No Magic Wand Needed

So the Rachael Ray / Bobby Flay talk (organized by the ASAE's Distinguished Speakers Series) didn't go exactly as planned. I know, your little ears perk right up when I say that--you're kind of hoping it devolved into a cage match, aren't you? Well, as wildly entertaining as that would have been, the truth is just this: Bobby's plane was redirected because of the thunderstorms, and he couldn't make it. Which was disappointing, but Rachael was funny and fascinating and clearly just as pleased as punch to be there, so the talk went quite well.

When asked what she thought was the secret of her success with 30 Minute Meals, she started talking about how she doesn't have everything all chopped up perfectly in little bowls beforehand, nor does she have any assistance on-camera. She makes the whole meal in the time allowed, by herself, and because she's not flawless or elegant or tidy or complicated, no one looks at her show and thinks, "...you know, I think I'll just make spaghetti tonight." They think (and this is a direct quote), "Wow, that's a MESS! I can do THAT!" And that's the appeal of Rachael Ray. No, she wasn't professionally trained, yeah, she uses shortcuts instead of devoting hours to each meal. But she's really good at showing us what we can do. She makes cooking unintimidating, so that maybe we discover a love of the kitchen, and we're inspired to try harder recipes in the future. She's the Harry Potter of the culinary world.

She's also adorable, of course. I say that not to comment on her career path, but to have an excuse to tell you that at least half the men in the audience were looking at her with their heads tilted and big moony eyes....and that includes my "date." Fabulous.

And that's why I made Rachael's very delicious Creamy "Grits" with Creole Shrimp for dinner the next night! I'm including the recipe here, but I got it from the 30 Minute Meals section at The Food Network. She calls for instant polenta instead of grits, but I couldn't find that so I went ahead and used grits instead. They're quite nice prepared with chicken stock and whole milk...just boil up 2 cups of stock and add the grits, then turn off the heat and add in a cup of milk. Yummo. Oh, great, now I'm saying it.

Creamy "Grits" with Creole Shrimp

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery with green leafy tops, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme, intact
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 to 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot), divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup beer, 1/3 of a bottle
3 cups chicken stock, divided
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped frozen okra, optional
1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined medium to large shrimp, tails removed
1 cup whole milk
1 cup quick cooking (sometimes marked "instant") polenta

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, thyme, bay leaf then season with salt and pepper. Cook veggies 7 to 8 minutes until tender, add in the Worcestershire, 1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce (medium to spicy heat level) and the flour and cook 1 minute more then add in beer and cook it off, another 30 seconds or so. Whisk in 1 cup of stock then add tomatoes and okra, if using, and bring to a bubble. Add shrimp and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until shrimp turn pink and firm then turn off heat. Remove thyme stems and bay leaf.

Bring remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 2 cups stock, 1 cup milk and 2 teaspoons hot sauce, to a boil in a sauce pot. Stir in 1 cup quick cooking polenta. Stir constantly to mass the cornmeal. Once the mixture thickens to the consistency of whipped potatoes, season the "grits" with salt and divide among dinner plates.

Serve generous ladles of shrimp and sauce on a bed of creamy "grits".