I do live in the south now

I've recently discovered the ease and joy of grits. Seriously. Apparently, you don't need to be a born-and-bred southerner to make them.

Shrimp and Andouille with Grits (from EveryDay Food magazine)

coarse salt and ground pepper
1 C quick-cooking grits
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
4 tsp all-purpose flour
1 1/4 C low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 C heavy cream
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups of water and 1 tsp salt to a boil over high. Whisk in grits and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plate and reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and scallion whites to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour. Whisk in broth and cream. Cook, sirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add shrimp and sausage and cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. To serve, top grits with shrimp mixture and sprinkle with scallion greens.

They recommend serving this with broiled tomato halves, but my husband would sooner chew his own foot off than eat broiled tomato halves. I made some green beans and some take-and-bake bread and, voila, y'all! (as they say in these parts), dinner is served.

This was pretty quick and very tasty. I made it with extra sausage since my little guy typically loves sausage, but this sausage he thought was too spicy. I used smoked chicken andouille sausage from Trader Joe's. Yummy. The recipe says you can use kielbasa if you can't find andouille. This makes four pretty generous servings. Make sure you dip your bread in the sauce.

Blackened is the New Black

Now that grilling season is upon us, I broke out the old blackening recipe. This is a recipe I found years ago when we lived in Pensacola. I believe it was in a handout from the local seafood market. I used it the first time on approximately 800 lbs. of fish my roommates caught on a charter boat. It's great on fish or chicken. This time I tried it on chicken.

Blackening Spice

3 TBSP paprika
1 TBSP salt
1/2 TBSP granulated garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme

Blend all ingredients. Use to coat fish or chicken before grilling. Very spicy!

I used skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts. This makes enough to cover probably 4 average-sized pieces. It covers quite a bit of fish. I was out of cayenne pepper so I substituted an equal amount of chili powder which worked nicely. I served this with bacon-cheddar grits and veggies.

Fancy Pants Dinner

We had friends over for dinner and I started my menu with the salad. I built out from there.

Watermelon and feta salad with Serrano Chile vinaigrette (from Five & Ten restaurant via InStyle magazine)

1 C olive oil
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP champagne vinegar
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 small shallot, minced
1 Serrano Chile, stemmed and sliced into small half-rounds
salt to taste
1 small seedless watermelon
1/3 lb. wedge feta cheese, sliced 1/8 inch think (about 12 slices)
1 bunch arugula
sliced serrano chile for garnish

1. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, thyme, shallot, and serrano chile. Shake well. Season with salt to taste; chill in refrigerator.

2. Remove rind from watermelon and slice flesh into 3 inch squares.

3. To assemble salad, layer one piece of watermelon on one slice of feta. Repeat. Drizzle with vinaigrette and garnish with arugula and sliced serrano chile.

This is such a delicious salad and it's gorgeous as well. It is sweet and salty and tangy and spicy. I always forget what a hassle it is to pull off fresh thyme leaves, but it is worth it. While your plucking, you should pull off some thyme for

Garlic-Herb Crust for steaks(from Bon Appetit)

4 garlic cloves
8 fresh sage leaves
4 tsp fresh thyme leaves
4 tsp olive oil
4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper

With machine running, drop garlic into processor; blend until finely chopped. Add other ingredients, process until paste forms. Pat meat dry. Rub with paste. Cover, chill at least three hours. Grill steaks as desired.

I put this on 4 strip steaks. Delicious. It's a nice match to the salad. I served these with potatoes roasted with shallots, garlic and sage. It was a wonderful dinner.

You can call me honey

The Boy had karate tonight so we needed a quick, prep-ahead meal and this one fits the bill. Tasty too.

Honey-Teriyaki Chicken (from EveryDay Food magazine)

1/2 C honey
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 TBSP soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP peeled, grated ginger
1 TBSP coarse salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1. Preheat oven to 475. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, combine all but chicken and mix until combined. Add chicken and toss to coat.

2. Bake chicken, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan juices until well-browned and cooked through- 25-30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

I dip each chicken thigh in the sauce one at a time and place them on the baking sheet. Then I dump the leftover sauce over them before baking. My son and husband both love this one. I serve them with rice and...

Asian Cabbage Slaw (from EveryDay Food magazine)

2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP rice vinegar
1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1/2 head small green cabbage or savoy cabbage
1 C cilantro leaves
4 scallions, cut into matchsticks
1 grated carrot
1/2 fresh jalapeno, minced

1. Combine first five ingredients for dressing in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Add vegetables to dressing and toss to combine.

I double this recipe mostly for practical reasons. What am I going to do with half a cabbage and half a jalapeno? I also generally use the vegetable peeler on the carrot instead of grating it. It's delicious and is great as leftovers. I made this yesterday for today to shorten my prep time.

A Little Spice in your Life

Now that we're back in grilling weather, I'm breaking out all my summer recipes. And I always love another way to prepare chicken.

Pepper Lime Chicken (I think I got this one from Caroline back in Japan...)

2-2 1/2 lbs. chicken
1/2 tsp shredded lime peel
1/4 C lime juice (one lime)
1 TBSP cooking oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and rub marinade into chicken. Allow to stand at least 1 hour. Grill chicken.

I served this with cous cous and microwave veggies for a quick and easy dinner. The citrus and pepper and a great combination and can accompany almost anything.

How's yo mama an 'em?

It's rainy and cool today after temperatures in the 90's last week. So it seemed like a good day for a hot meal.

Red Beans and Rice (from the incomparable MaryBeth)

2 TBSP olive oil
1 lb. fully-cooked smoked sausage, sliced (you can use regular or turkey sausage)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 14 1/2 -16 oz cans red kidney beans (New Orleans style, if available)
1 C chicken broth
1 tsp or more Cajun seasoning ( I like Tony Cachares)

1. Heat olive oil in large, heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic and saute until onion is brown; about 15 minutes.

2. Mix in kidney beans with their juices, broth and seasoning. Reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer until flavors are blended and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally. (about 45 minutes)

I serve this over rice with corn bread on the side. I usually make a vegetable as well, but I had salad for lunch and I was feeling lazy. A side salad is good. This is always even better the second day.

Two for One

I've been lax with my posting. I therefore have to recipes for you tonight. Dinner and breakfast.

Pulled-pork Tacos (from EveryDay Food magazine)

2 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 TBSP chopped chipotle chilies in adobo (seedless for less heat if desired)
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 C shredded pork

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic, onion, and chilies; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 18 to 20 minutes. Add pork and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings.

This was quick and easy. With the precooked, shredded pork, you can have dinner ready in half an hour. You can make quick and easy toppings out of prepared salsa and guacamole from the grocery store.


Chocolate Chip Pancakes (From Gourmet via epicurious.com)

1/2 stick (1/4 C) unsalted butter
3/4 C plus 3 TBSP milk
1 large egg
1 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a small saucepan melt 2 TBSP butter over moderately low heat, stirring. Stir in milk and meat until just warm. Remove pan from heat. In a bowl whisk together milk mixture and egg. Into another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and stir in egg mixture until just combined. Gently stir in chocolate chips.

2. Preheat oven to 200.

3. Heat griddle over moderate heat until hot enough to make a drop of water scatter over surface. Add 1 tsp butter and spread over griddle. Working in batches, drop 1/4 C measures onto griddle to for pancakes. Cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden. Flip pancakes and cook until undersides are golden brown and pancakes are cooked through.

When I make these, as I did for Easter morning, I melt the butter in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. I add the milk then the egg. Then I put the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. I add the wet ingredients and then the chips. Fewer dishes and just as effective. These are delicious with maple syrup or just plain. They are also great with cinnamon chips.