Jac Brodie and her family in Not What She Seems are from Brook Haven, a fictional town nestled in the Lowcountry swamps, marshes, woods, and coast of South Carolina near Charleston, South Carolina. Immersed throughout these towns up and down the Atlantic coast is a rich, vibrant Gullah Geechee culture that has influenced the culinary dishes that the entire area is famously known for. One of my favorite dishes is this variation of shrimp n’ grits, a stray from the tomato and stew based dish to a creamy one. If you’re counting calories, just get a spoonful or two of this if you’re able to restrain yourself.
Typically, I don’t go by measurements. We eyeball it over here and taste throughout to make sure the dish is seasoned to perfection, but to give a little guidance, I included some measurements here though I recommend you adjust the amount of shrimp and whatever else to fit your tastes.
INGREDIENTS
2 c. Half and half or cream
Shredded parmesan cheese
2 c. Chicken stock (either salted or not—watch the amount of salt you use if you use salted stock)
Chopped garlic
Black pepper
Salt (to taste to salt water for grits)
Chopped onions
Cajun/Creole seasoning
Seasoned salt
Onion and garlic powder
Chopped or dried parsley
Oil
Flour (sprinkled when making the roux)
¼ c. Butter (for roux)
2 tbs. Butter (for grits)
4 servings or more of Quick grits (not the instant…Quick!)
1 lb. Large or jumbo shrimp, peeled but with tails on, deveined, and headless (sounds perfect for a thriller, am I right? And the amount depends on how many are eating)
½ lb. Small shrimp totally peeled (eyeball however much you want in your sauce)
DIRECTIONS
- Season your large or jumbo shrimp with Cajun seasoning and set to the side.
- Start with the grits and cook them according to the instructions in lightly salted and 2 TBS butter. When they begin bubbling, set to the lowest setting and add a little chicken stock as the grits cook. You will have to stir with a silicon whisk continuously to prevent any sticking and lumping. When they’ve thickened, keep on lowest setting and cover for them to soften. Keep checking every so often so they don’t stick. You don’t want them watery, but nice and thick to counter the sauce.
- While the grits are steaming, melt about a ¼ cup of butter in a pot. Add a couple tablespoons of flour and mix together to form a roux (thickens the sauce). Don’t brown the roux.
*The more roux you have, the thicker your sauce. - Add the onions and garlic and cook a little.
- Add chicken stock, half and half/cream and season to taste. Allow to boil, then reduce temperature to simmer. Make sure to stir (I like to use the whisk) and make sure the sauce is well seasoned, but not salty! Add the smaller raw shrimp to cook and flavor the sauce. Stir and let low simmer about 10-15 minutes.
- Add parmesan cheese to your taste.
- In a cast iron skillet (or frying pan if you don’t have one), heat a drizzle of oil and when heated, fry the jumbo shrimp until they’re done.
- Go back to your grits and stir them up to get them back to creamy. Add a tiny bit of stock or water if you need to get the grits to a very thick but creamy consistency.
- Plate up: Spoon your grits in the center of a plate. Then your shrimp sauce over that with the shrimp in it. Top with a few of the sauteed shrimp per plate.
*Garnish with green onions, bacon, fried onions, parsley, more parmesan cheese, whatever you’d like, and ENJOY!
Yasmin Angoe is the Anthony Award-nominated author of the critically acclaimed Nena Knight Series, including Her Name is Knight, They Come at Knight, and It Ends with Knight. NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS (Thomas & Mercer; August 1, 2024) is Angoe’s first work of domestic psychological suspense. Yasmin’s Knight Series novels have been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, The Guardian, PopSugar, and the Woman’s World book club, and the series is currently in development for TV by Ink Factory & Fifth Season.
Yasmin is the recipient of the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color and has been nominated for the Anthony Awards and the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award. She is a proud member of several prestigious organizations, such as Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, International Thriller Writers, and the Women’s National Book Association.
Hailing from Northern Virginia, Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American who grew up in two cultural worlds. She taught English in middle and high schools for years and served as an instructional coach for virtual teachers. Yasmin now lives in South Carolina where she writes fiction fulltime and freelances as a development editor.
