Heading Due South

We are honoring our parents’ Southern heritage, which also became ours as we grew up eating meals influenced by their backgrounds. Someday we may have a biscuit cook-off but tonight we are sharing shrimp and grits and greens.

 
Our moms were from West Virginia and Missouri and were both wonderful cooks. Neither one of us cooked while we were living at home (and why would we?), but quickly discovered that if we wanted good food we had to figure out the cooking thing.

We saw this shrimp and grits recipe and it  really called to us. We knew we wanted greens with this meal, and the collards we found were super fresh.

Southern Collard Greens
Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 lbs collard greens, rinsed
1 T canola oil
1 c ¼-inch diced salt pork (we used smoked bacon)
1 c diced onion
¼  t crushed red pepper flakes, optional
½  t freshly cracked black pepper
1 c low-sodium chicken stock
½  c water
1/3 c white vinegar
1 t hot pepper sauce, plus more for serving (recommended: Crystal)

Directions
Cut off and discard the tough stems and discolored leaves from the greens. Cut across the leaves into 2-inch ribbons.
In a large stock pot, over medium-high heat, add the canola oil and the diced salt pork (smoked bacon), and cook until light golden brown and just crisp. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool.

Add the onion to the pot and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the red chili flakes, black pepper, and the collard greens.

Stir every few minutes, or until greens have wilted down. Add the chicken stock and the water and cover. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes, then remove the lid, increase the heat to high, and add the vinegar and a teaspoon of hot sauce. Adjust the seasoning, if needed, then put it into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the salt pork (or bacon) and serve with additional hot pepper sauce on the side.

Collards cooking

Collard greens with bacon. Yum!

The chipotle, while not Southern, added a wonderful smokiness to the dish as well as a bit of zing.  Throw in some bacon and cheese and you have something pretty darn close to perfection. There was a lot of “yumming” going back and forth while we were eating.

Chipotle Shrimp with Cheddar Grits
Serves: 4
Active prep time: 15 minutes
Source: “Everyday Food”

¾ c quick cooking grits
½ c shredded cheddar (2 oz)
3 T unsalted butter, divided
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped, plus 1 T sauce
½ c chicken broth
1 pound frozen large shrimp (31-35), thawed, peeled, and deveined (tails left on)
¼  c lime juice (from 2 limes)

In a medium pot, cook grits according to package instructions.  Stir in cheddar and season with salt.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 T butter over medium.  Add scallions and chipotle and sauce; cook, stirring until scallions are tender, 4 minutes.  Add broth and bring to a simmer.  Add shrimp and cook until opaque throughout, 3 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and remaining 2 T butter and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt.  Top grits with shrimp and sauce.

Our instruction changes (from second paragraph,above):

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 3 T butter over medium.  Add broth, chipotle, and lime juice and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook until opaque throughout, 3 minutes. 

Spoon grits onto plates, cover with shrimp and scatter scallions over top to serve.

Shrimp with bits of chipotle

Chipotle shrimp and cheese grits.

 We chose a chardonnay because we wanted a wine that would not compete with the distinctive flavors of the food.

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

This is comfort food at its best. Quick to cook, full of flavor, and satisfying. We substituted  bacon for the ham and loved the crunch factor on top of the greens.  Be sure to scrape the bacon bits from the bottom of the pan while the collards are cooking . . .  lots of flavor there.

Large 16-20 count shrimp were on a dynamite sale; so they came home with us. There were fewer shrimp but better shrimp.  We prepared the sauce without the shrimp and scallions, adding the shrimp for the last three minutes of cooking. We used the raw scallions as a garnish, which we loved. 

This dish was supposed to serve four people, but maybe not four very hungry people. Take our advice and plan on doubling both recipes. We are going to arm wrestle for the left overs – meager that they are.

No dessert tonight. We could be virtuous and tell you that the meal was rich enough, but we do try to be honest. There were two attempts at pecan desserts, neither really blog worthy. So that’s all there is, folks!

Here’s to good eating!

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet Van Horne, "Not for Jiffy Cooks," Vogue magazine, 1956