It was a G.R.I.T.S (Girl Raised in the South Night) in the Clark household. I finally put those green tomatoes to the frying pan and cooked us some scrumptious southern treats last night.
As a kid, I believe my diet consisted of cheese grits, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, and chocolate milk. It blows my mind when people ask what a grit is. And in case you are about to google it, I’ll save you the trouble, grits are stoneground corn which you stir into boiling water and simmer until all the water is absorbed and you get a fluffy gritty textured substance. Stir in some cheese or butter and salt and you’ll be very happy.
When my grandparents, Lavon and Bertha, came to visit from their tiny town of Brewton Alabama, my favorite memory was coming downstairs to grandmomma working on her quilts and granddaddy stirring up some homemade grits or oatmeal on the stove. I’m pretty sure those were the most delicious breakfasts of my childhood, and definitely some of my best memories of granddaddy and grandmomma. I discovered Shrimp n grits a few years ago and I always order them if they’re on a menu. We even served them at our wedding along with some other southern staples.
So last night, I made my fave white cheddar dreamy creamy Shrimp n Grits, fried green tomatoes, and I got a little crazy and also made some homemade buttermilk biscuits. I was planning on making the fried green tomatoes for my mom, but she was busy last night and I had to hurry up and cook them, because two of my five tomatoes already turned red! I promised I’d try again for her next weekend.
So here’s what I did
Shrimp n Grits
2 cups water
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup cream
1 cup grits
S&P
1 tbl butter
1 pound shrimp
3 slices turkey bacon or 1 turkey sausage link
½ cup diced onion
1 garlic clove minced
8 ounces grated white cheddar
Heat broth and water and add cream to heated broth. Bring to a boil.
Slowly pour grits into boiling broth mixture, whisking the entire time.
Reduce heat to low and whisk often to avoid sticking and scorching, until the grits are thick and very smooth. About 15-20 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted, and add a tablespoon of butter and let it melt in the center.
Cover and let sit over very low heat. If grits become too thick, add a little more cream or broth to thin.
Meanwhile, in large pan, cook bacon or sausage through, then remove and set aside. Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until onion is transparent. Season shrimp with S&P and some cajun seasoning, then add shrimp to pan with bacon/sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes until shrimp are pink. Don’t overcook your shrimp or you’ll have a very unhappy husband!
Give the grits a good stir, spoon onto a plate and top with the shrimp mixture.
I served with some green beans because I needed some healthy greens to go with it.
Fried Green Tomatoes
4 large green tomatoes
2 egg whites
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup bread crumbs – plain or Italian for more flavor, or panko
S&P
oil for pan frying
Slice tomatoes to ¼ inch thick, throw out the ends
Whisk eggs and milk together in one bowl. Put flour on a plate by itself. Mix cornmeal and bread crumbs with salt and pepper on a separate plate. (I added a little Cajun seasoning here for some flavor)
Dip tomatoes in flour, then milk, then breadcrumbs to completely coat, and set on a plate for 10 minutes while oil heats up.
In a large skillet, heat up 1/8 inch canola oil over medium heat. Place tomatoes in skillet in batches of 4-6, so they’re not touching. Let fry for 2-3 minutes till they’re brown and then flip and fry the other side. Remove and place on papertowel covered plate to drain.
Serve with a remoulade sauce.
biscuits
2.5 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbls sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup milk
Mix dry ingredients, then add butter and cut in until crumbly, add in milk. knead over floured surface and cut out biscuits using a drinking glass for perfect biscuits or just spoon them out for rustic biscuits. bake at 450 for 9-12 minutes, until fluffy and golden.
these were just okay, I might try another recipe next time. But they were made extremely delicious when spread with Savannah Bee Company honey. That honey is like crack.
