The Belle Shares Another Fail

Missy Tippens, here. Dare I share with you another one of my fails?

Since this one turns out happy, I'll go ahead and do it. :) I know I've made shrimp and grits before. But this recipe is a little different. It was a new one I tried, mainly because I was dying to make saffron grits after having them at one of our new favorite restaurants, One Blue Duck. And I thought a lightly seasoned shrimp dish would be nice with the grits.

Shrimp and Saffron-Cheese Grits

Adapted from FoodNetwork.com (click here)

Grits (NOT instant)--amount based on desired number of servings (from package)

Half-and-half--amount based on servings desired (from package of grits)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

3 tablespoons butter

1-1/4 pounds shrimp, peeled and de-veined

2 cloves minced garlic (I use the kind in the jar, about 2 tsp)

Juice of half a lemon (I used the squeeze bottle)

Several threads of saffron

Look at this monster shrimp!  They were North Carolina wild caught. Were huge and gorgeous! Be sure you clean those babies. Peel off the shell and de-vein. (Look it up on Youtube if you don't know how.) Here they are all clean. It's a good idea to rinse them as well to make sure all shell shrapnel is gone.

Now, prepare the grits. I prepare according to package directions, only instead of all water, I mix half water and the rest half-and-half (you can use cream or whole milk if you prefer). This makes them really creamy. While heating the liquids, add in the saffron threads.

Saffron is really expensive. These little threads are precious! When I walked away just to grab a new roll of paper towels, I had a DISASTER.

My milk mixture boiled over. And yes, you can see EVERY SINGLE THREAD of saffron on the stovetop. Where I had to wipe them up and throw them away. And what's worse than milk boiling on a ceramic stove top?? Well, not much except for maybe sugar.

What a mess. I was so mad. Of course, I had to snap a photo so Ruthy could make fun of me. (Enjoy, Ruthy!) :)

SO…

I got the mess cleaned up. And, thankfully, I had some more saffron. I added that and a bit more half-and-half. Then the grits. But this finished off the package of saffron, so I did NOT walk away this time.

Here are my lovely, fragrant grits. I then stirred in the parmesan and 1 Tbs. butter. Then removed from the heat and covered to keep them hot.

Next… the shrimp!

Heat the remaining 2 Tbs. butter in a skillet. Add the garlic and stir. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and toss into the skillet.

Cook until translucent and pink. This just takes 3-4 minutes. Then add in 2 Tbs. water and the lemon juice.

Serve over the grits.

Now, I had to show you that the stovetop recovered with LOTS of elbow grease, a scrubber sponge and some gritty cleaner (made for ceramic).

Yay! It survived to cook again. :)