food

Last night for dinner, we had something a bit different than our usual fare. I decided to use some of the remaining stone ground grits from Georgia that we had bought some weeks ago to make Shrimp and Grits. Grits (or polenta) cakes seemed a good idea.

For the Grits Cake:

1 cup stone ground grits
4 cups water (or use some chicken or vegetable broth to increase flavor)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (use more if using only water/less if using canned broth)
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
kernels from 1 large ear of corn
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 large green onions, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (use more if you want more cheese flavor)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on low, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile heat remaining oil in a skillet until hot. Add corn kernels and pepper flakes. Cook until corn begins to brown slightly (about 4 minutes).

Remove grits from heat, stir in corn, green onions and Parmesan cheese. Pour into a casserole dish, cover and place in fridge to chill. Let chill for at least 1 hour–this gives time for the grits to harden. Cut into approximately 4-6 squares. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a hot cast iron skillet. Brown grits squares in butter until golden on each side (about 4 minutes per side). Remove to plate.

For the Alaskan Rock Fish (this would work with most any fish)

4 6-8 ounce fish fillets
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
juice and zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Old Bay Seasoning to taste (I also used a Spanish Fish Rub that I found at Whole Foods)

Marinade fish for approximately 20-30 minutes. Place on very hot grill and reduce heat. Cook, covered, for about 4 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

For the Tomato Topping:

Roughly chop approximately 1 1/2 cups of assorted yellow and red grape or pear shaped tomatoes.

Once the grits have been removed from the cast iron skillet, add a splash of olive oil and the tomatoes. Cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat and add fresh herbs. Allow everything to get good and hot then remove to a bowl. Toss with some additional salt and a good splash of extra virgin olive oil. Plate everything and you are done! Serves 4.

This was a really enjoyable meal made almost exclusively from vegetables from Grow Alabama and a simple package of salmon.

Honestly, this is more of a “throw it in the pot” kind of recipe. I didn’t take extra care to right down exact amounts.

Okra, Corn and Tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, diced
about 10 pieces okra, cut into 1/3-1/2 inch pieces
2 large ears of corn, cut from the cob
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped roughly
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add garlic and onion. Saute over medium heat until softened. Add okra and corn. Cook for 2-4 minutes. Add tomato and seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add enough white wine (or water) to keep from sticking. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5-10 minutes more.

Salmon Patties

1 package salmon (the plastic pack with skin/bone free salmon is my favorite, but drained canned salmon would work fine, too)
1 clove chopped garlic
2 green onions, chopped
1-3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayo
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 -1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
garlic salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix ingredients together, adding additional mayo or breadcrumbs to reach the correct consistency (one that will form a nice patty). Form into two large patties. Coat patties with an additional breadcrumbs, patting into patties. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet until hot. Add patties and cook approximately 3-4 minutes per side, until golden. Top with tarter sauce or a dollop of mayonnaise mixed with mustard and cayenne pepper.

Tonight’s dinnner was very tasty. Lemon juice and freshly ground pepper along with chives and a fabulous extra virgin olive oil made the shrimp. Buttermilk and sherry vinegar made the spinach salad. But the real kicker was the fried okra croutons. Perfectly golden, spicy with a Cajun kick.

For the shrimp:

3/4  lb peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
juice of 1/2 lemon, zest from whole lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (I actually use my microplane grater to grate the garlic after I’m done zesting the lemon)
freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt
hearty dash of Old Bay seasoning and a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon nice quality extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons fresh chives

For the buttermilk dressing:

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonaise (I use the new Kraft mayo made with
olive oil.)
1 tablespoon buttermilk
freshly ground black pepper
garlic salt to taste
1 teaspoon each stone ground mustard and honey
1 tablespoon or so extra virgin olive oil

For the okra:

a double handful of okra, sliced thick
3/4 cup buttermilk
cajun seasoning
1/2 cup each corn meal and all-purpose flour
oil for frying

For the Salad:
4 cups fresh spinach
12 grape tomatoes (I used a combination of yellow and red)
red onion slices

1. Marinade the shrimp for 30 minutes. Prepare a hot grill.

2. Mix dressing, adding oil after remaining ingredients are blended. (I confess that the amounts for the dressing are just estimates. I’ve never been much for measuring. Just mix it together until it is about the right consistency–a fairly thin version of bottled ranch dressing but with a creamier, olive oil infused flavor.)

3. Add okra to buttermilk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then toss by the handful with the flour/cornmeal/spice mixture. Shake off excess and fry!

4. Grill shrimp over hot fire for 2-3 minutes per side, being careful not to overcook. Remove from grill and toss immediately with chives and olive oil.

5. Toss greens and tomatoes with dressing, top with red onion. Place shrimp on top and sprinkle liberally with okra.