Our Take on Shrimp and Grits

On January 13, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes8 Comments

Over the summer, when we were in Fort Collins, Colorado, we had ordered shrimp and grits at Jax Fish House. It was a special that they were experimenting with and we had talked to the chef about it after our meal, which was very gracious of him. In the spirit of “imitation is the greatest form of flattery”, we decided to do our own variation on their recipe. We found the Tabasco butter to be a little too oily, so we chose to do Hollandaise with a Louisiana pepper sauce instead. The Hollandaise sauce turned out nice because it gave a little bit of a lemon taste to the shrimp, but it still had some heat. We also used some Old Bay Seasoning on the shrimp, a little reminder to our east coast roots. We’re not sure if they used cheese in their grits or not, but who can argue with a little cheese. The centerpiece was the soft-boiled egg that had been fried. We have to admit, trying to replicate that was quite the challenge and took us a couple of tries. In the end, we think we hit the mark, perhaps not the same as the original, but we quite enjoyed it. We hope that you will as well. 🙂

Shrimp and Grits with a Fried Soft Boiled Egg

Ingredients

3/4 cup Quick Grits
3 cups Water
1 cup Whole (or Skim) Milk
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Hollandaise Sauce (Packaged or Homemade)
1 – 3 tbsp Louisiana Pepper Sauce (or Tabasco)
4 Soft Boiled Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
2 Eggs – whisked
1/2 cup Panko (or Bread Crumbs)
2 lbs Large Shrimp
1 – 2 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley – finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

This is one of those meals that has a lot of things that have to come together at the same time, but if you do them in the right order, it all comes together quite well. We’ve given the instructions for each of the pieces, but we recommend that you do the steps in a specific order, multitasking whenever possible. First, soft boil the eggs. When the eggs are done, start cooking the grits and bring the oil up to temperature to fry the eggs. While the grits are cooking, prepare the Hollandaise sauce. When the grits are done, start sautéing the shrimp. When the shrimp are done, fry the eggs and then set them aside on a paper towel to dry while you plate the meal.

Fried, Soft Boiled Eggs – For the soft-boiled eggs, bring a small pot of water to a boil and carefully add the 4 eggs to the boiling water, cook for 6 minutes and immediate place the eggs into an ice bath. In a fryer or sauce pan, heat vegetable oil to approximately 350 degrees. Roll the eggs in the flour, then the whisked egg, and the Panko in order to batter them. Carefully place the eggs into the oil and fry for no more than 2 minutes. You may need to roll the eggs over to ensure that they brown evenly.

Cheesy Grits – In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, add the 3 cups of water plus a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the grits and milk to the water, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 4 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a pinch of pepper and the cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese has fully melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Hollandaise Sauce – Prepare the Hollandaise sauce according to the package or directions and then add the pepper sauce (adding more or less to your desired heat), stirring to mix completely.

Sautéed Shrimp – In a large skillet, add the oil and butter and heat on medium heat until the pan is hot. Add the shrimp and Old Bay Seasoning and cook until the shrimp are pink and translucent, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once cool enough to handle, remove the shells and set aside.

To plate the meal, place the desired amount of grits on the center of the plate, add 1/4 of the shrimp to the grits. Cut one of the eggs in half and place on the grits. Pour Hollandaise sauce around the grits (and over top of the shrimp, if you’d like). Sprinkle with parsley and a little Old Bay Seasoning. Makes 4 servings.

Our Fondue Tradition

On January 6, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes9 Comments

When the kids were growing up, we started the tradition to fondue on New Year’s Eve and watch a marathon of movies. We would pick movies that had multiple movies in the series like Harry Potter, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Jason Bourne, Lord of the Rings, Batman, Ocean’s 13, etc. Whatever the movie, it was about being together as a family and eating a meal that was a shared experience.

Our children have all grown up and moved onto their own lives, but we continue to spend our New Year’s Eve eating fondue and watching movies until about an hour before midnight. We do a peanut oil fondue with steak, chicken, mushrooms, and green peppers (we used to do hot dogs when the kids were younger). Then we do our family curry sauce, chutney, and béarnaise sauce for dipping. Although we love a good cheese or chocolate fondue, this is a perfect fondue for creating a hearty meal, especially when needing to offset all of the glasses of wine that lead up to our midnight toast.

Our New Year’s Day tradition is pork and sauerkraut, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that is meant to provide good luck throughout the coming year. It works out really well since it is a slow cooker meal and we are usually moving a little slower after New Year’s Eve. We’ve decided to share with you our curry fondue sauce recipe, which is obviously simple and can be used with other meals besides fondue.

Ingredients

1 cup Mayonnaise
3 tbsp Whole Milk (Skim can be used to lower the fat and calories)
4 – 5 tsp Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, combine mayonnaise, milk, curry powder, and tabasco sauce. Whisk together and chill for 30 minutes. If it is too thick, simply add a dash more of milk and stir.

Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding

On December 30, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes4 Comments

For every holiday, we have a food tradition that we are adamant about doing every year. Don’t ask us why, but we are very superstitious about our holiday meals. We’ve been very fortunate over the years and, although we know it has nothing to do with the meals that we’ve eaten, we just don’t want to jinx ourselves. Our Christmas tradition is to have prime rib (or standing rib roast) with Yorkshire pudding. It isn’t a complicated meal, but it is certainly delicious. We flew home on Christmas Eve so that we could be home for Christmas and cook our traditional dinner on Christmas Day. It was the perfect complement to being home. You don’t need to have a holiday or a superstition to give this meal a try 😉

Ingredients

6 – 8 lb Prime Rib (3 or 4 ribs)
5 Garlic Cloves – minced
1/4 cup Prepared Horseradish
4 tbsp Fresh Rosemary – roughly chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Thyme
1/4 cup Sea Salt
1/8 cup Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Eggs
3/4 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Pan Drippings from the Prime Rib

Instructions

Stir together the flour and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Rosemary and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the prime rib, bone side down, into a large roasting pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, horseradish, 3 tablespoons of the rosemary, 1 tablespoon of the thyme, sea salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk the ingredients until it forms a paste (whisking instead of stirring allows the ingredients to bind together). Generously rub the paste over the top (the fat cap) of the prime rib. Roast the prime rib in the oven for 2 – 2 1/2 hours (approximately 20 minutes per pound) until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees.

Pull the roast from the oven and set it aside, tented, for 20 to 30 minutes to rest (cutting into the roast without letting it rest will cause the juices to run out and the prime rib to be dry). Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour the pan drippings into a 9 inch square baking dish. Place the baking dish into the oven for 5 minutes to get the drippings smoking hot. Take the baking dish out of the oven, pull the batter out of the refrigerator, and add the cold batter to the pan drippings. Place the pudding back into the oven and cook until puffed and dry, about 15 to 20 minutes.