Adouille Sausage + Shrimp over Cheesy grits

Have I mentioned how much I love finding reduced price meat? It is such a great way to stock up on your frozen meats, especially for the single people out there. Think about it, the meat is usually half off (if not more), so you can get at least twice. With the way my grocery store does it, I can usually get a pound or two of meat for around $2-3. Score! At any rate, I was able to get some great Adouille sausage dirt-cheap the other day, hence this recipe. You can make this dish as spicy as you'd like, and if you're not adventerous enough to try the grits, you can use rice instead (I may judge you a little, though). This is a nod to growing up near Cajun country! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Andouille Sausage & Shrimp
Serves 3

1 1/2 T butter
1 1/2 T all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
Cayenne pepper
Salt
1/2 pound fresh, Andouille Sausage (casings removed) sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
1/2 pound medium shrimp (I got the 1/2 pound with the exoskeleton still on)
1 to 3/4 cup chicken stock or clam juice
3 T heavy cream + 2 t all purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook the butter and flour until it turns golden brown, about 3 minutes. This is your roux. Be careful not to let it get too brown- the heat should be on the lower side of medium, you are looking for something about the color of peanut butter.

2. Once your roux is at the proper color, immediately add the vegetables, and stir to coat them in the roux. Sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt and about a 1/2 t Cayenne pepper (use more or less to your liking, but remember...this a a Cajun dish, spicy is king!). Allow the vegetables to sweat (release their juices, the salt helps make this happen). This should take about 5-7 minutes if your heat isn't too high. Don't worry that the roux is getting darker, this is perfectly okay. FYI: When you add the cayenne, as it heats, it will sting your eyes and throat a bit! You've been warned!

3. Add the sausage, and let it really brown on all sides. Some of the fat will render off and help keep everything in the pan lubricated. Give it a good stir occasionally just to keep anything from sticking.

4. After about 7 minutes, the sausage will be partically done, and you can add the shrimp. Sautee your ingredients (you shouldn't need to add any additional butter or oil if you've been patient with the food) for a couple of minutes, until the shrimp just starts to turn pink.

5. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock or clam juice. Take the time to scrape all of the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan (at this point there may be quite a bit-don't worry about it's color). Stir until the gravy starts to thicken, this is why the flour was added early on.

6. In a small bowl, add the cream and 2 t of flour together to form a slurry. Pour this into the pan with the skillet and stir to combine. turn your heat down to low-medium and allow things to simmer for 7-10 minutes...until the gravy thickens more and all the meat is completely cooked.

7. Remove the pan from the heat. Remember the gravy will thicken as it stands. Portion over a bed of grits or rice (again, slight judgement for the rice).


Cheesy grits
Serves 3ish

1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup milk (cow's milk, coconut or almond milk don't work well here)
3/4 cup quick cooking grits
2 T butter
salt
3/4 cup white cheddar
2 T heavy cream
black pepper

Directions

(This can be done virtually at the same time as you are cooking the first recipe so they finish at the same time)

1. In a medium sized pot, bring the water and milk to a boil. Add a pink of salt and the grits to the boiling liquid.

2. Reduce the heat to low-medium! (Super important that the heat isn't too high!) Simmer for 15 minutes. Some grits will stick to the pot...just get over it...as long as they don't scortch, which shouldn't happen if the heat is low enough.

3. At this point in the previous recipe, you should be at step 4. In this recipe, you are going to remove the grits from the heat, and stir in the cheese, cream and butter. Sprinkle lightly with black pepper (you can also use white pepper).

4. Cover the grits to avoid a skin until you are ready to serve them. They can be made the day before and reheated beautifully with some additional cream. For this meal, you want to finish the Andouille Sasage + Shrimp last.

Notes

Remember hot grits are very sticky, so be careful when giving them to children as burns can occur.

To complete the meal, you could serve with Tomato-okra gumbo/soup or some collard greens (kale also works)

The veggies will pretty much dissolve into nothing by the time the first dish is done because of all cooking, but don't worry...you still get some of the nutrients from them!

This is a cold beer and creamy dessert sort of meal, you need things that will counter balance the spicy, hot food.

G2F Update

After a month or so of going G2F (gluten/grain free), I realized I felt worse, phyiscally, than I ever had. Nearly constant nausea, headache, and general lack of vibrancy. I lost no weight, no inches (though every "expert" claims you lose 5-10 lbs within the first few weeks). I tried the lifestyle change, because I'd been feeling fatigued and sore for months, and I wanted to see if it would help. I didn't do the best job of controling the experiment, since I also started jogging again after a year-long break from it. Needless to say, I am sore less often, and when I am sore it's usually because I really pushed myself during my jog or because I haven't gone in a couple of days. I did trim off a few pounds when I exercised more, and I've had more tone, which is nice. All this to say, going G2F may work for some, but from my perspective, it's only truly effective for those who actually have a real sensitivity to gluent. G2F living is great for carb control, and does encourage you to consume more vegetables, so it can help those who tend not to get enough fiber and other key nutrients. All in all, I will incorporate grains/gluten back into my diet, but in much lower amounts. I will occasionally indulge in intentionally G2F meals, sides, and treats, but they will not comprise the bulk of my diet. It's all about balance and moderation, not restriction and deprivation. It does not make you a better person because you only allow yourself to have one homegrown, organic, free range, cage free, grass-fed, natural, local, gluten-cholesterol-trans fat free kale leaf every other day (certainly doesn't make you healthy).