All The Grits: Spicy Creole Sauce

I'll admit that I'm a little obsessed with Southern cooking; I have an ample collection of Southern-themed cookbooks, from the original Lee Brothers one that kicked this off, to ones that we've picked up on various trips (cookbooks make excellent souvenirs, btw). In the pandemic days, we received an inordinate amount of quick grits from my neighbor and while they're not as tasty as the real thing, they certainly enabled my desire to serve grits next to everything. 

During last year's trip to Charleston, I visited the local market before the once-in-a-century ice storm hit and purchased a large bag of grits - the real deal, according to the locals who felt the need to comment on my purchases (the grits and a cookbook titled "100 Ways to Cook Grits"). This amused the TSA agent at the airport (once we finally managed to escape the city), since he'd seen at least 3 other people from the same conference loading up their carry-ons with the same grits and the same bags of excellent coffee beans from the conference swag bags. 

No, no, NO! Use the good ones. 

I adore shrimp and grits and make a point of ordering it every time I'm far south enough to make it authentic. We have an excellent recipe for it as well, but past experience has resulted in very many dirty dishes and a grumbly tummy, because the (admittedly stellar) sauce takes forever to cook. David found the following substitute somewhere in his internet travels and it's become a weeknight staple. We even got ambitious and made an extra-large batch recently so we'd have some to freeze, which certainly came in handy one lazy Thursday night. We typically serve it with pork tenderloin and (of course) grits, but it's also very good on shrimp and I'm sure it would be equally tasty on chicken. Or you could skip the meat altogether and just ladle it over a big bowl of hot grits, and that would be just fine as well. 

All the Grits: Spicy Creole Sauce 

1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt 
6 cloves garlic, minced 
2 roasted red peppers 
1 small can tomato paste
2 cans diced tomatoes (the fire-roasted ones, if you can find them)
2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine 

In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of fat (oil, oil-and-butter, or oil-butter-and-bacon-fat, which is what you know you really want to use). Saute the onion, green pepper, celery, thyme, and salt for 8-10 minutes or until softened. 

Add the garlic and roasted red pepper and cook another 2 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and tomatoes, stirring well, and cook for another 5 minutes. 

Add the wine and beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. This will keep well on very low heat if you haven't nailed the timing of the meat and grits yet. This recipe makes about twice as much as you need, so freeze the extra for your own lazy Thursday night. 

BONUS: Creole Spice Blend (use as a meat rub) 

1 3/4 Tbsp celery salt 
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dehydrated garlic flakes 
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 
1/2 tsp allspice 

Mix together and store in an airtight container.