Nerves, Grits, and Veins

Marathon nerves are in full swing.

Jerry is analyzing every ache and pain. He even slept with a heating pad last night.
He obsessively checks the 10 day weather forecast. Apparently 58 and mostly sunny is awful weather for a marathon.

I obsessively ask him how much water he drinks every day.
And have stocked the house full of carbohydrates. Everywhere you look there are crackers and granola bars, cereal and pasta.

So before the carb-fest begins on Thursday, I decided to test a few things I have never made before.

Last night I decided to make shrimp and grits.
I've actually never had this dinner before, but with corn grits (aka polenta), andouille sausage, and shrimp, how could you go wrong?

I used a recipe from Tyler Florence for The Ultimate Shrimp and Grits.

With the following variations:

• I used 1/2 pound andouille sausage
• I used 1 pound of shrimp
• I added a chopped green bell pepper
• I made half the amount of corn grits and used 1% milk and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• we stirred some grated pepper jack cheese into the grits
• after tasting the sauce, I omitted the cayenne

Overall I would say this came out very good.

Served with a side of steamed asparagus.

I actually forgot to add the green onions to the top like the recipe called for.
Jerry added some to his 2nd bowl, and said it make the dish much better.

The other mistake I made with this dish was the shrimp.
I was all excited to see that 31/40 count large wild American shrimp was on sale at the grocery store for $8.99/lb.

When I got it home I realized it hadn't been de-veined!!!

I was nervous because I have never de-veined shrimp before. But I have watched enough cooking shows to know that you have to take the vein out before serving. (Thank you, Top Chef. New season premiers tonight!)

With Jerry's help we cleaned the shrimp in about 15 minutes. But you can add shrimp de-veining to my list of 'least favorite kitchen tasks'.

Next time, I would also use smaller shrimp. I liked when they got lost in the grits, and were best eaten with a bite of the spicy andouille sausage. I hadn't eaten andouille before, but I really liked it. I am not a huge fan of sausage, but I do like kielbasa. This was like a spicy version of kielbasa.

On tonight's menu is pot roast, something else I have never made.
I'm enlisting the help of my slow cooker and putting everything in the pot this morning.

When is the last time you made something you have never eaten? How did it turn out?