk them into the boiling water. If you dump the grits into the boiling water and then stir, you'll get lumpy grits.

Grits cook fast. If they're getting too thick while preparing the rest of your meal, you can always thin them by adding either a little milk, cream or chicken broth. So now that we've covered that, on to the recipe.

City Grocery Shrimp & Grits

from "Square Table," a collection of recipes from Oxford, Mississippi

published by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council

Grits:

• 1 cup quick grits (not instant)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup extra-sharp, white Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper to taste

Shrimp:

• 6 slices chopped, smoked bacon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, 26-30 count, peeled and deveined
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp white wine
• 2 cups sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:

For grits, cook grits according to the package instructions (note: add 1/2 tsp salt to boiling water). Whisk in butter, Cheddar, Parmesan, cayenne, paprika and Tabasco. Mix thoroughly.

For shrimp, in a skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until it begins to brown. Remove from heat and reserve bacon and drippings. Heat a large skillet until very hot. Add olive oil and 2 tbsp reserved bacon grease. As oil begins to smoke, toss in shrimp to cover bottom of pan. Before stirring, season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until Shrimp begin to turn pick all over. Let pan return to its original hot temperature. Stir in minced garlic and bacon bits. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Toss in mushrooms and quickly coat with oil. Add lemon juice and wine. Stir until everything is well coated, about 30 seconds. Toss in green onions and stir about 20 seconds. Serve over grits.

(Note: Both the grits and shrimp cook very quickly. Measure, chop, and dice all ingredients before starting the cooking process.)

Enjoy!