While We're Talking of Quintessentials.......

Many will disagree, but as the Quintessential Southern Dish, nothing can beat Shrimp and Grits.
This is a dish that I would eat anytime. Preferably with an ice cold Quintessential beer ( ahem......Bud, longneck).
Recipe follows:


Shrimp and Grits
This Carolina low-country dish was made famous by Bill Neal, author of Southern Cooking and chef/owner of Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill, NC. I know of no other meal that satisfies as a breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner as wonderfully as this does.
For the Grits-
4 cups water
1 teaspoon. salt
1 cup old fashioned grits (NOT quick or 1 minute grits)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
pepper
Tabasco sauce
Bring water and salt to a rolling boil; slowly sprinkle in grits while stirring constantly. Return to a boil then lower heat to medium-low. Let grits bubble and sputter gently for 20 minutes giving them a stir every 3-4 minutes to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Add a few grinds of black pepper and a shake or two of Tabasco. Cover grits and keep hot.

Meanwhile, prepare all ingredients and have ready next to the stove.
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 bunch scallions, chopped (cup measure, use greens)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 lemon, juiced
Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron is best) or sauté pan over medium-high until very hot. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crispy. Remove bacon pieces, reserve and drain off all but one tablespoon fat. Mix shrimp, garlic and salt together and add to reheated skillet. Cook, tossing quickly, 2-3 minutes until shrimp begins to color. It should really sizzle, so don't be afraid to keep the heat high; just stir occasionally to keep ingredients from scorching. Add mushrooms and scallions and return to a high sizzle; cook until shrimp is opaque and veggies are softened and slightly browned. Stir in parsley, lemon juice and reserved bacon. Spoon grits onto four heated dinner plates. Top each mound of grits with shrimp and garnish with a few grinds of black pepper.

By Chefgibz0 (Chefgibz0) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 08:37 am: Edit

Kinglear,
You have a good one, but it is by no means Quintessntial for the South. Being a Yankee myself about 4 yrs ago I probably would have agreed with ya. But working in the South I have made a great seal of progress in my knowledge of southern cooking. Ya know, soul food, low country cooking. Although shrimp and grits or just grits do scream out SOUTH and everybody has their version....... there is no other food item that provides as much competiveness and down right hatred like BBQ. Whole States fight over who has the better BBQ. There are four different regions proclaiming rights to the better BBQ. And as far as the recipe for the rub, nothing gets protected like the recipe for the rub. Now that is my $0.02....... Now I have asked just about all of my co-workers, and mind you they are all native Southerners, they tell me it is homemade fried chicken and collard greens. And let me tell you, you have not had fried chicken and collards til you've had 'em from and old southern grandma. They all teased me about the grits, cuz they say Yankees don't eat grits, till I made 'em a batch of mine. Now they know. Well, let me think, I think it is a close race between BBQ and Fried Chicken and collards for this thread.

By Kinglear (Kinglear) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 10:05 am: Edit

Well, I was going to assert the Barbecue theme when I first posted, but then, I felt I'd have to share my recipe.
Yeah, right, like THAT was gonna happen.

Fried chicken and collards are great and Mama Dips is one of the best around, but my Grandma from Iowa also made a dynamite fried chicken too and so does my Grandad from Wales.

Shrimp & Grits is still the mo'bedda in my book cause it's suitable for any meal, any time of day.

By Chefgibz0 (Chefgibz0) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 10:18 am: Edit

Well now you've gone and done it. My crew of true Southerners are read to take ya on......they all say Fried chicken and Collards.......And man as much as I like BBQ in all forms....I have to stick with Fried Chicken, a nice cook out dinner, picnic lunch upon the plantation grounds and cold in the morning with my cup of joe as run off to work!

By Snuffaluff (Snuffaluff) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 11:54 am: Edit

uuuhhh... shrimp and grits? I hope you stay in NYC! lol Having been born and raised in Texas, I've never had, nor even heard of that combo.
Fried chicken or bbq is definatly where it's at (we know tx has the best bbq). Collard greens aren't really a must for a side, but potatoe salad is when having a heepin' helpin' of Fried Chicken.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 01:33 pm: Edit

Fried chicken,
with greens.
and cornbread.
and lemonaid.
But ya gotta eat it in Detroit.
They know how to cook it in Detroit.
(scr*w texas)

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 01:36 pm: Edit

and scr*ew hockey in Texas too!

By Chefgibz0 (Chefgibz0) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 02:40 pm: Edit

Well Snuff being in NC I have heard of it, and just about everybody I have talked to has a different rendition of it.....but they all say, Fried Chicken as the one and only quintessential Southern dish. And Detroit.....hah!....they don't know nothning bout no Fried Chicken. When you can drive to work and count the dead chickens on the side of the road that have fallen out of the Perdue truck........you know you are in chicken country.

Spike, I hardly consider the Car-B-Que cookin'!

As far as the hockey season goes......they all might as well melt the ice, stock it with bass, and have fishin derbies all winter.

By Cvincolorado (Cvincolorado) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 11:45 pm: Edit

Speaking of NC, I once ate at a restaurant called The Farrington House outside of Chapel Hill. I had an appetizer which was one of the best I've ever had. It was a grit cake(crab cake size) surrounded by a crayfish butter sauce. As a matter of fact the whole meal was quite memorable. I highly reccomend the restaurant if anyone gets over that way.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 01:31 am: Edit

I'll be going in the fall.
Basketball in N.C.
does it get any better?????

and as far as Fried Chicken in Detroit, don't forget when everyone was looking for work back after the big one(that would be WW2, for all them people in Texas)that there was a big exit out of the south and into the north.(factory work)
We got all those chicken cooker's and thank God we did. So don't be talkin 'bout we don't know nuthin 'bout no fried chicken.
Hell, I'd put any Detroit Mamma's fried chicken up against yours ANYDAY!!!

By Kinglear (Kinglear) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 08:55 am: Edit

I may be living in NYC, but Chapel Hill, NC is my hometown. If you go, check out a restaurant on Rosemary St. called Dip's Country Kitchen-the best soul food around and the fried chicken? Yum!
Crook's Corner is the restaurant that made Shrimp and Grits famous-Bill Neal (now sadly, deceased) was the chef/owner and a former chef of Fearrington House.

This thread just goes to show how regionally varied southern cooking is. Yeah, I stayed away from the whole BBQ fracas because there can be no resolve to it. Texas is beef-dry and stringy in my view, but tasty none the less. NC & SC is slowly pork, but even there the sauce differs, NC is vinegar, sugar and crushed red pepper, SC is mustard based. Even NC disagrees from east to west whether sauce should include tomato or not.

Then you've got Louisiana and the vast differences between the cajun and creole disciplines. Texas is some kind of freaky mix of southern and southwestern as far as it's culinary vernacular goes, so who can say. It does not surpise me that no one in Texas knows of Shrimp & Grits, there's a whole lot more to Texas than just the Gulf coast.

Anyway, I still stick by Shrimp and Grits as being a wholly representative southern dish-mostly because if it's universal suitability to any time of day service and it's roots in both the african-american & white, altantic and gulf coast traditions.

Hope you try the recipe, it's really good.

By George (George) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 08:58 am: Edit

Announcing the Webfoodpros BBQ cookoff!

Everyone send me their best BBQ and I'll taste it and get back to ya, Shrimp and Grits invited also!

G

By Chefgibz0 (Chefgibz0) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 10:08 am: Edit

Nice try G....If I give ya mine I'd either have to shoot ya or take your web site......your choice....lol...pork butt....S&P.......cardboard box with a hole and 3 nice cuban cigars........oh....and a bottle of kraft thick and spicey....that is what.....oh hell no....now I have given away too much.....

Yes the Fearington House is very nice. Five star/diamond....I worked in a place that the F. House was our only good compitition.

Spike......where in N.C.??.......bring your sher-wood so I can show you who does the better fried chicken.....or do you prefer to bring you 5 wood??

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Monday, September 13, 2004 - 07:37 pm: Edit

"Announcing the Webfoodpros BBQ cookoff!"

you know.....this might be a good idea.
everybody put in a recipe and have George cook it.
see who's stuff makes the grade.
bragg'in rights.

By George (George) on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 08:28 am: Edit

Come on, its not recipes that make great BBQ alone it's the luv that goes into it.

(Hows that for trying to weasel free eats)

G

By Snuffaluff (Snuffaluff) on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 09:46 am: Edit

lol... when the contest starts, can I come stay with ya for a bit G ?

I will agree though, I don't know if one person can bbq everyone's recipe the same way that they do. It IS about the love that goes into it, as with most recipes.
Beef, dry and stringy? Don't know where you ate in Tx, but it wasn't the right place.

By George (George) on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 10:18 am: Edit

You all come on up.

Real wish I had the money to set up something like this it would be a lot of fun.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 10:36 am: Edit

sounds like we need a fund drive.
you should post a address George.