Cathleen's Kitchen

SHRIMP AND GRITS

Given To Cathleen By A Young Yuppie Southern Boy From South Carolina
This Is A Recipe From The MAGNOLIA RESTAURANT in Charleston, SC

First Make The Grits:
Bring 4 Cups Salted Water To A Boil(add a pat of butter to prevent sticking)
Add 1 Cup regular grits(not quick or instant)and simmer covered,
stirring occasionally, until done, about 20 minutes.
Stir In About One Cup Cream Or Half And Half And Keep On Warm, Stirring Occasionally
(If It Seems Too Thin Leave The Top Off)
Or If You Have Yankees You Can Just Fix Rice Instead!

Now, The Shrimp:
Put Four Links Of Hot Italian Sausage (pierced all over)
In a 400 Degree Oven For 8 Mins.
Remove And When Cool, Slice Into 1cm Rounds
(they will be pink inside, that's OK) Reserve.
Melt 3 TBLsps Of Butter Over Medium Heat,
And Add 1/2 Cup Raw Country Ham(like Smithfield)
Cut Into Julienne. Use Tasso Ham If You Can Find It, But I Never Can.

Cook A Few Minutes And Then Add 1/2 onion, Chopped Fine, And The Reserved Sausage
Cook A Few More Minutes.
Add 4-5 TBlsps Flour And Cook, Stirring Constantly;
You're Making A Blond Roux Here.
After A Few More Minutes, Add 4 Cups Of Stock(chicken is fine,
or you can make shrimp stock from your shrimp shells if you bought them with shells)
Bring To A Boil; Reduce Heat And Simmer, Stirring Constantly Until It Thickens.
You Should Have A Nice Gravy;
If It Just Won't Thicken You can Add A TBLsp Of Cornstarch Dissolved In A TBLsp Of Water.
I've Been Known To Cheat Too.

Now, Add 2 Pounds Of Raw Peeled Shrimp Into The Simmering Gravy
Simmer Just A Few Minutes Until They Just Turn Pink.
I ALWAYS SEEM TO OVERCOOK THEM.
To Finish, Add Some Grinds Of Pepper
(it's loaded with salt from the ham)
A Fistful Of Chopped Parsley, And Serve In Bowls Over A Bed Of The Grits Or Rice.
YUM! YUM!