Day 107

We continued cooking our way through cereal grains from the Americas including quinoa, corn, and flour today. We produced flour tortillas that we stuffed with grilled prawns and cod, guacamole, roasted tomato salsa, and salsa verde. We also made arepas which are corn cakes that come from Latin America that can be stuffed or topped with a variety of things - we topped ours with braised beef. Additionally we made jalapeno hushpuppies and BBQ shrimp with cheesy grits that we topped with russet and purple majesty potato chips. There are lots of stories about how the name "hushpuppies" came about but one of the most popular occurred during the Civil War when Union soldiers would toss bits of fried cornbread to the Confederate dogs to hush their barks.  

Our Le Cordon Bleu receptionist, Ms. Beverly, requested a plate of shrimp and grits when she found out what we were making today and so as soon as everything was plated up I promptly delivered her a plate. A few minutes later, my chef instructor, requested that I (and my partner, Cassie Bacon) step outside the class. Great. We must have really messed up our dish. I braced myself. As we stepped outside the door Ms. Beverly came running up - clearly very excited - about something. She told us that our shrimp and grits dish was the best she'd ever had. It wasn't just "good" it was  "slap yo momma good" according to Ms. Beverly.  

Slap Yo Momma Good BBQ Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

Ingredients: Grits

4 cups chicken broth

1 garlic clove

1 cup old-fashioned grits

4 oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1/5 cups)

4 T unsalted butter

2 T heavy cream

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil

2. Add garlic and stir in the grits

3. Reduce heat and stir frequently until tender (about 20 minutes)

4. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cheese, butter, and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Serve Immediately. 

Ingredients: BBQ Shrimp

1.5 lb Shrimp, peeled & deveined (16-20 ct)

1/2 lb unsalted butter

1 t black pepper

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1 t paprika

1/2 t salt

1/4 t dried rosemary, chopped

1/8 cup garlic, chopped

2 t Worcestershire sauce

1 t Tabasco (or other hot sauce of choice)

1 t water 

1/8 cup scallion, chopped

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup white wine 

Method

1. Melt Butter and add all ingredients except for the shrimp, scallions, olive oil, and white wine to it. Whisk together well. Set Aside. 

2. Add scallions and white wine to pan and reduce wine by 3/4. Add butter and simmer until slightly thickened. Add shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes each side or until pink (be careful not to overcook). Add additional salt and pepper if necessary. 

3. Serve shrimp and BBQ butter over grits. Enjoy.