Sunday Brunch

For those of you who have never been to my house, I live in middle of nowhere, Middletown. Land of newly built McMansions, townhouses, corn fields, and fast food and restaurant chains. Unlike in NYC and other major cities, there really aren't any appealing breakfast/ brunch options in Delaware ( Kidshelleen's is the exception). We do have a Waffle House in Middletown but I quickly discovered that their food is only appetizing to me after I've had about 3-4 cocktails. Needless to say, I have a number of  recipes for Saturday and Sunday brunch. Whenever we have house guests on the weekends, I generally use one of these two recipes:

Fried Catfish

Ingredients
4-6 Catfish Fillets
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
1 Tbsp. Badia Sazon Complete
2 tsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
A few splashes of Frank's Red Hot
Kosher Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat vegetable/Canola oil to 350. Rinse fish with cold water, place in a bowl, let soak in milk for at least 15-30 minutes. Pour out excess milk, do not rinse the fish again. Add lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, kosher salt, Badia Sazon, and Franks Red Hot. In separate bowl combine flour with black pepper and kosher salt to taste. Bread fish and place in pan or deep fryer. Fry for 8-10 minutes or until the fish is golden brown. Once removed, drain off excess oil  on paper towels. Serve with grits and/or home fries.

Shrimp and Cheese Grits

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, halved lengthwise, and deveined
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
4-6 slices bacon, chopped*
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup sliced scallions
2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
 1 Tbsp Goya Tomato Based Sofrito

*For pescetarians, saute pepper, garlic and onions in butter or olive oil as a substitute for bacon drippings.

Combine the shrimp with the lemon juice and black pepper, set aside. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown. Stir in the onion, green pepper, and garlic and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Add the scallions, then sprinkle flour over the mixture, and continue sauteing for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the chicken stock and Sofrito. Then add shrimp, cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with grits.

Cheese Grits

Ingredients
1 cup grits, not instant or quick-cooking
1 to 2 tsp unsalted butter
Salt to taste
2-4 Splashes of Frank's Red Hot or Tabasco Sauce
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Bring 3 1/2 cups of water and salt to a boil. Whisk in the grits slowly and cover. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer and cook over low heat for 45-55 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and more frequently toward the end. Once the grits are thick and creamy, stir in the butter, followed by the cheese. Add a splash of hot pepper sauce.