Cheesy Grit Cakes with a Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Corn Sauce

Step 1: Grit Cakes ... Add the garlic and milk to a small pot and bring to medium heat; a light boil. You don't want the milk to come to a full rolling boil. Then, whisk in the grits, stirring until combined; and reduce the heat to medium, cook about 5-7 minutes until the grits have thickened, stirring often. Remove from the heat; then, and add the cheese, parsley, scallions; and, season with salt, and pepper.

Step 2: Cool a few minutes; then, pour the warm grits into a 8x8" or 9x9" square pan; lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap, sprayed with a non stick spray, for easy clean up. If you line the pan with parchment or plastic wrap; once the grits are cooled and set up, you can pull them right out of the pan - and no mess either. Make sure to use a spatula and spread and smooth out the grits in the pan; then, cool the grits on the counter before refrigerating. Let them set up in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes until firm.

Step 3: Remove the grits from the refrigerate and pull them out of the pan using the plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cut the grits into squares - I like to cut 16 squares for a 8 or 9" pan, but you can cut them any size you want. Let them set on the counter to warm up a bit before you finish them.

Step 4: Bacon ... Add the bacon to a large saute pan on medium-medium low heat. If you render the bacon slowly, there is no reason to add oil to the pan. Once the bacon is crisp, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings to cook the shrimp.

Step 5: Grit Cakes ... Before you start the shrimp; finish the grit cakes. Simply brush the cakes with olive oil on both sides; then, grill or saute. You can use a grill pan, saute pan, outdoor grill; or even the broiler. Basically, you are just heating them up, and browning each side - you want to get a little color on them. They take only a couple of minutes per side.

Step 6: Shrimp Base ... To the bacon drippings - add the shallots and red pepper and cook a couple of minutes on medium heat. Then, add the corn, cream, the cooked bacon, cajun seasoning, and thyme; stir to combine, and cook 2 minutes until everything is heated through. At this point, check to see if you want to add any additional cajun seasoning - it is too taste.

Step 7: Shrimp ... Make sure the heat is on medium; then, add the shrimp (stir to combine) and cook 4-5 minutes until the shrimp are pink, and they just begin to curl. You do NOT want to over cook them. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Step 8: Serve ... Top a couple of the grit cakes with the warm shrimp and corn sauce, and garnish with parsley. ENJOY! A crisp salad is the best side in my opinion.