Brunswick Stew

One of my favorite things to do on Twitter is enter contests for some free goodies, even though I never usually win anything.  So one day I saw a chance to win free tickets to some chef demo at Bloomingdales with chef Virginia Willis.  It seemed interesting so I retweeted @AtlEvents' tweet and 5 hours later I somehow was the winner of these tickets!! I didn't really know the details of this event at all, but I just showed up with my friend in the Home section of Bloomy's and just went with the flow!

When we got to the event, we saw tables around for wine tasting, so we tried some different kinds of wine and walked around in awe of all the different kitchen appliances.  I wanted so bad to be able to buy every single thing in that store! I mean who doesn't need a 5 slotted toaster with 15 different settings for your toast?!  So we eventually found the area where the cooking demo was to be performed and watched hungrily as the Chef cooked up some sweet tea brined pork tenderloin, sweet potato grits, and mushroom ragu.  After we got to sample the wonderful food, I was able to purchase her lovely cookbook where all this goodness was documented and I was able to talk with Chef Willis and have her sign the book!  Turns out she was from Georgia and even studied history at UGA!! Go Dawgs! So this whole long story brings me to Virginia Willis' Brunswick stew recipe.

As I was flipping through her book looking at the pictures, I freaking fell in love with the pic of her BBQ stew.

It looked sooooo good and I knew it was going to be the first recipe I tried from her book.  So here we go!

2 Tablespoons of canola oil
1 onion chopped (preferably a Vidalia)
1 poblano pepper or a green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 fingerling potatoes
6 cups of chicken or beef broth (I used beef)
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes with juice
2 cups of fresh of frozen butter beans
2 cups of corn
Bouquet garni which is 8 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, 6 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 10 whole black peppercorns tied together in cheese cloth
1 pound boneless, skinless breasts or thighs cut into 1 inch pieces (I used thighs)
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into medallions

I started off by making the Bouquet garni.  It may be hard to find the cheese cloth in the grocery store, but it's pretty cheap and you get a lot for what you pay for.  It can also be good for straining, which I will be doing while making my thanksgiving dishes!  Anyway, make your little bouquet of herbs and set aside.

Next, I cut up all my veggies, the onion, pepper and garlic, and set aside so it can be ready to throw in the pan.  I like to cut the veggies before the meat so I don't have raw meat germs everywhere, so now you cut away at your meat and set that aside as well and start heating your oil on medium to high heat in a large pot.

When the oil is simmering, add the onion and pepper and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes until they are soft then add the garlic and paprika and cook for another minute.  Now add the vino and cook until it is almost all evaporated, about 3-5 minutes.

Next, add your potatoes, beef stock, tomatoes with juice, beans, corn, and your bouquet garni.  Let this come to a boil and then decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until the beans and potatoes are just tender.

Now season your meat with salt and pepper and add it to your soup and continue to cook for 5-7 more minutes or until the meat is done.  I also like to add a little more pepper to give it some more spice since it is Brunswick stew.  Before you serve, though, remember to take out that bouquet of herbs!

I love this recipe because it is so easy and doesn't really take that much time, and, of course, the finished product is so delicious!  I also made some cornbread because I just have to have some when I'm eating any kind of stew, especially Brunswick stew! Hope you enjoy!

Shrimp and Grits

One of my favorite southern dishes is shrimp and grits.  I didn't always like or even understand the concept of the dish, but I have grown to love it and have finally decided to make it.  The first time I heard of the dish was many years ago when my parents were throwing a dinner party.  As always it was craziness in the house before the guests arrived.  People were yelling, pots were clanging, and I was sitting there confused over this shrimp and grits mixture.  My step-dad, Jack, was the chef for the night, and he was such a great cook.  He was more of a throw-something-together-sort-of-using-a-recipe kind of chef, and he used his creativity to make great meals, but in return, left the kitchen a huge mess, which did NOT make my mom a happy camper.  Thank goodness kitchens have doors and none of the guests had to witness this debacle!  (I believe I learned all my cooking attributes from that smart, crazy man)  I remember hearing that we were having shrimp and grits for dinner and being so confused.  "Why would you eat grits that you eat for breakfast with shrimp?!"  I did not understand it and being the picky, stubborn child I was, I did not eat it.  Years later, though, I have learned to love this dish, and now I think of this moment every time I eat shrimp and grits and think how I missed out on one of Jack's great meals (lesson for all those picky eaters out there!)

So now here I am wanting to spread the love of this special southern meal with this recipe.


Grits
3 cups of milk
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 tablespoon of butter

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan

1/3 cup of mozzarella or  any other type of cheese (I also use Gouda)

Shrimp

5 slices (or 10 whatever your preference) of bacon

1 pound of shrimp

1 cup of thinly sliced onion

2 cups of grape tomatoes halved

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon of sriracha

Start off by making your creamy, cheesy, delicious grits!  Mix the milk, water, salt, pepper, and butter and bring to a boil.  Keep an eye on the milk and stir occasionally as the milk will stick to the bottom of the pan when it starts to cook.  Once the milk has started to boil, stir in the grits slowly and turn the heat down to low.  Let the grits cook for about 5 minutes and stir in the cheese until it melts.  I like my grits super cheesy, so you can add as much cheese as you like.  Just be careful with the salt content because the more cheese you add the more salty the grits will become. 

Now comes the best part! BACON!  Cook your bacon in a big fry pan and take in that yummy smell of cooked bacon.  I like mine pretty crispy especially for this dish, so I cook mine for about 7 minutes on the first side then flip and cook for about another 3 minutes on the other side.   Once cooked, take out the bacon and crumple it all into pieces and set it aside for later.

Pour out the bacon grease (but not into your sink, duh), but leave about a tablespoon in the pan because....you will be cooking your shrimp in that heart healthy grease!  Add your shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side and then set aside the shrimp.

Now add your sliced onions and halved tomatoes to the same pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Add the garlic and cracked pepper and cook for another minute.  Now add the shrimp and bacon back to the pan and pour in the sriracha.  I like my shrimp pretty spicy, so I tend to add about 3 squeezes of the hot sauce (real technical measurements here) until I taste enough spice.  Only cook until the shrimp are warmed up because you don't want to over cook them.  Now just spoon the shrimp mixture over your yummy grits and you are ready to chow down! 

  

I hope you enjoy and maybe you too will now think of my step-dad whenever you eat this dish!  Go Jack!

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