Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Grits

Okay, so I've been very good and patient -- I haven't posted yet another recipe for shrimp and grits in ages and ages. Well, not since May, when I put up the post on shrimp and grits with artichoke hearts. But I can't help it. I'm married to a Southern man, and with those vows come love, cherish and enthusiastically eat shrimp and grits for as long as we both shall live. And I do love all of 'em -- the shrimp, the grits and the Southern husband, so I'm always on the look-out for new variations, and this is a great one.

The grits you cook up the way you always do. I like this variety, which you can order online, but if the only thing available is the Quaker quick-cooking grits -- well, that's better than no grits at all. (And for those of you grits-doubters out there, feel free to subsitute the word "polenta" for "grits" throughout this post. It's all ground corn, and it's all good.)

This recipe is all about the topping, which is a glorious mixture of shrimp, spicy sliced andouille sausage, and a garlicky cream sauce. It all gets cooked up together and spooned over the grits and oh, my my. Broil up some of the cherry tomatoes that are springing up all around us to toss on the side, and you have a quick and luxurious supper that would make my Southern husband proud.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Grits, from Everyday Food

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup grits
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Olive oil and salt and pepper
  

1. Cook grits according to package directions.
2. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Broil until lightly charred, 8 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add andouille and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer andouille to a plate and reduce heat to medium.
   
4. Add garlic and scallion whites to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour. Whisk in broth and cream. Cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, until thickened, about 3 minutes.
   
5. Add shrimp and andouille and cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes.
   
6. To serve, top grits with shrimp mixture and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve with tomatoes.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp and Grits with Artichoke Hearts

Shrimp and grits, I love you way more than a Northern girl should. Maybe it is the Southern husband's influence, but I have never met a shrimp and grits recipe I didn't like, and this one is no exception. The shrimp and artichokes are cooked in a delectable lemon garlic butter sauce, and then you spoon the whole thing over some grits that have been kicked up with a little butter and parmesan cheese.

The fact that I made this recipe did not, however, stop me from making another shrimp and grits recipe with andouille sausage and roasted tomatoes several days later. I can't help myself. Stay tuned to this channel for that one, but in the meantime....

Shrimp and Grits with Artichoke Hearts

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 8 ounces large shrimp, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cups cooked grits
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add artichokes and saute 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, shrimp and garlic and saute 6 minutes. Add lemon juice, 1/8 stick butter, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

2. Cook grits according to package directions and reduce heat to low. Cook 7 minutes or until thick Stir in cheese and remaining butter and stir until melted.

3. Ladle grits onto plates and top with shrimp and artichokes. Grind fresh pepper over all.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp with Cheese Grits

I kind of can't believe this is the first time I am posting something about grits, because having been married to a Southern man for 18 years, grits are pretty much business as usual in my kitchen. We like 'em plain. We like 'em with cheese. We like 'em for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Well, some of us do. I do. The Southern husband obviously does. The dog likes the grits, the package the grits come in, the plates the grits have been served on, and anything else faintly edible. The teenager sees the grits package coming out of the freezer and is suddenly, mysteriously no longer hungry. (Yes, my Yankee friends, grits should be stored in the freezer. And please try your best not to use the the Quaker oats version...this is why the Internet exists, for you to order real stone-ground grits from the heart of the Southland).

Anyway, shame on me for holding back on all my grits-wisdom that I have accumulated through the years, which includes the following:

1. As mentioned above, no Quaker Oats grits unless it is an all-out emergency. I love you, Quaker Oats, but there is a reason you have "oats" in your name. You make great oatmeal.

2. Grits come out GREAT cooked in the rice cooker, if you have one.

3. Make sure you salt them up good, and I love a good shake of pepper in mine too. Grits without salt is like a day without sunshine.

4. Store them in the freezer in a ziplock bag.

5. There is no such thing as too much whisking when you are adding the grits to the liquid. Whisk whisk whisk or you will have lumps lumps lumps.

6. All of the following are sheer heaven when added to a pot of hot cooked grits: cream cheese, butter, shredded cheddar, shredded parmesan, a few shakes of Tabasco sauce, any chopped up fresh herbs you have on hand, chopped up bacon,...or all of the above. And if you want to cry with happiness, poach an egg, drop it into the center of your bowl of cheesed up grits, cut into it with your fork so that the egg melts into the grits, and thank your lucky stars to be alive.

Okay, now that I have gotten all that off my chest, let me tell you about this nice little number. I collect shrimp and grits recipes the same way I collect macaroni and cheese recipes. But this particular one is maybe my current favorite. Easy as easy can be, and the perfect combo of grits, cheese and succulent little pieces of shrimp. Unlike many of my grits recipes, this one finishes up in the oven, which gives you a few minutes to make a quick little salad on the side -- I chopped up some cherry tomatoes and tossed them with the extra chopped parsley I had from the grits recipe along with some nice olive oil, a little blueberry balsamic vinegar and some coarse salt and pepper. Yum yum yum.

So there you have it...grits, the 1,432,764th reason I am head over heels in love with my Southern husband. Go make some.

SHRIMP WITH CHEESE GRITS, adapted from Cooking Light

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked grits
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• Tabasco sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Combine milk and broth in saucepan and heat to boiling. Add grits to saucepan in steady stream, whisking constantly. Add salt. Stir until grits thicken. This can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on your grits.

3. Reduce heat and add cheeses and butter, stirring until combined and melted.

4. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, eggs and shrimp. Spoon into greased casserole dish.

5. Bake until set, about 25 minutes.

6. Serve with Tabasco sauce.

Click here for printable recipe.