Summer Comfort Food

Hopefully none of you have this problem, but despite our adoration for the color and flavor that comes with using fresh herbs, we are unable to grow them ourselves for the most part. Mainly because I have black thumb. Plants come into my possession, and their life expectancy declines by 80-90%. Within a few days, they're typically wilted and decorated with increasing brown, black, or yellow tones. I've grown accustomed to this occurrence, so when after two weeks of planting this little guy, I open the door to this, you can imagine my excitement!

But what is it, you ask? On top of my black thumb plaguing our herb ambitions, we also have a very limited space that gets enough sunlight in our small yard. So, in a similar vain to our more adventurous culinary pursuits and purchase, we naturally decide to be adventurous in the herbs chosen to die grow. Who wants to use their tiny 1 x 1 space of sunlight for the parsley or basil available in the store? Nope, what you see pictured is a cutting celery plant, a leafy refreshing herb that provides all the taste of celery in its fresh form, but without the strings! I imagined this particular herb would do wonders to compliment some form of a seafood dish, so out of my competing desires to use it in shrimp & grits or a lobster mac & cheese emerges this summer comfort food.

Lobster Grits & Cheese (serves 2-3)
2 Cups Seafood Stock
1/2 Cup Stone Ground Grits*
3 Tbsp Crumbled Pecorino**
4 oz Langostine Tails
1/2 Tbsp Butter
1 Clove Garlic
Salt & Pepper to Taste
1 Tbsp Chopped Cutting Celery
*Stone ground grits are much coarser than conventional grits bought in the store, and take significantly longer to cook. Be sure to adapt package instructions if using another type.
**A  younger pecorino works best with the fresh tangy taste of the sheeps milk. Preferably one that's less salty, not a romano. 
1. Bring 2 Cups Seafood Stock to a boil. Stir in grits and reduce to a simmer over medium low heat. Partially cover and stir occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom and clumping.Allow to simmer 30-40 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed and grits are creamy in texture.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in small nonstick skillet. Saute garlic and langostine tails. Set aside until grits finish cooking.
3. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed and the grits are creamy in texture, add cheese and sauteed langostine tails. Stir and remove from heat. 
4. Stir in chopped celery. Season with salt an pepper to taste (be sure to be careful and taste as the cheese and stock will alter the saltiness of the dish).

 

Typically coarser grits are cooked using milk, cream, or lots of butter to really make the creamy texture of the dish shine and really make the dish a warming comfort food. To lighten it up a bit without sacrificing the richer taste, I used a nice seafood stock to improve the flavor profile of the dish.  Paired with a nice summer salad, the rich creamy texture of the grits, tangy refreshing taste of the cheese, and the salty seafood flavor of the dish made a simple and tasty summer dinner.

Enjoy!

Just in case you don't believe me about the black thumb, witness the thai basil plant we gleefully purchased at the same time. If you have any gardening tips you'd like to send our way, feel free!

RIP