Bang Bang Shrimp

I should preface this post by saying that I have never eaten at Bonefish Grill, where this is apparently a menu item. Our favorite local restaurant has an appetizer called Boom Boom Shrimp for which the menu description only says "You know the story. We stole it and made it better." Having heard a few times just how great these shrimp were, we decided to try them, even though we really didn't know what to expect at all. We were quite pleasantly surprised at what we received, fried shrimp coated in a sweet, creamy, rich sauce with a lot of Asian zing to it. When we asked what the "story" was behind them, that's when the owner told us that he improved upon the Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill. I had no idea what ingredients the original recipe would include, much less this modified version, but I knew I wanted to try to make it at home because it was extra tasty.

Chopped Challenge #4: CajuMex Burritos

Last night it was Justin's turn to cook for yet another Chopped challenge. This time I gave him orzo (my favorite type of pasta), mozzarella cheese, andouille sausage, and taco seasoning. He turned those ingredients into a delicious, over-stuffed burrito with both Cajun and Mexican influences--andouille and shrimp provided the Cajun aspect, while the taco seasoning and chorizo covered the Mexican side of things. The combination was really quite yummy. I look forward to making this again sometime, though I might try to lighten it up somehow.

Shrimp & Grits

One of my goals in life is to find the absolute perfect shrimp and grits recipe. Everyone makes it a little differently, so it's hard for me to even say if I've ever had perfect shrimp and grits at a restaurant. I think the perfect recipe, for me, has super creamy cheese grits, some sort of creamy, non-tomato-based sauce (though it can have tomatoes in it), and obnoxiously large shrimp. The non-tomato-based sauce is what disqualifies a lot of recipes and restaurant dishes from contention because that's apparently pretty common, but it still just isn't what I prefer. I would have to say that probably the closest I've had to perfection is the shrimp and grits at the Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge in Louisville, KY. (We went for Justin's birthday last year, and everything is made with bourbon and was, of course, amazing.)

This recipe, however, is nothing like that one. Sorry. Like I said, I'm on a quest to find the perfect recipe--I didn't say I'd found it already. This recipe has two good things going for it though. 1) It's ridiculously simple. 2) It contains life's greatest gift, bacon, which I think means I need to add another requirement to my perfect recipe quest. Must. Have. Bacon. I'm not talking about just any bacon here either. Justin and I found the most ridiculously awesome bacon ever. It's called steak bacon. The slices were as thick as my pinky finger. It was almost $6 for a 20 oz package containing just 6 slices, but it was so worth it. You can make it with regular bacon if you prefer, but it just won't be the same. Steak bacon will change your life if you let it.