Autumn brings foods that warm the soul

Chip’s sister Leelee texted yesterday to let me know she had “made shrimp and grits (actually polenta but…) last night and was thinking about you.” I responded that I missed Chip’s shrimp and grits and we shared how shrimp and grits was such a great meal to make on a crisp fall night. Her text gave me the chance to grieve Chip's loss by happily recalling how much he loved shrimp and grits and by remembering how he always boasted that his recipe was the best(!) recipe. I always fully agreed with him, since it certainly was the best homemade shrimp and grits I’d ever had. I could always taste the love in every bite.

Last year for Christmas (or was it the year before? I can’t recall. The last 3 years can be such a blur in my mind), I bought Chip a variety of heirloom grits and biscuit flours from small mills in the South. I ordered the grits and flours by calling the milling companies and speaking directly with the small business owners. One such mill where I bought flour was the Sanford Milling Company, which has been run by the Hartness family for four generations (They don’t currently have a website but this is the mill’s Facebook page). I ordered Daniel Boone grits and Daily Bread flour from Booneville Flour and Feed Mill (the yellow corn grits, which can be ordered here, were particularly delicious bathed in Chip’s shrimp sauce). Below is his recipe for shrimp and grits, for those who are more adventurous than I am in the kitchen. The recipe is from Anson Mills, a favorite mill of Chip's, so there are links in the recipe to the Anson Mills site to buy their grits. I’m working up to trying recipes that he was so good at making (right now, it would be too painful to do so). For now, I am happy to just recall how much I enjoyed watching him cook in the kitchen (especially favorite recipes/dishes of his) and how much I relished eating next to him and saying “Mmmm” a hundred times, so that he knew how much I appreciated his efforts in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound 31/40 or 26/30 shell-on shrimp

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely diced

• 1 small rib celery, finely diced

• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced

• 4 cups water

• 1 teaspoon tomato paste

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 Turkish bay leaf

• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

• 1 strip lemon zest

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 2 ounces thick-cut bacon or real country ham, minced (3 tablespoons)

• 2 medium shallots, minced (¼ cup)

• Fine sea salt

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 recipe hot, freshly prepared Anson Mills Antebellum Coarse Grits or Antebellum Quick Grits

• 1 scallion, white and green part, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Peel and, if desired, devein the shrimp, reserving the shells. Dry the shrimp between layers of paper towels and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Heat the olive oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, onion, celery, and garlic and sauté until the shells are crisp and the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the water, tomato paste, thyme, bay, peppercorns, and lemon peel. Cover and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the stock is flavorful and reduced, about 15 minutes. Pour the stock through a fine-mesh strainer set over a small saucepan (you should have about 1½ cups strained stock), cover the saucepan, and keep hot over low heat while you cook the shrimp.

3. In a large skillet, sauté the bacon or ham over medium-low heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Move it to the periphery of the skillet and increase the heat to medium. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and sear until pink, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the shallots over the shrimp, toss to combine, and continue to cook just until the shrimp turn opaque, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, the red pepper flakes, and the black pepper and toss well. Using tongs, transfer the shrimp to a warm plate. Add the flour and the butter to the skillet and make a light roux. Return the hot shrimp stock to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Whisk in the butter-flour mixture, return to a boil, and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 20 seconds. Return the shrimp to the skillet and stir to coat them with sauce. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more salt, if desired.

4. To serve, spoon the hot grits into shallow bowls. Top with the shrimp and sauce, dividing them evenly, and sprinkle with sliced scallion. Serve immediately.

Everlasting be his memory.

Fall 2019, with Ariel and Stella when the Altergotts visited DC