Every year I wish the same thing, and every year it doesn’t happen. My wish is that we could separate the celebration of Christ’s birth from the madness known as the “Christmas season.”
We enjoy the trappings of Christmas, the decorating, the gifts, and especially the eating part. Our hope is that one day all the celebrants of the commercial Christmas will know and honor the day for what it is. Perhaps – one day.
In the meantime, we enjoy the season with relatives, friends, and church friends, and most of the time that includes food. Living in South Carolina with its 150 miles of coastline, you have to like shrimp – and living south of the Mason-Dixon line, you have to like grits. Together, you have a regional food that is great for the holidays.
This Shrimp and Grits recipe comes from Carolyn Watts of Good Hope Baptist Church in Conway. The church is pastored by Rev. John Sullivan, who has been there eight years. Good Hope, which has 322 members, offers a full range of Baptist worship programs: Sunday school, WMU, etc. The Christmas observance held Dec. 11 was a special time for the church, with a live nativity, special music, etc.
Living close to the ocean as she does, you just know Carolyn can make good Shrimp and Grits. The dish can be served for a heavy late breakfast or brunch. It is a natural for lunch, paired with a crisp, green salad and a calorie-laden dessert during your hurried days. If you have guests and serve that menu, they will like it. Carolyn and her husband Beaman like it for a light supper.
Carolyn, an Horry County native, has been a member of Good Hope for six years or so, moving there from Langston Baptist Church, also in Conway. Her husband Beaman is still a member there, although he usually attends Good Hope with Carolyn. They have a son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Mandy Watts – who have a son, Hunter, 4, and a daughter, Maci, 1. Jeff and his family live next door to Carolyn, so there is a lot of visiting with grandchildren.
“We love it,” Carolyn says of the dish, adding that it is as good as it is simple to make. Some day soon, buy fresh shrimp even if you don’t live on the coast, and make this dish for everyone to enjoy as a light meal for … Sunday Dinner.
Shrimp and Grits
1 cup yellow grits
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup water
5 slices bacon
2 pounds peeled raw shrimp
2 tablespoons flour
Cook grits as directed on package. Cook bacon and drain.
Sauté the chopped onion in the bacon grease.
Add shrimp and cook until pink. Add the Worcestershire sauce and flour. Cook until flour is browned, then add the ½ cup water and simmer for 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, put shrimp and gravy over a serving of grits. Crumble bacon on top of the shrimp and grits. Serves 4-6.