Catfish & Grits w/Sauteed Spinach and Chardonnay Cream

Recipe from Darius at Everyday Cookin'

For the catfish:
2 catfish fillets
Sazon by Goya (2 packets)
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 cup of stone ground corn meal
Vegetable oil, for frying
Liberally season fish with Sazon, salt, pepper, and paprika. Allow to sit for up to 30 minutes to marinate. Preheat oil to 360 degrees. Dredge fish in corn meal and deep fry until golden brown. When done remove from oil and drain thoroughly on paper towels.

For the grits:
2 ½ cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cups of stone ground grits or polenta
1 teaspoon of salt
½ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of butter
Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add salt and grits and stir continuously. Once grits have thickened and cooked through add in butter, cheese, and cream. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook through until thick and creamy. Remember, you can’t rush this process – you will need about 30 minutes to cook grits properly.

For the sautéed spinach:
3 cups of fresh spinach
2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Combine everything in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook through until spinach has wilted to your desire. Be sure to mix well to ensure all seasonings have been thoroughly incorporated.

For the Chardonnay Cream Sauce:
1 medium shallot minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of butter
½ cup of Chardonnay
½ cup of heavy cream
½ cup of Asiago cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a medium sauce pan sauté shallots and garlic cloves in the butter until soft. Start sauté on medium heat and be sure not to brown too much. Add Chardonnay and let reduce by half. Turn heat to low and add in cream, parsley, and cheese and stir until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste and spoon sauce over entire dish.

Results: OOOOOMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGG!!  This was soooo yummy!  I halved the recipe but I could eat that cream with EVERY meal.  Here are the modifications I made (you know I always have some).  I had sauvignon blanc instead of chardonnay so in the sauce I used that and parm in place of asiago cheese.  I went ahead and used my white pepper.  Mmmm. 

For the spinach I definitely should've used more spinach (per the recipe) but I regularly don't use enough spinach for the amount it wilts down.  I also was a tad heavy-handed on the red pepper but not too bad.  For the fish I had only giant packages of Goya & I (shockingly... what the heck??) didn't have paprika!!  So I used cumin, cayenne and turmeric in its place.  Instead of deep frying it, I pan sauteed it in olive oil, butter and a little bit of garlic.

 The grits had awesome flavor and I might make them like this forevahhhh!  I'm so impressed with myself.  Lol.  Definitely in my top 2 most impressive dishes and I will make this again!