I've had shrimp & grits a few times at restaurants, but never tackled making it myself. You would think it would be so simple, but I always shied away from it. Sunday night I found a recipe for Old Charleston Style Shrimp & Grits, and I decided to go for it.
The recipe calls for half-and-half to make the grits, but I've never done that before, and saw no point in starting now. I went looking for andouille sausage at the grocery store but, as you can imagine, it's pretty hard to find in Stillwater. So I went with lite smoked sausage instead. One thing I still have a lot of issues with is making a roux. I can melt the margarine just fine, but once I add the flour it never looks like those chefs on TV. Not sure if that affects the outcome or not.
Here's the official version:
And here's my version...
Wow, it was really awesome! I used a little too much margarine--especially since I added some to the grits at the end--but I use Smart Balance Light, so I was way better off than if I'd used real margarine or butter. The shrimp got a kick from the cayenne, but it wasn't overpowering. I think I forgot to add the worchestershire sauce, but honestly I didn't notice until I re-read the recipe for this blog entry.
Will I make it again? Of course! It's easy to make, delicious, and pretty filling for a shrimp-based dish. I'll cut back a little on the margarine, and make sure to add the worchestershire.
