Shrimp and Grits

It’s the first day of Autumn and the hot peppers are still growing like mad. We pretty much gave up on them earlier in the season – they were looking pretty sad. The tomatoes, on the other hand, are history. We did not have our usual stellar harvest.

But peppers… we got.

I went out and snagged a few to fry. We’ve been putting these on everything – and they are smokin’ hot! Another strange thing. They’re much hotter than they have been in the past, as well. I’m not arguing – I like them hot. I’m just a tad surprised.

Hot Peppers

I split them into two batches and sautéed them in a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic – and whisky. We usually do salt, pepper, garlic, and a bit of anchovy, but I saw the whisky bottle and said what the hell.

Hot Peppers

They have a pretty good shelf life in the ‘fridge – and we tend to eat them on everything – but I’m going to seal and freeze half of them for the dark days of winter when some really hot peppers will come in handy.

I minced half of one tonight for the Shrimp and Grits we had for dinner. It really added a lot of flavor – and heat – without overpowering the dish. Just the way I like it.

Shrimp and Grits

This isn’t exactly a low-country recipe, but it came out really good!

Shrimp and Grits

for the grits:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup grits
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheese.

Cook grits according to package instructions. Stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheese right before serving.

for the shrimp:

  • 8 oz raw shrimp
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 6 oz asparagus, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • pinch thyme
  • pinch salt & pepper
  • 1 tsp minced hot pepper
  • 4 scallions, minced

Lightly sauté carrot and celery in skillet. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add wine and reduce by half. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add asparagus, thyme, salt, pepper, and minced pepper. Simmer until asparagus is almost done.

Stir in shrimp and cook until done – just a couple of minutes.

Stir in minced scallions and serve over grits.

Really simple and really tasty. That little bit of pepper definitely set the tone – each bite was successively hotter than the previous – but not enough to detract for the rest of the dish.

Not bad, at all…