Surf and Turf with Grilled Corn Relish and Creamy Polenta

Finally. Back. To. Cooking.  The month of May has been so busy that I really have not had much time in the kitchen.  Although I had some excellent food in New Orleans, nothing beats a home cooked meal so I decided to make something nice for Matt and I tonight.  

It is warming up in Cleveland which means grill weather!  I love using the grill because it just reminds me of summer.  Plus, there is less clean-up!  Everything is grilled in this meal... except the polenta.  And you could even grill that if you wanted (not the mushy kind but rather the firm kind).

By the way... For my birthday, I got an ice cream/sorbet maker and a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid so stay tuned for some new recipes!

Here is the marinade for the shrimp.  Do this first to give those little shrimpys time to soak up the flavor.  

Grilled veggies for the corn relish.  I roasted the corn, husk and all, in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes then finished it off on the grill to get a char. You will want to remove the skin from the peppers with a knife.  Just scrape it right off. 

Use fresh corn for this.  Grilling it makes a huge difference.  To take the corn off of the cob, just run your knife down the side.  

Oh just a little chiffonade of basil.  Roll those leaves up and slice away.   

Corn relish all mixed up

Keep a close eye on the polenta and whisk until it thickens.  

Hello stars of the show....

Surf and Turf with Grilled Corn Relish and Creamy Polenta

Shrimp Marinade

10 large grilling shrimp

2 t. chipotle adobo sauce

1/2 t. smoked paprika

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. salt

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely minced

1 lime, juiced

2 t. honey

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. grape seed oil

In a small bowl, mix everything except the oil together.  Once ingredients are combined, slowly drizzle oils in until mixture emulsifies.  Reserve about 1/8 cup of this marinade to drizzle over the finished plate.  Place shrimp in the bowl to marinate and refrigerate until ready to grill. 

Grilled Corn Relish

2 ears of corn (cooked in husks at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Take out of oven, cool and remove husks)

1 red bell pepper, sliced into 4 and seeds removed

1 poblano pepper, sliced in half and seeds removed

2 scallions

2 large slices of red onion

5 large basil leaves, chiffonade

olive oil, salt and pepper

Lay cooked corn, red pepper, poblano pepper, scallions and red onion on a foil lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill over high heat until you see grill marks and veggies soften. Take corn off the cob by running your knife down all sides and removing kernels.  Remove skin from peppers with the sharp side of your knife.  Dice everything and add to bowl with basil and mix until combined.  Leave at room temperature to rest. 

Creamy Polenta

2 c. water

2 c. milk

1 t. salt

1/4 t. thyme

1 cup polenta ( I use the Red Mill brand- Corn Grits/Polenta)

1 T butter

2 T. mascarpone cheese

1/3 c. fresh grated parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, bring water, milk, salt and thyme to a boil.  Watch this because the milk will expand and boil over.  Add polenta in and whisk for about 10  minutes, or until it becomes thick and creamy.  Once cooked, add butter, mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese.  Cover until ready to serve. 

Assembly

Bring filet to room temperature before grilling.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper all sides.  Remove shrimp from refrigerator and place on skewers.  Grill over high heat until shrimp is fully cooked and filet is medium rare.  The shrimp will only take about 5 minutes.  Depending on how thick the filet is, you will need about 4-6 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat, let rest for 10 minutes and cut into 1/4 inch slices.    

Spoon polenta onto plate.  Stack slices of filet and shrimp on top.  Top with corn relish, fresh basil and drizzle with a little bit of the marinade.