• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1008 0

on the post–Civil War original. Moreton includes his deliciously updated recipe in Remembering Bill Neal (2004), her lively memoir of the couple’s college days at Duke, their travels about France, and their early struggles in the restaurant business. For many years the pioneering chef at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, Bill Neal elevated Lowcountry shrimp ’n’ grits from humble to haute (New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne called him “a genius at the stove”). Indeed, Neal gave shrimp ’n’ grits such star status that nearly every southern chef now offers some version of it. Neal’s own creation remains a signature dish at Crook’s Corner and if you’re ever in town, I urge you to try it. The recipe that follows has been given yet another spin: my own.

Grits

2½ cups water mixed with ½ teaspoon salt (salted water)

2/3 cup quick-cooking grits

1½ cups coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 medium garlic clove, crushed

¼ cup light cream

1 tablespoon butter

1/8 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)

Shrimp

4 thick slices hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide

2 tablespoons corn oil or vegetable oil

1 pound raw medium-large shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ pound small mushrooms, stems discarded, caps wiped clean and thinly sliced

8 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (include some green tops)

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce, or to taste

¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley

1. For the grits: Bring the salted water to a boil in a medium-size heavy saucepan over high heat. Slowly add the grits, whisking all the while. When the mixture returns to a boil, reduce the heat to moderately low and cook uncovered, whisking often, for 8 to 10 minutes or until thick.

2. Meanwhile, begin the shrimp: Fry the bacon in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat for about 10 minutes or until the drippings cook out and only crisp brown bits remain. Using a slotted spoon, lift the bacon to paper toweling and reserve.

3. Add the corn oil to the skillet drippings and heat for 1 minute. Add the shrimp, distributing evenly, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over moderate heat or just until they begin to turn pink.

4. While the shrimp cook, mix the two cheeses and the garlic into the grits along with all remaining ingredients. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, whisking now and then, or just until the cheese melts. Set the grits off the heat, cover, and keep warm, whisking occasionally, while you finish the shrimp.

5. Stir the shrimp well, add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until they release their juices and these evaporate. Add the scallions and garlic, cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes, then mix in all remaining ingredients. Taste for salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce and adjust as needed.

6. To serve, puddle the grits on each of four heated dinner plates and scoop the shrimp mixture on top, dividing the total amount evenly. Finally, scatter some of the reserved bacon over each portion.

TENNESSEE BARBECUE SHRIMP

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

“I love this recipe!” says my friend Janet Trent, a textile designer and weaver who lives in the old family farmhouse a few miles outside Sanford, North Carolina, with her husband and two young daughters. “This is the closest I can get to a really tasty dish that was served at 12th & Porter restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee,” says Janet, who finds it perfect for her occasional catering gigs. “Jody Faison was the chef and proprietor of this place and also of Faison’s, an upscale restaurant in the Hillsboro Village section of Nashville,” she adds. “I combined a few different recipe versions to come up with this one—a real treat!” When I first looked at Janet’s recipe, I thought it contained so many herbs and spices that their flavors would conflict with one another. Not so. Janet’s right. This is a “real treat!” Easy, too, because the shrimp are baked