So the other day for dinner I was craving...no...seriously CRAVING seafood. I had purchased some frozen shrimp at Trader Joe's and decided to make something with them.
First, let me say that as far as frozen seafood goes, Trader Joe's has exceptionally high quality products; a much higher quality than ANY other store in my area. Yes, it is frozen, which is nowhere near as good as fresh, but when you live in the high desert region of the United States, you pretty much resign yourself to eating frozen fish and seafood.
Okay...enough about that.
So I had these shell on, deveined shrimp and was trying to decide how I would prepare them. That's when I stumbled upon a bag of grits that my sister-in-law had brought back from a trip down south. Now, if you are one of the uninitiated, one of the premier and truly iconic dishes of the south is "Shrimp and Grits". This dish actually originated as a breakfast dish for gulf coast fisherman and consisted of grits, bacon and shrimp as the central feature. Through time and travel, the dish has changed and evolved and is now more likely to be seen on a dinner menu than as breakfast fare. Many regions of the south have their own variation on this dish, but I decided to stick with a Cajun/Bayou kind of variation.
First, I cooked my grits. Usually you can, and probably should, cook your grits in water. The standard measure is a 4 to 1 ratio of water to grits. Heat to a boil, then reduce your heat to a low simmer and cook your grits to a creamy texture, stirring every couple of minutes. A little salt added never hurt.
Since I new that I was using these grits for a savory dish, I actually used half water and half stock. This is a great way to impart extra flavor to the dish, without sacrificing that brilliant cream color.
So after cooking my grits, I started on the shrimp! First, I shelled the shrimp, leaving the tails on. I then set the shrimp aside in the refrigerator while I made my sauce.
In a large pan I melted about half a stick of butter and then added about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil. You could use any oil, but I like the complexity that olive oil adds to the final dish. I then added my shrimp shells to the pan and sautéed the shells until they turned color. To this pan I added fresh garlic, onion, red bell pepper, chopped bacon, cayenne pepper, file powder, paprika, oregano and thyme. I sautéed these ingredients together just until the onion started to become translucent. I then added a couple of tablespoons of flour and cooked the mixture until I achieved a ruddy-brown color. To this I added a can of chicken stock (you could use vegetable stock as well) and some white wine.
Once the sauce started to thicken, I removed it from the stove and strained it into a bowl.
The great thing about this dish is that all of the above steps can be done way ahead of time. Which is exactly what I did!
When it was time for dinner, I reached for my Trader Joe's Asparagus pack. They have these great, pre-packaged microwaveable vegetables that I absolutely love! They take minutes in the microwave and come out perfect every time!
While my asparagus spears were nuking, I sprayed a pan with oil and sautéed the shrimp until they were almost done, then added my previously made sauce to the pan. Then it was a quick adjustment of the seasoning, and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley, and the dish was done.
When my asparagus were done, I opened the package and added some Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze to the container. Then it was just a quick shake to spread the glaze over the spears, and it was dinner time!! By the way, if you haven't tried Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze, you MUST! It is perfect.
Actually, it took me longer to write about this meal than it did to prepare it. The final result was a little slice of heaven and really took me back to New Orleans, one of my favorite places in the world! I know that I will be making this one again in the near future.
No comments:
Post a Comment