Some southern food for the soul....

It feels so good to be back home again, funny though when I was still in North Carolina I was feeling like I never wanted to leave. What is it with vacations that we can't wait to get there, not want to leave, then can't wait to get back to our own bed? I hated coming home but I brought something home with me to remind us of the Outer Banks until we get back next September. Shrimp!

Each year before we leave the OBX we go down to Wacheese and wait for the the big shrimp boats to come in with their wonderful treasures. We take our biggest cooler and have it loaded at the dock with 50 pounds of just caught shrimp. The fishermen layer and pack the shrimp with crushed ice till it is very secure to drive back to Maryland. When we get home we load them into freezer bags, of various sizes, and then fill the bags up with water to keep them from getting any freezer burn during the year. It is very economical this way and it always tastes super fresh.

My first shrimp meal back this year is my favorite southern touch for the soul, none other than Oh Boy, Shrimp and Grits. It's warm, and yummy and tastes fantastic with every bite. You can find the recipe so many places but one of my favorites is one by the reigning queen of southern cooks, Natalie Dupree. Look for her Shrimp and Grits Cookbook, it's terrific.

My recipe is a mixture from different people and my family is crazy about it. Give it a try, I think you'll love the ease and taste.

Shrimp and Grits
Start your grits by putting 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk in a sauce pan. Bring to a low boil and stir in 1/2 stick of butter till melted, then add 1 cup of stone-ground or quick grits (important - NOT Instant Grits). Add salt and pepper to your taste. Stir well and occasionally, then cook on low for 20 to 25 minutes. The grits will have absorbed all the liquid and be very creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in another 1/2 stick of butter and two cups of Sharp Shredded Cheddar. Put a lid on pan and set aside to stay warm.
In a frying pan, fry up 8 slices of your favorite bacon till crispy. Remove bacon from pan and stir in 1 cup of sliced, fresh button mushrooms. Then add 1 cup sliced scallions and 1 large clove of minced garlic. Stir everything in the bacon grease left in pan until they begin to soften. Stir in 1 pound of peeled and deveined fresh shrimp and cook until the shrimp turn pink. Add about 4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of Louisiana hot sauce and a couple of tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley. Crumble up your bacon and give the shrimp mixture a final stir. Pour your warm, cheesy grits into a big bowl and dump the shrimp mixture on top for a fantastic treat. Its great with a green salad and some crusty bread. Rich, wonderful, tasty and pure southern comfort food. I am so happy we brought back 50 pounds of shrimp, a year seems like such a long time to spread them out. Enjoy!
PS. I have been getting a number of emails about the freezing of shrimp so I thought you may like the process. Fill the bags about half full with the shrimp then the rest of the bag gets filled with cold water. Use a bag size based on the amount you may want to thaw out at a time. This also works for freezing fish. The seafood last a very long time staying as fresh tasting as when you put them in the water because of the water. We have been doing this for years and it is perfect for big sales and purchases like this one.

Shrimp, Glorious Bar-B-Que Shrimp...

With company coming this weekend I have decided to pull out one of my favorite recipes. I found this about 5 years ago in Southern Living and it became an instant favorite to all that tried it that night. It is one of those recipes that everyone asks for, so before I start claiming it again as my own, here it is. It's warm, wonderful, spicy, mmm mmm good Bar-B-Que Shrimp. It is super easy once you gather all the ingredients. The shrimp can get a bit pricey so I keep it in my freezer when I can get it for deals. When we go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina each September we always make a trip to the shrimp boats and look for good prices. It is so very fresh that way, we buy around twenty five pounds, pack it on ice, and when we get home we pack them in freezer zip lock bags and then fill the bags up with cold water before sealing them. If you fill a bag up with water before you freeze any shrimp or other fish, they stay as fresh as can be since freezer burn can't get through the water in the bag. Try it, it works and you'll have fresh seafood in your freezer all year round.

Southern Bar-B-Que Shrimp
Fabulous served with Crusty French Bread or on top of Creamy Grits
Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
5 or 6 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
1 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 lemons, cut in wedges
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or more to your liking

Spread shrimp in a shallow, aluminum foil-lined broiler pan.
Combine butter and next 12 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts, and pour over shrimp. Cover and chill 2 hours, turning shrimp every 30 minutes.

Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes; turn once. Serve with bread or grits.

Pour it into a big bowl on the table and let your company help themselves. Have lots of spoons for dipping that rich, buttery sauce so they can dip their bread into it as they eat the shrimp. Suck off the seasonings before you peel the shrimp and you will be happy you did. Great with either a terrific glass of wine or a cold beer.

I hope you love this as much as we do and if you smell them cooking on Saturday night, ya'll come!

My Mama's Tomato Gravy...

Many of the great tastes of the south are the ones we grew up on. I am from the southern part of Mississippi with family members still throughout Ole Miss and Louisiana. Money was tight and food mostly came from the land or the sea. One of my Mom's and Grandmother's favorite ways of stretching a meal was to stir up some grits or biscuits and make gravy to top it with. If you had a bit of beef or pork sausage you would brown it up, make a white roux, add some milk and country gravy was ready to top anything. One of Mom's favorites and mine, still today, is Mama's Tomato Gravy. With tomatoes plentiful year round, fresh in the summer and canned in the winter, it is easy to throw together something delicious to feed your belly and your soul.

My favorite way to make it is to start with frying bacon and using the drippings, but if bacon is not available sausage with drippings are just fine. For those of you who would like to leave out the meat and drippings, just skip that part and use your favorite butter or margarine. A vegetable oil can be used but you miss a bit of the flavor. I normally start with frying up 6 or 8 slices of bacon crispy. Remove the bacon and leave about 1/4 cup of bacon drippings in the frying pan. Stir constantly in 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour until the roux is lightly browned. You can use either chopped, bite sized, fresh tomatoes with its own juices, or canned chopped tomatoes in juice. With a total of at least 2 1/2 cups, stir into the roux the tomatoes, with liquid, until the mixture begins to thicken. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes. If you find it a little too thick for your liking stir in a little water or even milk for a thinner consistency. Season it with salt and, at our stove lots of, pepper. Serve it hot over buttered grits or buttermilk biscuits. Crumble the crispy bacon on top and settle in for the yummy memories.