Shrimp & Grits with a Salad

This was supposed to be simple. Something quick and easy. Boy, was I wrong…

I have to admit: I’ve never eaten Shrimp & Grits, much less made it. I’ve had Grillades & Grits on a few occasions – most recently at the Wandering Goose, where I bought a bag of Daniel Boone Grits. And I make Cheese Grits all of the time. I figured the grits part of the dish wouldn’t be a problem.

I decided to try this recipe from Emeril Lagasse. I should have known something wasn’t right. One quart of water plus one quart of milk for one cup of grits? Maybe it was the brand of grits? I don’t know. But after an hour of cooking, I ended up with a big pot of paste. So, I made another pot of grits – this time using the instructions on the bag. The recipe said for two servings. I doubled it. I ended up with one serving that I had to run thru a sieve. So, I ended up busting out some Albers instant grits and mixing in the other grits from the previous try. Needless to say, by the time dinner hit the table – almost an hour after I had planned to eat – I was very frustrated…

Note: Instead of making the Sweet Corn Relish, I used Rick’s Picks‘ Handy Corn – since Emeril’s recipe makes over a gallon of the stuff.

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After much deliberation, I decided to go with the Wunder Brett from Breakside.

Fried Chicken, Bacon Jalapeño Cornbread Waffles, Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

I can’t explain it, but ever since I had my oral surgery back in February – I’ve have a hankering for fried chicken something fierce. Maybe it was because I was on a soft food diet during my recovery. But the first thing I did after get my stitches out was hit Popeyes.

Unlike my previous attempt, this time I stuck to the recipe – courtesy Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” (Episode: “Fry Hard 2: The Chicken“). And I figured, what else could go with fried chicken? Bacon Jalapeño Cornbread Waffles. The Not Your Mama’s Coleslaw – which has blue cheese in it – seemed like a logical side dish.

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I went with a bottle of the Witchfinder that I picked up at the Holy Mountain brewery on our trip to Seattle last month.

Harissa-Rubbed Grilled Skirt Steak with Orange-Fennel Relish

Since it’s been so hot here, I decided to make this again.

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Just happened to pick up the perfect beer to go with this dish while in Seattle last week: Fennel – a beer brewed with orange and fennel – from Propolis Brewing.