Crook's Corner Shrimp and Grits

What a fun weekend! My Friday night consisted of a ride-along with a local cop who specializes in DUI enforcement for a work project - to say it was eye-opening is doing it a disservice! Drivers beware: this man is not messing around!

Saturday, it was off to Baltimore for an Oriole's game. You never realize how much you love a stadium and the person keeping you company until you're in the middle of a 3.5 hour rain delay on a warm August night. A few beers and a lot of people watching later, the game finally started! Despite the mark in the "L" column, it was an extremely fun night.

The Inner Harbor makes for a pretty view for the morning run!

So let's talk about this recipe. There's a restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC called Crook's Corner, known throughout the whole region for their famous shrimp and grits. I finally got my hands on the recipe a few months ago, but I've been putting off making the recipe out of the slight fear that it would be impossible for a homemade version to live up Crook's Corner's finest. Optimism in tow, fellow former Chapel Hillian and BFF Jennie came and joined me for our testing experiment. 

Wine + Shrimp = Happy Chef Jennie

Um. WOW. Only complaint, why didn't it make more? MM's reaction: "That isn't shrimp and grits, that's an experience."

Crook's Corner Shrimp and Grits
Recipe from My Recipes

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
3/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup regular grits
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I used black and can't say that I noticed anything amiss)
3 bacon slices
1 pound medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Lemon wedges

Directions:
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened. Add Cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients. Keep warm.
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
3. Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour.
4. Sauté mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes or until tender. Add green onions, and sauté 2 minutes. Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly brown. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.
5. Serve shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits. Top with crumbled bacon; serve with lemon wedges.