Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya . . . Grits?

Does anyone remember that movie? Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? It had Sandra Bullock, James Garner, Ashley Judd, and plenty of others, but those are the big names I remember. It was an OK movie. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. But here's what I want to know: what is the meaning of "ya-ya"? I only ask because at this little restaurant in Pensacola that has become quite well known, their signature dish is called Grits a Ya Ya. Everyone knows where I'm talking about right? The Fish House! Heck, even their website has the word "grits" in it. Interesting! But I just don't understand the "ya-ya." It baffles me. Does it mean that the shrimp and grits have a wonderful friendship that they have dubbed "Ya-Ya"? Are the shrimp Siddalee and the grits her mother and they really just don't get along? FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, TELL ME!

Well here is what I can tell you. Grits a Ya Ya is absolutely fabulous. Beyond fabulous. Decadent. Rich. Sinful even. I tried this delicious concoction over Father's Day weekend and had a craving for it for months afterward. It was like crack. I just had to have it! And then a good friend informed me that my crack (hehe) could be found online (oh, the horror! Ok, I swear I'm done with the crack joke). I printed the recipe off at once, but then still took awhile to get around to making it. But one day I just took the plunge and it was well worth it. Trust me folks - you want to be addicted to this.

Grits a Ya Ya
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits: (OMG! Doesn't that just sound heavenly?!)
1 quart chicken stock (I used broth. I've never figured out the difference between the two)
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups Dixie Lily grits (To all you true Southerners out there, please don't hate me. But I used quick grits. Yes, you read that right. Quick grits. AND IT STILL TURNED OUT DELICIOUS!)
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound shredded smoked Gouda cheese

The Ya Ya:
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced (I couldn't find applewood-smoked, so I just used thick smoked bacon. Make sure you dice very small - my pieces were a tad too big and I didn't like the chewy fat part)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon minced shallots (I found out as I started to cook that my shallots had gone bad. I just used more garlic!)
3 Tablespoons butter
White wine
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced (I diced because I don't like mushroom enough to eat large pieces of it)
1/4 cup diced scallions
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups smoked Gouda cheese grits
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Fish House Directions:
First, make your grits. Run the chicken stock into a thick bottomed saucepan and turn on high til it boils. Mix in the grits and stir like crazy. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream if you need more liquid. Then tumble in the butter, drizzle in the rest of the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.

While your grits cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and shallots. Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. When the downsides of the shrimp become white, flip them and add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring. When reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.

Ashley's Directions:
Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and well, garlic (didn't have shallots). Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When the butter is half melted, add the shrimp. (Next time I will not do this because I bought pre-cooked shrimp. So really they just have to heat up. And since you have to remove the shrimp from the pan, it makes no sense to put them in yet at this stage. Lessons learned.)

Somewhere in that time I got my chicken stock boiling and added my 5 minute grits. Then I let them cook (for 5 minutes hehe) while I continued with the Ya Ya.

Add mushrooms, scallions, and spinach to pan with shrimp. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove shrimp if you actually decide to cook them. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring.

While this was simmering, I finished my grits. Tumble in the butter, drizzle in the cream, and stir till it's all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well til it's all nice and smooth.

Back to the shrimp. When cream sauce is reduced by one third, add salt, pepper, and hot sauce. (I did not use hot sauce!) Return shrimp to the sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.

So I'm sure that was a bit confusing. But if you read the way you are supposed to make the dish and then read my way, you'll probably understand better what I did. Of course you can follow the traditional recipe. But, really, who has 40 minutes just to make grits?!? Definitely not me. I like my 5 minute option. And honestly, you couldn't tell the difference! This was still amazing! It is very rich though, so a little goes a long way. And you can always have smoked Gouda grits in the morning for breakfast. Mmmmm!