Chef Emeril Lagasse's Shrimp and Cheese Grits...a Southern classic comfort food. Historically, grits were a daily staple in the Deep South, homemade cheese was plentiful and shrimp could be caught for a days work and little cost.

This traditional meal appeared frequently on the table as it cost so little and required mostly work, not money.

When you shrimp in shallow water with a cast net or a small boat you catch lots of little shrimp that are not good for barbeque or fried shrimp. This was a common, quick and easy meal.

Today we savor the creamy richness of the cheese grits so reminiscent of Italian polenta with the briney sea flavor of sweet Wild Caught American Shrimp from the Gulf.

The farm raised shrimp so prevalent in the market today are good in some dishes, but are not as sweet and the Wild Caught American Shrimp and have a different flavor.

This is one of my favorite recipes from this collection of Emeril's best.