Gettin' my Southerness on with Shrimp and Grits

People either love or hate grits, which is primarily based on which side of the Mason-Dixon line they call home. In the south, grits are an absolute staple and present at nearly every breakfast table. In the north, they are thought to be as bland as cardboard and are nearly impossible to find (yes, you will get weird looks from the grocery clerk if you ask for them). Personally, I love 'em. But I do recognize that they are really a vehicle for all kinds of yumminess (cream, cheese, butter, salt), and that the grits alone are a little less than fabulous. And don't even get me started on those instant types. Yuk! The first time I decided to make grits up here in NYC, the only kind I could find was a box of instant that looked like they had been there since the beginning of time; totally covered in dust and totally icky.

Now when grits are treated with respect and gussied up a little, they can be one of the most fantastic things you will ever put in your mouth (don't believe me? Take a little trip down to the Fish House in Pensacola, FL for the grits a ya ya, and then lets talk). For our rehearsal dinner, we decided to do a southern theme, since we were in the middle of GA and more than half the guest were yankees or Canadians (i.e. super yankees), and the shrimp and grits absolutely stole the show. People couldn't believe how good they were!

This recipe is just like that. It's delicious, hearty, and a true tribute to Mr. Florence's southern roots. Serve it up with a big glass of sweet tea and a side of cornbread and you will be totally set. Just don't blame me when you start throwin' around a few ya'lls. 

Ultimate Shrimp and Grits

Adapted from Tyler Florence

For Grits:

3 cups milk

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup stone-ground white cornmeal (or grits, just not the instant kind)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt and pepper

• Place a large pot over medium-high heat, and add milk and cream.
• Slowly whisk in cornmeal.
• When grits start to bubble, turn heat to medium low and let cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat and stir in butter and extra cream to thin out a bit.
• Season with salt and pepper.

For Shrimp:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound andouille sausage, cut into chunks 

1/4 cup ap flour

2 cups chicken stock

3 bay leaves

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

• Place a deep skillet of medium heat and add olive oil.
• Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes to soften.
• Add sausage and cook until browned.
• Stir in flour.
• Slowly pour in chicken stock and stir to avoid lumps.
• Add bay leaves.
• When stock begins to simmer, add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until firm and pink.
• Add lemon juice, parsley, green onion and season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, spoon grits onto plate and top with shrimp mixture.

Rao's at home!

Recently, Brad and I had the pleasure of having dinner at Rao's of New York, a virtually impossible reservation to come by. Rao's, for those unfamiliar with the iconic East Harlem establishment, has been around for over a hundred years, serving out traditional Italian fare. The restaurant is tiny to say the least, with only 10 tables, all of which sit one party a night. When you get a reservation at Rao's it doesn't come with a particular time. You show up when you like, and leave when you like. The staff is incredibly friendly, treating every one that walks through the door with the same kind of hospitality one would extend in their own home. Reservations are made literally months in advance and are extended only to a very few lucky individuals.

One of our good friends is one of those lucky people, and invited Brad and myself, along with a few other friends to join him at his treasured table. Now, Brad has been to Rao's a few times before thanks to some work connections, so I have been left at home to sulk and pout. The very first time he went, he brought me back the Rao's cookbook as a sort of consolation prize and his ticket back into the house. It is filled with a number of delicious looking pastas, meats and vegetables, and I had marked a number to cook before going there myself. After eating there though, that list has grown exponentially. We tried so many wonderful dishes, I simply can't wait to see if they will translate onto our own table as well.

This sausage, cabbage and penne dish was the first on my list. It was delicious at the restaurant, and came out exactly how we remembered it. It is simple in concept, but the homemade marinara sauce, which requires hand crushing and treatment of tomatoes and a watchful eye as the sauce bubbles and thickens away, paired with the savory sausage and unique flavor of the cabbage makes for a very memorable dish. It's like taking your average pasta and completely amping it up. And I can't say enough about the sauce. Let's just say I now understand why so many people are completely appalled by the idea of canned versions.

Not everyone can go to Rao's, but it's so nice to know that their signature dishes are just a few ingredients and a little bit of time away from being on your own table.

I also want to extend a huge "Thank-you!" to Lori of Lori's Story and Southern Delights, for this award. So sweet of you!

This award is for very creative blogs, so I would like to pass it along to Janna of Honeyed Hashette. I've just recently found Janna's site and she is always full of creative and completely delicious looking goodies. Not to mention that she is a fellow Aussie puppy lover. Please go check out her site!

Rao's Marinara Sauce

Courtesy of Rao's Cookbook

2 28-ounce cans imported Italian plum tomatoes with juice (I used Rao's brand)

1/4 olive oil

3 tablespoons minced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt

6 fresh basil leaves, torn

pinch dried oregano

pepper

• Using your hands, crush the canned tomatoes removing any hard core or skin, and set aside along with juice.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and saute onions for 3 minutes, or until translucent.
• Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add tomatoes, juice and salt to taste.
• Raise heat and bring to a boil.
• Immediately lower heat to a low simmer and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes (sauce will thicken the longer it cooks).
• Stir in basil, oregano and pepper to taste, cook for an additional minute, then remove from heat and serve.

Penne with Cabbage, Sausage and Marinara

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound Italian sausage meat, cut into bite sized pieces or taken out of casings

1 pound cooked savoy cabbage, cut into bite sized pieces

salt and pepper

marinara sauce

1 pound penne

Pecorino Romano cheese

• Place cabbage in a large saucepan and cover by 2-inches with cold water.
• Bring water to a boil, then lower and simmer cabbage for 5 minutes.
• Place cabbage under cold water to stop the cooking.
• Drain cabbage well on paper towels and set aside.
• In a large saute pan, heat oil and garlic over medium heat.
• Add sausage and cook through.
• Add cabbage and salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Meanwhile cook penne until al dente.
• Add pasta and sauce to sausage mixture and cook for a few minutes, until flavors are combined.
• Remove from heat and serve. Top with cheese if desired.

New Orleans ain't so proud of me....

So the other day when I told you about the amazing fig cake, I neglected to mention the disaster that was the beginning of that meal. A little embarrassing considering we had company over (don't worry, they are good friends and are always given a fair warning that they will be used as guinea pigs). Most of my friends up here have never really had good southern cookin', so when given the chance, I like to introduce them some of my favorites. Since today most of the southern world will be spilling out huge pots of gumbo, I thought this would be the perfect time to share with you my own gumbo experience, and hope that yours will go much better! :)

I should go ahead and let you know that I really have no credentials to be cooking southern food, except for the fact that I've eaten my fair share. I grew up in north Florida, which is a combo of traditional southern types but also a lot of beachy, typical Florida people. Mom is from Tampa & Dad is from the backwoods of North Carolina. So I guess that heritage makes me half qualified. I didn't really get into my "southern roots" until I spent 4 glorious years in the wonderful town of Oxford, MS. People, you just don't get more southern than Ole Miss. If you've never been down there, I suggest you pull up next year's football schedule and book a ticket. You will be happy you did.

Anyways, I've already introduced the majority of my yankee friends (my husband was actually dubbed a "super yankee" by my best friends since he is from Canada) to things like biscuits and gravy and red beans and rice, but I thought I would do something a little more intense for dinner the other night. In the spirit of Mardis Gras, I decided to make a chicken-andouille sausage gumbo.

First off, I had to take apart a whole chicken - which I have no idea how to do. Good thing the chicken was just shredded to bits in the end because it was looking a little scary by the time I was done attempting to butcher it. I boiled the chicken down, creating a really nice stock, and then things began to get a little crazy. The recipe called for cooking oil and flour until it turned a dark caramel color. Well in about half the suggested time, mine had turned totally black (see the picture!). Ooops. Everything else went fine, but this black gunk made the whole dish taste bitter and slightly oily. It also stuck to everything and made for a serious clean-up session.

It's so disappointing when something so labor intensive and promising turns out like this. But I wanted to share since experiences like this, although unpleasant, are just part of learning to cook. Guess I have to get a little more in touch with my southern roots before I try something like this again! I'm not going to post the recipe, because at this point I don't know if it was me or it that caused the debacle, but if you would like it please let me know and I would be happy to add it for you. The one good thing that did come out of this meal, aside from the wonderful company, was some great made-from-scratch cornbread that I will share with you soon!

Hope everyone gets a big slice of King Cake today served up along side of a Hurricane (and no hangover tomorrow)!

Sausage & Peppers Penne

When I first started this blog a few months ago, I was hoping that it would inspire me to really learn some of the basics of cooking and become more familiar with our kitchen. It definitely has! I cook now more than ever, and after watching so many cooking shows I feel like I'm beginning to get the hang of things. I had decided to base my recipes off of those I saw on cooking shows because I figured actually watching someone do/explain a recipe would be the best way to learn. Like when one of Ina's recipes called for a double boiler, I originally thought that meant I would have to go buy another expensive pan from WS, but after watching her do it I realized it was just a bowl over a pot of simmering water. I know, I'm slightly pathetic, but that's why I'm a wannabe! :)

I've recently decided to open the flood gates though and start branching outside of just cooking shows. I mean there is a lot out there to learn! Don't get too excited, I'm not going to be making something hard to pronounce anytime soon, but maybe attempt to get a bit more adventurous.

With this new gig, I present to you one of my all time favorite really easy and hearty dishes - Sausage and Peppers Penne. Just as it's starting to get cold outside, this is the kind of food you crave at the end of a long day. It combines chunks of delicious sausage (the recipe calls for hot italian, but I used sweet cause I'm not so into the spicy), slices of brightly colored peppers and penne in a tomatoey sauce. It takes under 30 minutes to come together and is really satisfying. It's definitely man food as my hubby makes requests for this even in the dead of summer.

On a very happy and exciting note - Two Peas and their Pod (who are fantastic and always have amazing looking food and great stories - go check them out!) gave me this Kreativ Blogger Award. Yippee!! I've never gotten an award before!!! Thanks so much guys!

I had such a nice surprise out of this, why not pass along the fun to some other wonderful blogs - Sugar Plum (she is soo creative and has great pictures and stories) and Under the High Chair (who always has great writing/food/pictures and also makes being a mom look glorious).

Sausage & Peppers Penne

Adapted from It's Good for You

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta

1 lb turkey sausage (hot or sweet)

3 bell peppers (colors are best - like red, yellow & green)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 minced garlic cloves

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (not drained)

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons Pantry Italian Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

• Boil a large pot of water for pasta.
• Cook sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink (14-16 minutes).
• Cut peppers into slices and roughly chop onion.
• When sausage is done cooking, remove from pan and diagonally slice into 1-inch pieces.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside.
• Add peppers, onions and garlic to pan over medium heat and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until veggies become slightly tender.
• Add sausage, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasoning to pan. Stir to combine and cook until heated through (1-2 min).
• Pour sauce mixture over pasta and toss with Parmesan before serving.

Rachel's Broccoli Rabe with Sausage

As promised, here is the Broccoli Rabe with Sausage that I made the other night to go along with the Shallota Flavor Spaghetti. Although I thought it was a rather strange combination of foods at first, it was actually a pretty decent accompaniment to the spaghetti. It added a vegetable and a bit of protein to the meal which otherwise would have been lacking. Unfortunately, there were some mixed emotions over this one in our house though. I thought it was pretty bland tasting, but the soon-to-be-hubby just loved it. I chalk it up to the fact that he would probably eat grass if it had a bit of sausage mixed in. Broccoli rabe can be rather bitter, and this just never seemed to cook out enough for me. If you decide to make this and like spicy food, I would definitely add some chili flakes or something just to give it a little more zing.

Making it was a breeze though. Rachel came up with a nice way of preparing the whole thing - boil water in a deep skillet and then drain the pasta and use the same pan to saute it all together. I never would have thought to boil a veggie in a big pan! I actually used our big non-stick wok and it worked perfectly. Although I wasn't head-over-heels for this one, I'll give it an A+ for clean-up.

Broccoli Rabe with Sausage
Adapted from 30 Minute Meals - Rachel Ray

1 large bundle broccoli rabe (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 pound bulk Italian hot or sweet sausage (or a combination)

• Fill a large saute pan or wok about 3/4 full of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Chop the broccoli rabe into a few inch pieces, trimming off the stalky ends.
• Add a handful of salt to the boiling water then add the broccoli pieces and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Carefully drain the broccoli rabe and water from the pan.
• Using the same pan, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat.
• Add sausage and use a wood spoon to break it apart as it begins to brown.
• After sausage is browned (6-7 minutes), add the broccoli rabe back into the pan and toss to combine with sausage.