The first time I had grits was in October, 1988, at
Dallas’ Hilton Anatole Hotel buffet. "What’s that cream-of wheat-looking hot
cereal stuff, anyway? Oh, it’s cheesy grits,” I muttered to myself. Well, why
not? It was delish. Tres delish.
I tried to order it in restaurants after that, but the
only time I found it offered was with breakfast, and when I had restaurant
breakfasts in Hawaii, only Denny’s had it. And then, the Pearlridge Center
Denny’s we frequented closed down, so that was that.
Just last year, I went to the House of Blues in the Las
Vegas Mandalay Bay. Lo and behold, they had Shrimp and Grits on the dinner
menu. Bingo! That’s what I ordered. When I got home, I sought out grits at the
supermarket, but only two chains carried it in Hawaii – Safeway and Whole
Foods. Not just any Safeway, one has to go to one of the bigger ones. And Whole
Foods is an adventure as the wife and I end up buying too much good stuff,
wiping out our budget.
I bought a box, made the grits regularly, until one day I
couldn’t find my stock. They just disappeared. So I had to go on a safari again
until I found some. Today, I have two big jarfuls of grits in my pantry.
Grits are good any way you make it. Here’s my Bacon and
Maple-Cheesy Grits recipe; you can substitute any breakfast meat for the bacon
if you want to (but why anyone want to is beyond me). If you have left-over
shrimp scampi, that’s perfect on top of the grits.
Bacon and
Maple-Cheesy Grits
Ingredients
- GRITS, ½ cup
- WATER, 1 cup
- MILK, 1 cup
- MAPLE SYRUP, ½ cup
- BUTTER, 2 tablespoons
- SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE, ½ cup, shredded
- BACON, 4 slices, cooked and crumbled
- GARLIC SALT, a shake
- Bring the water+milk+salt to a boil in a pot, then pour in the grits.
- Lower the heat to low, and when most of the liquid has been absorbed, stir in the maple syrup, butter and cheese.
- Remove the pot from the heat and cover, letting the grits thicken at least 5 minutes.
- Serve in bowls (makes 2 servings), sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
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