Shrimp and Grits -- My Way!

I spent a year of my working life putting together cookbooks. I know, I know. I am published. It's weird. But they weren't my recipes. They were collections of Bed and Breakfast recipes. I have copies of each one and, typos and all, I kind of love them. They're home cooked recipes from other people, a treasure trove of new dishes to try.

Anyway, while working on Georgia, I got in some recipes for very popular southern dishes, including Shrimp and Grits. We were looking for an appropriate cover shot so I fixed the dish and Mike took some pictures. They never did end up on the cover of the book, but I guess that's ok because I can use them now (and it'll be the best picture of food you probably ever see on this page!).

I made shrimp and grits again the other night and they turned out amazing. This time I put my own twist on it. I started with the New Orleans BBQ shrimp recipe you can find here at Homesick Texan, which is based on the recipe from Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook.

New Orleans BBQ shrimp is amazing, but not what you would typically think of as BBQ shrimp. I've had BBQ shrimp, glazed with BBQ sauce and hot off the grill. This isnt' that. This is shrimp sauteed in a wonderfully yummy Worcestershire and butter based sauce. Perfect for serving over grits in my opinion, though you typically find them shell on with crusty bread (as Homesick Texan says to serve them). Since I changed it quite a bit, here's my recipe:

BBQ Shrimp and Grits

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped (yellow or white is fine)

1 lb small, raw shelled shrimp (size doesn't really matter, I think I used popcorn size)

4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (since we're serving over grits, I wanted it more saucy)

1 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cayenne (I used more like 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

1/2 of 1 lemon, seeded

1/4 pound unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan or skillet. Saute the onion and bell pepper until beginning to cook through. Add the shrimp, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings, garlic, and juice from the lemon to the pan, tossing the sqeezed lemon in the pan with the shrimp.

Cook, stirring, over high heat until the shrimp begin to turn pink (about 2-3 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter one piece at a time. Stir and allow each piece to melt before adding the next. By the time all of the butter has been incorporated in the sauce, your shrimp should be cooked through.

Serve immediately over grits or with crusty bread. Garnish with chopped green onion and parsley if you like (and sprinkle a little Tony's over the top!)

For the Grits, I cooked two servings on quick-cook grits on the stovetop. Once they were finished, I added two tablespoons of butter, about a teaspoon of pepper, and about a cup of grated Tillamook Garlic White Cheddar cheese, stirring it together until all of the cheese had melted.