(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Grits, Gravy & Shrimp
Written By: Jenny King | Issue: 2016/07 - July | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography
Mary Adair Leslie, Executive Director of the Martin Lipscomb Performing Arts Center, is the consummate hostess. Her dinner parties are glorious. It takes planning, vision, and most importantly, a great love of people.
She grew up in Oklahoma where she majored in ballet and her creative talents take many forms. Cooking is just one way Mary Adair expresses herself. This recipe is one she borrowed from the famous Blue Marlin Restaurant in Columbia, South Carolina. She’s added her own touches to the Shrimp and Grits with Tasso Gravy but is happy to share.
Grits
12 cups chicken broth
3 1/4 cups coarse stone ground grits
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
6 tbsps. butter
Bring broth to boil and slowly pour in grits, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir so grits do not settle to the bottom. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes stirring frequently. Add 2 tbsps. butter and 1/3 cup of cream. Repeat this step at least two more times for a total cooking time of about two hours. This makes the grits extra creamy and is the reason Mary Adair says this dish is for special occasions only! Keep warm until ready to serve. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tasso Gravy
4 tbsps. butter
1/2 cup sliced tasso cut into 1 inch strips
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsps. finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter over low heat. Add the tasso and sauté. Add flour until well combined. Cook on low for five minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium and slowly add 2 cups of broth, whisking vigorously until thick and smooth. Gradually add remaining broth and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Add parsley, salt, and pepper and simmer.
Shrimp and Sausage
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage
1 tbsps. olive oil
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Place sausage in 400-degree oven and bake until firm. Cut into bite-sized pieces and sauté in olive oil until brown. Add shrimp, sauté until they just begin to turn pink. Add 1 cup broth to de-glaze the pan. Add Tasso Gravy, plus 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley. Simmer for
1 minute.
Divide hot grits between eight warm bowls. Spoon shrimp and sausage mixture over the grits and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
