Ingredients:
2 cups spicy sausage (removed from casings)
2 cups medium dice poblano peppers
2 cups medium dice celery
2 cups medium dice yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons creole seasoning (recipe follows, or use Old Bay seasoning)
2 cups good canned tomatoes
4 cups shrimp stock (recipe follows)
1 bunch scallion chopped
1 bunch chopped parsley
12 jumbo shrimp cleaned and deveined, reserving shells for stock
4 cups cooked grits (recipe follows)
Preparation:
In wide cooking pot, heat 2 T blended oil over medium heat and brown the sausage, breaking up the pieces as it cooks. Remove any excessive amount of fat, leaving in about 3 tablespoons.
Add poblanos, celery and onions. Mix well and cover, setting flame to low/medium heat. The objective here is to cook the vegetables to a soft translucent state without browning them.
When vegetables are soft, stir in salt, garlic and creole seasoning. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add shrimp stock and slowly reduce till sauce becomes thick, about 15-20 minutes. Finish with chopped scallion. As with most sauces, the flavors will develop even more if made the day before.
Season the shrimp with salt, and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Grill both sides of shrimp until done, 6-8 minutes total. To serve, spoon 2 tablespoons of grits into a bowl. Arrange shrimp on grits and spoon 2 tablespoons of creole sauce on top. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Black Eyed Susans Shrimp Creole seasoning:
6 cloves
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon dill seed
1 teaspoon chili flake
4 allspice berries
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Place all ingredients in a spice grinder. May be made in bulk and stored in dry cool container.
Shrimp stock:
3 cup shrimp shells
3 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
6 cup water
1 teaspoon canola oil
In a 4 quart pot, heat oil until hot, add shrimp shells and quickly saute till shells turn pink. Add herbs and spices and cold water to cover, bring up to a boil then turn heat to down and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain and discard solids, reserving stock.
Grits:
4 cups water
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup white grits
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
Preparation:
In 2 quart pot, bring water,salt, pepper, chili flakes, thyme to boil. Add the grits in a steady stream while mixing with small whisk or wooden spoon. Turn heat down to a simmer ad cook for 5 minutes until grits become soft and creamy. Fold in butter and milk. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Reserve warm.