Southern Comfort!!!

Today we received a text message from my youngest brother who is in New York with his wonderful wife. It was very simple, it read like this: "1 more year". We knew instantly what that meant. Great news!  To celebrate, we decided to make a meal for them. Even though they are not here, hopefully the pictures and knowing that we are happy for them will make them smile. Hmm, what could we make that is a representation of the South? The first thing that came to mind was Shrimp and Grits.

So let's begin! First we started some bread. Tonight,  a baguette artisan-style loaf.  This is just the 5 min. dough made into a loaf.

While the bread was doing it's thing, we started the grits. We used the stone ground yellow corn type. 

Then we started the vegetables; some red bell pepper, fennel, zuchinni and some fresh radishes from the garden. We sliced them and rubbed them with some good olive oil and  balsamic vinegar, then seasoned with salt and pepper. We cooked them in a hot 425 degree oven and 1/2 way through turned them to get a nice caramelization on both sides. We made sure the fennel was tender before we removed them to cool.

Now for the main entree. Smoked sausage and ham, then the shrimp. After it has cooked a few minutes we added the tomatoes (diced), garlic and seasoning.

Then we plated the meal and ate out on the deck. It's hard to believe that it is January and the temperature was in the mid 70's!

Oh my!  Soooo delicious!

Wish you could have been here... (you could have cleaned the kitchen) enjoy the post and even more, enjoy your 

"1 more year"!

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