shrimp & grits

We've been in the South for a while now, so I have a better idea of what grits should taste like. Why they are especially popular in the South and nowhere else is beyond me though. It's almost exactly like polenta. The only difference is that it's a coarser grind and sometimes it's made with hominy instead of corn. In the supermarkets down here, you can find all sorts of flavors and varieties. Stone-ground grits (as opposed to instant) are the most "authentic", but they take about 30 minutes to cook. Nevertheless, as I embarked on my first grits adventure, this is what I went with. The basic recipe for stone-ground grits is basically a 4:1 ratio of liquid (I used half milk, half water) to grits, along with whatever seasoning you want (butter and salt usually, though cheese makes a regular appearance too). To cook, you simply add the grits to the boiling liquid and slowly cook them till they soften up and reach the desired consistency.

Sauteed shrimp and bacon is a very popular accompaniment to grits down here, but I wanted more for this dish!! So for the shrimp, I made Acadian peppered shrimp (recipe below). It's a Cajun dish I learned to cook some time ago that I always go back to because it's easy (almost all the ingredients are likely to be in your pantry) and delicious! It's loaded with A LOT of freshly ground black pepper, herbs and plenty of butter. It's really a perfect dish to serve alongside grits. I also added a small slice of goat cheese, sauteed pea sprouts, lardons and a fried egg to the plate. Pretty darn good. Even a true southerner might agree!

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Acadian Peppered Shrimp (serves 3-4)

Ingredients

6 oz salted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf, finely ground in spice grinder or keep it whole and remove before eating
1/4 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped (can sub dried)
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (can sub dried)
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp hungarian paprika
1lb shrimp (raw, shell-on, deveined)

Directions

• Combine all the ingredients except the shrimp in a saute pan and cook on medium for 15 minutes (you want to brown the butter slightly)
• Add the shrimp and cook 4-5 minutes, mixing once or twice, until all the shrimp are just pink
• Serve immediately with fresh bread, grits, or anything else to sop up the delicious butter sauce!

bacon

This might be hard for some of you to come to grips with, but bacon jumped the shark roughly three years ago. As proof, I offer you the over-hyped bacon festivals, bacon ice cream sundaes (at Denny's?!?!), terrible bacon television specials (just picture Mark Summers saying "Set your skillet to sizzle because today we're frying up a bacon bonanza" ughhh), and bubbly brown bacon sodas... You even find bacon dehydrated and dangling like a trapeze artist at Alinea, with all three of its Michelin stars. Want more??? Bacon cups, bacon toothpaste, bakon (sic) vodka, and of course a burger made out of ground bacon for a double whammy of food that's recently jumped the shark. I rest my case.

Now don't get me wrong. I have always liked bacon (and burgers) and continue to do so. But let's be clear, there are plenty of other foods that are far superior to bacon. Let me ask you one question as an example, and we'll even keep it in the world of cured meats for a relatively fair comparison. Would you rather go to a bacon festival or Jamón Ibérico festival? I really hope you said bacon, because I'd rather not have to share any Jamón with you.

Enough with that rant and onto another. Why would anyone insist on eating bacon that's so crispy that any sane person would describe it as burnt???  It's murder to take a perfectly tender piece of cured and/or smoked pork belly, slice is so thinly you can see through it, render every ounce of the fat out of it, and then continue to cook it until what's left of the it is burnt beyond recognition. It's madness I tell you! Yet what's more infuriating, is the fact that if you want bacon in anything other than thin slices, you're pretty much out of luck at most American supermarkets. And so this is what brings me to my home cured bacon. I wanted lardons, not slices. Small strips of bacon that maintain their meatiness when cooked, while simultaneously allowing for a crispy exterior. Doesn't sound so bad does it?? So I followed Ruhlman's basic recipe which involves coating a slab of pork belly with 1/4 cup of salt cure (see below) and refrigerating it for seven days. On the seventh day, you get to create bacon. Simply cook it for two hours in a 200F oven. That's it - couldn't be any easier!! Now I have two pounds of lardons stored in my freezer, ready for salads, soups, stews, pasta dishes, breakfast, and much, much more (though probably not sodas). 

Now some of you might insist that real bacon should be smoked. Well you are right - sort of.  I will point out that in France bacon and lardons are often just cured and not smoked, though that's probably not a convincing argument. And besides, it's not like smoking meat is a bad thing. In fact, at some point I will most likely invest in a small oven smoker and bacon will probably be the first thing I use it for. So there you go. Another day, another rant. Here's to the hope that some of you will try to make bacon at home now!

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Simple Bacon Cure

Ingredients

1 part pink salt
4 parts granulated sugar
9 parts kosher salt