Last year’s Gourmandistan Thanksgiving was a lovely gathering where everyone enjoyed themselves, including both Michelle and Steve. One reason, aside from some delightful company, was the decision to limit ourselves to simple, Southern-influenced items, many of which we could make ahead of the actual meal. Centered around country ham and roast chicken and featuring cornbread/biscuit stuffing, broccoli casserole, cranberry sauce and multiple pies, our dinner was such a lovely time we decided to do it again this year—and to share this simple Bill Neal recipe for shrimp and grits pâté with you, dear readers, as a post-Thanksgiving gift.
Neal, a talented, too-early-departed chef whose cookbooks see much use in our kitchen, basically brought shrimp and grits to national prominence, though in his 1991 Good Old Grits, Neal and his co-author David Perry gave credit to Craig Claiborne for the “second coming of grits.” This incredibly easy recipe offers little challenge above boiling grits and cleaning shrimp. (For Michelle, because grossness, cleaning shrimp is a challenge, actually.) A food processor and a few minutes turn out a creamy, light and pleasantly shrimpy pâté that keeps quite well overnight in the refrigerator, leaving hosts more time for socializing (which is the point of a gathering, we think). Our pâté was so well received that Steve’s 93-year-old mother demanded multiple slices of crostini slathered with it, some even after the main meal was served.
Steve’s mom, Michelle’s mom.
While we know not every one of our readers observes the American tradition of Thanksgiving, we do hope you might enjoy this delightful starter at your next family gathering. We know we certainly did, and that we hope to do it again next year.
(adapted from Bill Neal and David Perry’s Good Old Grits Cookbook) Place shrimp, lemon juice, sherry, mustard, butter, cream cheese, grits and Parmesan in a food processor. Process until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary. Add remaining ingredients and process just enough to incorporate. Taste for seasoning. Transfer the pâté to a bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. Serve with crostini, toast points or crackers.SHRIMP AND GRITS PÂTÉ
Gourmandistan 
Yum! I’m saving this one for Christmas. While we all know that the holidays means there will be plenty to eat, it’s always nice to have some classy snacks to graze on in the time before the big feast. This one looks perfect!
Aw, thanks! It has been a go-to dish around here for a while for parties. So easy.
That looks delicious! I’ve just been eating amazing anchovie pate (I can’t find the accents on an iPod) from the Boqueria. I’m off out to Kentucky Bar shortly, an old fashioned hole in the wall, I remember drinking in on Thanksgiving in 1991!
Kentucky Bar! Who knew?
no thanksgiving tradition here, but certainly huge tradition for collecting great recipes for the upcoming holidays – this one sounds like a real winner! Merci beaucoup!
De rien !
Sounds absolutely delightful as long as you will accept that Down Under it will be presented as a prawn and yellow polenta dish as ‘grits’ {Mr Google telling me ’tis made of cracked white corn] is an ingredient of which most of us have but heard . . . 🙂 !! Shall try this around Yuletide . . .
You’re right: grits are very close to polenta.
Bernard says he might be able to deal with grits (a food he dislikes) if it (they?) were “all mashed up with other good stuff.” And since he’s the official shrimp deveiner in our house (right there with you, Michelle), this will be his recipe to test for the holidays, and my treat to sample it. Glad your gathering was a happy one. Love the picture of your mothers!
That’s right. He won’t even notice them. One does wonder how much this recipe was driven by both a nod to shrimp and grits and the “oh my god I’ve got to fill up this grits cookbook!” I love the pic, too. Of course, the AR part of my brain is mad that the focus is off (like the Burma cookbook?) and wishing I hadn’t been too lazy to get out the real camera. Oh well.
Lovely post, so sweet.
And you are, too. 🙂
I love that picture of your mothers together! How great to have family around during the holidays. I must remember this recipe too — I have a friend that I know will absolutely love it.
Thanks! They don’t look 93 and 80, do they? Hope you had a lovely holiday.
In Zambia the staple food, nshima, is a kind of cornmeal. I’m going to try and make a ‘local’ version of this recipe. It sounds delicious … and right up my alley. I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. It was my favorite American holiday when I lived there!
I like Thanksgiving, too. Secular! And good food!
Great holiday nibble! Steve, tsk tsk, those are always welcome, Thanksgiving or not.
🙂
Sounds good. No grits here in rural France but we have polenta, so I am looking forward to trying this out very soon.
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Merci!
That pate would be so nice with a sour dough bread! YUM….
Indeed.
Michelle, this is really lovely. I love the idea of Steve’s Gran demanding more and more. I hope it all went the way you wanted.
Aw, thanks, Conor. It was nice.
What a great recipe and beautiful photo of the moms. I do like the idea of a Southern Thanksgiving. It really is where the best of this country’s food is from. Grits and shrimp is where it’s at! Hope you had a great one!
Thanks, Amanda. Hope you had a lovely holiday, too.
I can imagine the raised eyebrows if I served grits of any kind at a family dinner, much less Thanksgiving. If I labelled the dish polenta, however, as I placed it upon the table, everyone would sing its praises. What’s in a name, anyway?
This does look good, Michelle. Loved the picture of your mothers together. How very beautiful!
That’s right: just use (or tell them it is) polenta!
This is interesting! Do you use a super fine grind of polenta/grits/cornmeal? Or does it even matter if it’s fully cooked?
I always use stone ground grits, which are rather coarse. But, yes, they should be fully cooked.
Michelle and Steve, I just discovered this blog and the award you received (from the mention of your book in the C-J today. Nice! This looks yummy and I look forward to keeping up with your entries in the future. (I don’t cook much but am always thinking I will get around to it in my next life). Happy holidays!
Thanks so much, Carole! And happy holidays to you as well.