Pairing a delicious Sparkling Wine with food is one of my all-time favorite things to do. It’s not just for toasting anymore. Sparkling Wines goes with a variety of foods for all meals. One of my favorites to pair with the wine is Shrimp and Grits. Your taste buds will love this restaurant-worthy shrimp and grits recipe. Anyone can make this fabulous dish from a beginner cook to a pro.
Shrimp and grits is a traditionally Southern dish and served at breakfast, but you can serve it for any meal. This is a great quick dish to prepare when you have not planned dinner, but still want to impress family and friends. Just by adding a Sparkling Wine takes meal time to an extraordinary event. Now, let’s get to cooking this amazing dish.
Shrimp and Grits
Below are the ingredients you will need to a make this dish to serve 8:
- 3 cups of water
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 cup coarsely ground grits
- 2 cups of half-and-half
- salt to taste
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- 1 pound of andouille sausage, cut into 1/4″ slices
- 5 slices of bacon
- 1 medium each of a green, yellow, and red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Directions
Bring water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk grits into the boiling water, and then whisk in half-and-half. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until grits are thickened and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
While instant and quick grits are great when you’re short on time, this recipe requires grits with a coarse grind. Choose stone-ground grits or coarse hominy grits for the best results.
Season shrimp with salt and cayenne pepper. Add lemon juice, toss to combine, and set aside to marinate.
Place sausage slices in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove sausage from the skillet.
Add bacon to the same skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, then chop or crumble when cool enough to handle. Leave bacon drippings in the skillet.
Add bell peppers, onion, and garlic to the bacon drippings; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
Stir cooked sausage and marinated shrimp into the skillet with the cooked vegetables. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, stirring to create a smooth roux. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is golden brown in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily.
Pour the roux over the sausage, shrimp, and vegetables. Place the skillet over medium heat, add chicken broth, bacon, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine. Cook until sauce thickens up and shrimp turn opaque and bright pink, about 8 minutes.
Just before serving, mix Cheddar cheese into grits; stir until cheese is melted and grits are creamy and light yellow.
Spoon grits onto plates and serve shrimp mixture over top.
Cut Calories and Fat in Recipe
If you want to cut some of the fat (and calories) without compromising taste. You can add 1 cup of 2% milk to the grits instead of the half-and-half on low heat. Chop up your bacon or use turkey bacon and cook it until browned, then remove with a slotted spoon. If turkey bacon is really lean you can add 1 TBL spoon of butter. This will cut out 70 grams of fat and 475 calories by making these small changes, without compromising taste at all!
If you happen to have any leftovers, just store shrimp and grits in separate containers in the refrigerator. The grits will last up to four days and the shrimp up to two days.
What to Pair with Sparkling/Fine Wine?
How do you know what wine goes with what food?????? I used to do the same thing, especially when I would have over family, friends, and/or guests. The way I used to do it was if I was having light meal with noodles, veggies, chicken, fish or a mixture of all, then I would use white. Heavier meals, pork, steak, BBQ, then go with a red. In all honesty, there is no wrong answer to drinking wine. Go with what your heart desires.
But if you want to get expert advice on how/what to pair join us on our weekly Wine and Dine Show to learn more. We have new shows LIVE each Wednesday at 5:30pm (PST) / 6:30pm (MST) / 7:30pm (CST) / 8:30pm (EST) / 9:30pm (AST) on our “Zoom Meeting Room” http://rrr247webinars.com / or https://zoom.us/j/267159642.
In conclusion, whatever you thought you could eat or could not eat with a sparkling/fine wine just throw it out the window. Join in on Wednesday Nights to get expert advice and great recipes to try out.
If you are interested in getting a variety of Sparkling/Fine Wines from Sonoma and Napa Valley to get the experience I have had then here is how. If you want to learn more before you get those Fine Wines then check out this and be amazed.
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