Cooking with Friends

Cooking with Friends

Cooking with friends on a Saturday night is a great way to spend relaxed time together.  Instead of dealing with crowded restaurants and rush hour traffic, plan a casual dinner at home or at your friends’ house.  Your group can decide what the menu should be, who should buy what, then come together and cook.

Saturday night our friends Cathy and Bill invited us for dinner.  They returned from Charleston with restaurant North of Broad’s recipe for shrimp and grits for us to try.  So Cathy picked green tomatoes in her garden, we divided the grocery list, put on our aprons and cooked that recipe along with fried green tomatoes! Their little girl, Olivia, put her apron on and joined us.  Our husbands took pictures of us and kept the Prosecco chilled and flowing.

Olivia took over rolling green tomatoes in flour, egg wash, and stone cornmeal with breadcrumbs.

Olivia took over rolling green tomatoes in flour, egg wash, and stone cornmeal with breadcrumbs.

Olivia helped me salt and coat the green tomatoes.  She did an amazing job. She was so focused and really got into it.  Then we sautéed them in a large flat skillet until brown on both sides.  We placed the finished ones on towels on a rack in a 200 degree warming oven.

Olivia finished the green tomatoes!  She did an awesome job.

Olivia finished the green tomatoes! She did an awesome job and love her Princess apron!

Meanwhile, we sautéed 2 chopped pieces of bacon, 1/8 tsp. minced garlic,  and 2 mild andouille sausages, chopped small, until brown.  Then lightly sautéed18 shrimp and a half pound of sea scallops.  Barely cook these because they can overcook and continue cooking when taken off the stove.  As soon as the scallops and shrimp cook about 30 seconds, then add 1/4 cup of fresh diced tomatoes and 1/4 cup of fresh cut green peppers.  When added to the meat sauté, these bright red and green colors pop.  It’s beautiful together.

Perfect stone cornmeal grits, finished off with butter and 1/4 cup cream. Shrimp, scallops, Andouille sausage, and bacon sautéing in the next pan.

Perfect stone cornmeal grits, finished off with butter and 1/4 cup cream. Shrimp, scallops, Andouille sausage, and bacon sautéing in the next pan.

In another pan, we had cooked stone grits from a Charleston brand of hearty corn meal that came out perfectly.  They were slow cooked for 40 minutes then 1 Tbsp. butter and 1/4 cup of cream was added at the end to finish them.  These were the best corn homily grits I’ve tasted!

Cathy and I held the line at the stove, stirring both pots, while Olivia kept the green tomatoes in check.

Cathy and I held the line at the stove, stirring both pots, while Olivia kept the green tomatoes in check.

On the dinner plate, place 3  fried green tomatoes, spoon a hearty serving of stone grits in the middle, and top grits with sautéed meat.  Ladle a little gravy on top of the meat and grits.  It is a heart, spicy, tasty meal that is perfect for summer.  Try it and share it with people you care about!  Get in the kitchen and try! Bon Appetite!

Shrimp & Grits with Andouille Sausage and scallops, along with fried green tomatoes.  Bon Appetite!!!

Shrimp & Grits with Andouille Sausage and scallops, along with fried green tomatoes. Bon Appetite!!!

 

Share the kitchen with your friends and get cooking for fun, laughter, and lots of love!

Share the kitchen with your friends and get cooking for fun, laughter, and lots of love!