Week 9 - South Carolina

Hey y'all! This stop in the National Grub Year comes to you from the Palmetto State, South Carolina.  It's fitting that I'm actually writing this from the campus of Clemson University in Clemson, SC. It was also fitting that we had a South Carolina-inspired meal while my mom, Mary, was in town.  She's one of the GRITS (Girls Raised in the South), and she was actually born in the southernmost of the Carolina states (she met my dad in it's northern counterpart).

The recommendation for this week's meal came from a middle/high school friend, Karilyn, who has made her way with her awesome family from Maine down to one of my favorite cities, Charleston.  I hope I did it justice!

Charleston Style Shrimp and Grits

1 cup coarse grits

3 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups half and half

2 pounds uncooked shrimp

Juice of 1 lemon

1 pound smoked sausage

5 slices of bacon

1 green pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 orange pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken borth

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup shredded cheese
1 green onion

Elizabeth and I are fortunate to live in a neighborhood that has a pretty large farmer's curb market that takes place every weekend. One of the staples that we've picked up from there are grits from the Old Stone Mill of Guilford, which is about a 20 minute drive from our house.

To start, I added the water, grits, and some salt to a pot and brought it to a boil.  The three to one ratio of water to grits is the key.  This was the first time, however, that I had used half-and-half with them.  I stirred it in and brought the heat down to a simmer for about 20 minutes.

Next, I fried up the bacon, crumbled it, and set it aside.  I then sprinkled the shrimp with salt, pepper, and the lemon juice. I set that aside in a bowl to rest.

I sliced the sausage up into 1/4 inch pieces, and fried it in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

In the pan where I cooked the bacon, I added the peppers, onion, and garlic, and cooked for about 10 minutes.

I stirred the shrimp and the sausage into the cooked vegetables...

...and then set out to make a roux.  I melted the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once it was melted, I added the flour and stirred it all until it was a golden brown.  This took a little less than 10 minutes.

I poured the roux over my shrimp, sausage, and vegetable mixture, and added the broth, bacon, and Worcestershire sauce, and cooked it all until the shrimp was bright pink, about 10 minutes.

Finally, I mixed in the cheese with the grits, and served the shrimp mixture over them and garnished with some green onions.  I made a side of collard greens cooked in balsamic vinegar, and the result...

...was the best thing I've cooked so far this month.  The grits were super creamy, and the shrimp mixture had a great flavor to it (the greens in the balsamic vinegar were fantastic as well).  This is definitely a keeper, and it's going into the brunch rotation as long as we have grits in the pantry (which is pretty much a given if your pantry is in the South).

It was great to be able to share this meal with my Mom.  More importantly, it was great that Elliot and Eleanor got to share it with their Mia.

Week 8 - Arizona

Greetings from the Grand Canyon State! Last week, the Farabees took a trip to out West and enjoyed a dinner inspired by the cuisine of Arizona. It's a state I've always wanted to visit because of the GC (so I can pull a Clark Griswold). Maybe one day we'll take the old Farabee family truckster and head out there...

When Elizabeth and I first moved in together, we lived in a very tiny apartment with a kitchen that could barely fit one person at a time. An open oven door blocked the way to the fridge, cleaning dishes required a contortionists skill and patience.

But it was the first kitchen we shared together. It was the first kitchen where we made dinner together after long days of work and breakfast together before lazy weekends. We mixed the big batches of the cocktails we served at our wedding in that kitchen. And it was in that kitchen that my love of cooking was solidified, where I caught the “cooking bug.”

One of the recipes I remember trying for the first time in our little kitchen was baked chimichangas. As the chimichanga is said to have been invented in Arizona, I thought it was fitting to try a version of that recipe again for our stop out West. And while it's traditionally fried, this healthier style came out great.


Baked Chimichangas

2 cups baked chicken, shredded
1 cup mild salsa
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped
Tortillas (we used the low-carb variety)
Olive oil spray
Tomato, diced (for optional topping)
Guacamole (for optional topping)

The recipe that I made back on Fifth Avenue involved cream cheese, but this one was a little lighter.  Here, I mixed the baked chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese, and onions together in a large bowl.

I placed a big spoonful of this mixture onto a tortilla...

...and then folded it up, putting the seam side down on a baking tray.  I sprayed them with the olive oil, and then they all went in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I served them with a black bean recipe that I used for the Global Grub Month a few years back (Mexico, if you're following along), and some spiced asparagus.

For Christmas, Elizabeth got me a set of hot sauces from Arizona. I tried the Habenero Mango Sauce this go around (and it was awesome!)

The result...

...came out even better than before.  These little packets of deliciousness are an easy, tasty alternative to the tired Taco Tuesday we all have experiences.  Chicken has been my go-to filling for these, but any protein (or veggie, for that matter) can be a great substitute.

It was great to try an "oldie but a goodie" recipe for this trek around the country.  Elizabeth and I took a cooler of these on our way up to a road trip to Maine one time. Maybe one day, on that Farabee family road trip to the Grand Canyon, we'll take a cooler of these with us again...