*West Coasted Shrimp and Grits

In my last term of school before leaving for externship, I handed in roughly an inch and a half thick pile of paperwork that was my restaurant project. In that stack were the brain droppings of multitudinous hours of menu development, recipe creation, costing and performance analyses, restaurant design and marketing exercises. The place was called “Ceres”, after the goddess of the harvest, and the recipes were kick-ass. I hoped.

Thanks to some downtime at the inn, I declared myself Chef-In-Residence and insisted that I begin to make dinners for my hosts every evening that I am not tied up elsewhere. My menu is already mapped out, for I have the Ceres project and lots of untested items to work on. I am so brilliant to think of it… You know, sometimes, I amaze even myself.

Ladies and Gents, fresh off the page at Facebook, I bring you my take on the southern classic Shrimp and Grits, served with hickory smoked shrimp, roasted shiitake mushrooms, braised beet greens and scallions, nestled over tomato grits and dressed with meltingly delicious chive mascarpone cheese.

West Coasted Shrimp and Grits

Smoked Shrimp Yield: 2 Lbs, 8 servings, 5 shrimp each

2 lbs jumbo (21/25) shrimp, peeled down to tail fins
Kosher salt and pepper TT
2 cups soaked hickory chips

You need a very strong burner and an even stronger vent hood for this, unless you have a smoker outside. This is NOT a long process, you want to generate a ton of smoke, put the shrimp on, cover them well and slowly cook them until they are 3/4 of the way done. They will continue to cook after you remove them from the smoker and pile them all up in a bowl for plating later on.

Get It Done:

1) Line 6″ hotel pan with foil, lay out 2 piles of chips, about 1/2 cup each, on bottom pf pan. Lay perforated sheet pan inside.
2) Heat chips to high smoke point, then turn down heat to low smoke production level. Salt and pepper the shrimp, then place in perforated pan and cover well.
3) Stir shrimp every 3 minutes or so until mostly cooked through. Remove immediately and hold for service, as immediately as possible.

Oven Dried Tomato Y: approx 3 cups

3 lbs dead- ripe small heirloom tomatoes
2 fl oz EVOO
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leafed parsley
Kosher salt and pepper

Get It Done:

1) Stem tomatoes, quarter lengthwise and remove seeds.
2) Mix oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley together in bowl. Marinate tomatoes 3 hours.
3) Place tomatoes on sprayed grill rack and sheet pan.
4) Bake at 200 degrees (F) for 16 hours or until soft and dehydrated.

Grits Y:4 servings, 1 cup each

2 c shrimp shell stock

2 c water

1 cup coarse ground white cornmeal
1 cup dried tomatoes, small dice
2T parsley, minced
1 clove garlic, pureed
2 oz Mascarpone cheese

Kosher salt & pepper TT

2 T unsalted butter
2 T EVOO
1 lemon, juiced, zest reserved for garnish

Get It Done:

1) Heat stockpot with EVOO and saute garlic until aromatic. Add water and stock.
2) Bring stock and water to boil, salt TT.
3) Whisk in cornmeal slowly, do not clump.
4) Reduce heat, cover and let cook until soft, stirring every 3 minutes, adding water or more stock as needed to cook and thin to texture. Add tomatoes half way through cooking.

6) In a separate bowl, mix Mascarpone, minced chives, and salt/lemon juice to taste. Hold at room temp for service.
7) Remove from heat, stir in parsley, butter and balance with salt and lemon juice.

Roasted Vegetables Y: 4 servings

1/2 lb shiitakes, cleaned and halved
1/4 lb scallions, cleaned and cut into 2″ lengths
1/2 lb beet greens, rough chop
2 T minced garlic
2 fl oz EVOO, plus 2 T, reserved
1T crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt & pepper TT
1 lemon, juiced and zested

4 fluid ounces Chardonnay

1) In a measuring cup, mix oil, salt, red and back pepper and garlic puree. Toss mushrooms separately with this mixture.  Toss wine with mushrooms. Toss lemon juice and zest with scallions and greens.
2) Roast mushrooms on parchment lined sheet pan at 400 degrees (F) until colored.

3) Heat 2 T EVOO in saute’ pan, quick saute/pan braise greens and scallions, cook just until greens are tender. Balance with salt/juice.

4) Combine in bowl and hold for service.

Plate up this dish in a large pasta bowl with grits on bottom veg braise, shrimp and a generous dollop of mascarpone, allowing it to melt down ingredients. Garnish with lemon and parsley.

(This one is for Todd Gerard, LRHS Class of ‘86,

who pimped out the recipe name for me.)