This is the time of year when the Goddess of Gumbo earns her title. Something just happens when the temperature dips below 45 degrees. Makes me want to bust out my cast-iron skillets and start burnin’ … So a few days ago, I decided to make a Charleston, South Carolina, specialty for my Indiana-bred squeeze. He’s a great cook, mind you, if a bit heavy on the potatoes. So I’m trying to introduce him, gently, to the pleasures of the Southern table, the bounty of the ocean, stuff like that.

He is fortunate to have made the acquaintance of a woman raised in the two great Southern culinary traditions–those of Charleston and New Orleans, plus a healthy dose of Tex-Mex from all those years I spent in the Southwest. And I’ve made progress with things like grits, though we’ve discovered a regrettable and apparently unalterable aversion to things like oysters, clams, even scallops. (Sigh).

Anyway, this morning I woke from my post-Thanksgiving turkey hangover with a craving … for shrimp and grits. This, I know, sounds bizarre to non-Southerners–and even to Southerners not raised within the sight and sound of the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. But trust me, it is a delicacy beyond compare. I took myself down to my local seafood market. And word of God, they had never-frozen creek shrimp from South Carolina on ice. I took it as a sign, bought about three quarters of a pound, and this is what ensued…

The Goddess of Gumbo’s Shrimp & Grits

3/4 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup roasted or sun-dried tomatoes, sliced small

2 or 3 slices of bacon, chopped

1 T oil or butter

1 T flour

1/4 cup shrimp stock (clam juice or even water will do in a pinch)

1/4 cup cream

Seasonings: salt, pepper & paprika or your favorite mix (mine is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)

Sliced polenta, seared on both sides

Now let’s get something clear. This recipe will taste just fine if you like jumbo-sized shrimp from Vietnam–you know, the ones that look great on the plate and taste like nothing in particular. But if you want a full-flavored recipe, the best shrimp to use are creek shrimp from the Carolinas. (This is not in any way to take a swipe at Gulf shrimp, which are superb as well. I simply happen to live in Virginia.)

And when you’re buying those shrimp, resist the urge to buy the great, big ones. Medium is what you want. It’s a fact well known  to connoisseurs (and folks who grow up in shrimp country) that the smaller shrimp are, in fact, the sweetest in flavor. And if you really want to blow your taste buds wide open, take an extra 15 minutes and make a stock with the shrimp shells. This recipe does not take long to make–especially if you use prepared polenta rather than boiling your own grits from scratch. The extra flavor boost is definitely worth the extra effort.

One final note: Do not, upon pain of visitation by the Ghost of Great Southern Cooks Past, use quick grits. It is an abomination. Either take the 20 minutes to make real grits or buy precooked polenta in a plastic sock like I do. I’ve seen at least three brands of this stuff in my little town–at the little Italian market and at the big chain grocery story, too. And don’t be thrown by the fancy Italian name. You can call it grits–you can call it polenta: It’s all corn!

Now, down to business.

Heat the oil or butter in a skillet and lightly saute the shrimp to release their juices. Remove the shrimp before they’re completely done (there should be a little gray still visible). Add the flour and saute, stirring frequently, until you have a roux that is the color of a nicely browned bisquit. When the flour reaches the desired color, toss in the onions and peppers. This halts the browning of the flour.

Cook the flour, onions and peppers together for perhaps a minute, then add the stock and cream. This should make a rich gravy. Stir the mixture until the onions are cooked–you may have to adjust the liquids by adding a little more stock or a little more cream, depending on how thick you want the gravy to be.

Stir in the shrimp, the tomatoes and the bacon. Cook for about a minutes. Adjust the flavors with salt, white or black pepper, and paprika to taste. Spoon over a couple of slices of lightly seared polenta, garnish with green onions or parsley. And you have a feast!