(Recipe courtesy of Food Network.com)

Level: Easy, 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ( I quasi-covered the bottom of the skillet with the EVOO)
• 1 medium white onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound andouille or spicy Italian spicy sausage, cut in chunks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 to 3 bay leaves
• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
• Pinch cayenne pepper, adjust to personal preference
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 4 tbsp butter (if using precooked sausage for liquid to make roux)

 Directions:

Place a deep skillet over medium heat and coat with the olive oil.

Add the onion and garlic; saute for 2 minutes to soften.

Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until there is a fair amount of fat in the pan and the sausage is brown. ****

Sprinkle in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to create a roux.

Slowly pour in the chicken stock and continue to stir to avoid lumps.

Toss in the bay leaves.

When the liquid comes to a simmer, add the shrimp.

Poach the shrimp in the stock for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are firm and pink and the gravy is smooth and thick.

Add the cayenne pepper, Tabasco and lemon juice.

Season with salt and pepper; stir in the parsley and green onion.

Spoon the grits into a serving bowl.

Add the shrimp mixture and mix well.

Serve immediately over grits.

Garnish with red pepper.

**** Zina’s note: Because the sausage was precooked (Dairy aisle at Publix), it didn’t render much fat so I added a little more EVOO and 2 Tbsp of butter to add some liquid to the pan before adding the flour.

I was touched by this story a year ago and while shopping on Amazon.com (my favorite online store hands down) I came across this book and decided it was time to officially become acquainted with the now, celebrity chef Jeff Henderson. In short, Jeff Henderson grew up in inner city San Diego and by the time he was 21, he was turning $35K a week selling and trafficking cocaine. Soon thereafter, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. While in prison, he was a dishwasher and learned from some of the best cooks the prison had to offer. (Can’t picture it myself, lol) However, since his released, he has gone on to accomplishing things beyond imagination. In 2001, Jeff made history in Las Vegas, when he became the first African-American named “Chef de Cuisine” at Caesars Palace. He eventually became an executive chef at several top restaurants including Café Bellagio, where he worked until 2006. Jeff has received widespread national attention on numerous TV and radio programs and print publications, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The Montel Williams Show, CNBC, NPR’s All Things Considered, People and USA Today. As a passionate and powerful speaker, Jeff’s appearances are in high demand across the country through his company The Henderson Group. Today, Chef Jeff has a show on Food Network called “The Chef Jeff Project”. On Sundays at 10:30 pm (definitely one for the DVR) Chef Jeff takes 6 at-risk youths through the rigors of working for his catering company with the promise of a different life and hopefully their own success story in the industry.  And if you thought it couldn’t get any better for the guy, Will Smith is set to play him in a movie about his life produced by Will and his Pursuit of Happyness team. WOW!

Well, my copy should be here by Monday so I should be through reading it sometime in March. I let you know how it goes…I mean, what does being a critically acclaimed, New York Times Best-Seller  mean if it doesn’t get my approval, lol.