Shrimp (read: skrimp) and Grits

Ingredients needed:

1lb Shrimp (medium)

7 oz of Andouille sausage (pork or chicken, up to you)

2 stalks of celery

1 Onion

1 Red bell pepper

1 Green pepper

Scallions

Grits

Plain greek yogurt

Chicken stock (or water)

Seasoning blend:

A generous pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper (just a dash or three)

Instructions:

• Clean, peel, and de-shell shrimp, then season with seasoning blend listed above, let marinate

• Sauté diced onion, bell peppers, and celery in olive oil, salt and pepper until softened and onions are translucent

• Stir in andouille sausage (sliced on a bias)

• Lastly (MUST be last) add shrimp and cook until just pink (done)

• I add in a little bit of stock and a few dashes of hot sauce at the end, but it’s not a must unless you need a bit more liquid or if you feel led :)

Instructions for Grits:

• Follow instructions on the box, but substitute chicken stock for water

• Season with salt and pepper

• Once done, stir in 2 T of plain greek yogurt

• Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese of your liking (I like Monterey Jack or Vermont Cheddar)

Enjoy!

Patron Bird of Sunday (Fried Chicken)

What is there even to say, besides “thank you for your reasonable service”? I don’t think much else. So here is the recipe. If there is one thing you remember from this post, remember to season your flour and your chicken!

Chicken

Seasonings:

Salt and pepper (adjust for your amount of chicken, but a generous sprinkle or two

1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion powder

1/2 teaspoon of Paprika

pinch of cayenne (or more if you can take it)

*optional 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley

**Also optional but highly recommended: place chicken in buttermilk after seasoning, drop in a few drops of your household hot sauce and let marinate for at least an hour or two but preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Flour: I double the measurements of the ingredients listed above.

Directions:

1. Take chicken out of the refrigerator

2. Heat oil in dutch oven or fryer ( I have not tried this recipe in an air fryer)

3. Stir seasonings into flour

4. Make sure your oil is at the right temp — test with a bit of flour or use thermometer (about 350 F)

5. Dredge chicken in flour, dip back into buttermilk, then back into flour and then into hot oil

6. Cook until golden brown

7. Salt as soon as you pull the chicken out of the oil

Enjoy!!

Tacos - The bread of heaven

Hello, greetings, blessings, salutations and all of that. If you know me or have followed any of my social media, then you know about the special relationship I have with tacos. I would say a good amount of my posts on IG (please follow @sixeightchef at your earliest convenience *wink and smiley face* ) are dedicated to this delicacy AND THINGS WON’T CHANGE HERE! (jk), but I am dedicating my very first blog post to them. I will explain more about who I am and why I love to cook and eat so much in the next post, but tacos always come first.

For me, the taco starts with the tortilla and I am a corn tortilla loyalist. I used to say that if you ate a taco on a flour tortilla, then you might as well eat a sandwich, but I have grown. I am not as judgey about it, but yes I think corn tortillas are the best route to go, but live your life. Then the protein, chicken is my go-to, but you can’t go wrong. Chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, pork, I mean it when I say that if you put it on top of a corn tortilla, I (and any other reasonable person) will most likely eat it and enjoy it. Lastly, your toppings! I love pico, but I also love sticking to the true street taco topping of champions, cilantro and onions with a little bit of lime *faints*. I also believe that queso fresco is our repayment for having to deal with people who reply all to office-wide emails, so I often make good use of it. So here’s to the first of many taco appreciation posts and to the kickoff to my website, SixEightChef! See chicken taco recipe below!

Chicken

For my chicken tacos, I like to use chicken thighs (they just hit differently than chicken breasts, but those work well too). And remember, if you want a sandwich, use flour tortillas. If you want a taco, use corn tortillas :)

Seasoning Blend:

Salt and pepper to taste

1t of garlic powder

1t of onion powder

1t of paprika

1t of oregano

1t of chili powder

1/4t of cayenne

Cook on medium high in a bit of olive oil, then dice

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Pico de Gallo:

3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 serrano pepper, diced

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 - 2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle of olive oil

Last step, enjoy to your heart’s content!