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Grits Deserve a Better Name!

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Grits Deserve a Better Name!

Grits take a bad rap. And I for one am getting sick and tired of it! It is no wonder though. Grits. What a word. Sounds yucky. Sounds, well... gritty. Who wants to
eat something vaguely resembling wet, gluey sand? But there you are. In the
Deep South, in the company of a Deep Southerner. Who, of course, insists that
grits are delicious, dahlin’, and that you at least give them a chance. And you,
knowing first of all how important it is to be Polite in the South, begin to recon-
sider. How bad could they possibly be? Besides, you want your companion to
 realize just how Tolerant, Open-minded, and Enlightened you are.  Right?
Should this experience be taking place in a restaurant run by folks who simply
do not give a grit, you might be unfortunate enough to be presented with a glob
of something accompanying your ham and eggs that could only be described as
“a flavorless puddle of gruel” (thanks to Jean Anderson, in “The Grass Roots
Cookbook”). My most profound apologies. This should never, ever happen.
THIS IS WHY GRITS GET A BAD RAP!
Please allow me to illustrate just how bad this can get. My dear sweet Aunt Josephine was, in her younger days, married to an Air Force guy. They were stationed at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS. Not a bad assignment. Those were the
days before Hurricane Camille (long before), the days before the entire Miss-
issippi Gulf Coast had gone down the tube and had to be revived by casinos,
and WAY before Hurricane Katrina took Camille's place as the number one
natural disaster in U.S. history. But I digress....
Among their circle of friends was a bona fide Yankee who daily bemoaned his misfortune at being deported to God-forsaken Mississippi. (No hate mail, okay? Those were his words, not mine!) Sgt. Yankee liked to socialize, loved to party,
and often found himself craving a hearty breakfast in the wee hours of the morning. He, Aunt Jo and Uncle Bob soon zeroed in on a favorite all-night restaurant on the highway bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Decent food, great view, and the price was right. Surly service, but hey, you cannot have everything. At least that is what my grandmother always told me. (Do you suppose she could have been right?)
Anyway, the problem was that Sgt. Yankee not only hated grits, he absolutely
could not tolerate the sight of them. Made him shudder, he said. And remember.
He was eating breakfast in southernmost Mississippi. Now hear this. Breakfast comes with grits, okay. Especially in those days. It was a given. So Sgt. Yankee,
not being an idiot, soon realized that he must specify every single time, “Please
do NOT put any grits on my plate.” And night after night, his ham and eggs were served, of course, with grits. And night after night, he sent the plate back to the kitchen. More stern now. "NO GRITS!" One night it was just too much for him. “Hams and eggs, over easy. AND HOLD THE GRITS!” You want to guess what happened next, or shall I tell you? Ham and eggs. With grits. Whereupon Sgt.
Yankee took the plate from the waitress, hurled it through a huge plate glass
window, stormed out of the restaurant, and drove off into the sunrise. They
think he was headed back to Boston. What did the waitress do? She simply
said, “Wayell, hayell, he cain’t do that! Them grits ain’t that bad!”
 
Grits. What can you say? Some folks love 'em. Some folks hate 'em. Knowing
full well how difficult it will be to impart a Southerner’s profound passion for
grits to a, well, let us just say non-Southerner, I have assumed the awesome
responsibility of trying to turn you around, should you be in the grits-hater category. They can be wonderful, but only if you know what to do with them. Comforting. Downright soothing as well as tasty…
  Now here is a man who understands precisely what I am getting at: Mr. Robert
St. John. He is either a Southern gentleman, born and bred, or he has been living
in Jackson, MS long enough to have absorbed a clear understanding of the grits principle by osmosis. I was so impressed with what he had to say on the subject
that I wrote the Clarion-Ledger a complimentary letter and asked for permission
to reprint Mr. St. John's article. To date I have received no response whatsoever.
Is chivalry dead in the South, too? I do declare! Be that as it may, I have decided
to pass these words along to you, as no response is open to interpretation.
As far
as I am concerned, it means, "No problem, knock yourself out..." 

Grits, polenta — what's the difference?
by Robert St. John

Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer

Grits are the quintessential Southern food.

Yankee food snobs get a lot of laughs at Southerners' expense over the topic
of grits. While they are laughing, they are steadily stuffing their mouths with
forkfuls of polenta in trendy Northern Italian restaurants.
Grits or polenta, is there a difference? I think not. Grits are small, broken
grains of corn, so is polenta. Grits are all-American, and in its current form,
so is polenta.
Italians originally made polenta with chestnut flour. But after we introduced
corn to Europeans, they began making polenta with corn. Corn grew well in
northern Italy's climate. It was easy to harvest and store, and it quickly replaced
the chestnut as a staple in the European diet. So, in a roundabout way, Yankees
can thank us Southerners for their polenta.
Grits, which were once served only at breakfast in small Southern diners, are
now served in the hippest white-tablecloth restaurants across the South.
My friend John Currence at City Grocery in Oxford was the first chef to bring "white tablecloth grits" to Mississippi. He has been serving shrimp and grits in
his restaurant on the square since he opened in 1992.
There are four commandments for grit-eating Southerners. They are in the Bible somewhere. I think they are in the book of Lamentations or Habakkuk or another one of those small Old Testament chapters with a lot of begats in it.

The Grit Commandments are:

1. Thou shalt not use instant grits.
There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth for those who cook instant
grits. Some believe there is a special place in hell reserved for people who
eat instant grits. I wouldn't go that far, but I do know that quick cooking
grits work perfectly well. And, if you can find freshly ground stone ground
grits, by all means use them.
2. Thou shalt never put sugar on grits.
If you do, the ghost of Minnie Pearl will forever haunt your dreams singing
all 23 verses of On Top of Old Smokey every night while you sleep. Salt and
hot sauces are musts.
3.
Thou shalt use only real cheese.
When using cheese in grits, never use any of those little plastic wrapped
slices or processed cheese products that come in tubes. Always remember:
"Real cheese doesn't squeeze!"
4. Thou shalt never, ever, ever put syrup on grits.
Not at the breakfast table when you are all alone,
and think no one is watching.

Not while sitting in the secluded corner
booth at the Waffle House.

Not anytime; not anywhere.
If you do, the Southern Food Police will break down your door, hog-tie you,
and ship you off to New Hampshire, Rhode Island or maybe even Vermont,
where you can try some of their syrup on a steaming hot bowl of polenta.

I developed this andouille cheese grits recipe three years ago during a total
overhaul of the Purple Parrot menu. It is a very easy and fast recipe. You can
use it as a side dish for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Or you can serve
them with sautéed shrimp or another seafood. We've even deep fried andouille
cheese grits, but that is a story for another day.
I love andouille sausage. We use it in a lot of our recipes. Andouille sausage
is Cajun smoked sausage with a coarser grind than regular smoked sausage.
It is seasoned with cayenne, garlic and mustard. If you cannot find andouille
sausage, substitute your favorite smoked sausage links. [You can find it here.]
There are plenty of foods in addition to shrimp that go with grits. Spinach,
mushrooms, garlic, peppers, tomatoes all work.
Cheeses such as cheddar, goat, Gorgonzola, Monterey jack and Parmesan are
good pairings with grits. You are limited only by your imagination.
Polenta might be chic in New York City, but we are smack dab in the middle
of the Deep South, where grits are king.
Grits ... they're not just for breakfast anymore!

 

Andouille Cheese Grits

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound andouille sausage (chopped fine)
1 tablespoon garlic
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons Crescent City Grill Cayenne
& Garlic Sauce (or Tabasco)
2 tablespoons Crescent City Grill Creole Seasoning
[or the Creole seasoning of your choice]
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups white grits (quick cooking)
1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)

In a skillet, sauté the andouille and garlic in the butter and set aside.
In a stockpot, bring the milk, seasonings and butter to a boil. Immediately
add the grits and reduce the heat to medium. Add the sautéed andouille
and the cheddar cheese, stir and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes.

We thank you, Mr. St. John!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you really, really, really want to know how to eat dem grit, jus'
ax Emeril. You know you can count on him to kick it up a notch...

 

 Emeril’s Shrimp and Grits

4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup stone whole grain grits
2 ounces grated white Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound link smoked sausage, cut in half
and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup dry Sherry
2 cups shrimp stock
2 sticks of cold butter, cubed
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely
chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup Sweet Corn Relish (recipe follows)

In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the milk and butter. Season with salt and white pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil. Slowly stir in the grits. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for about 1 hour or until the grits and tender and creamy, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent the grits from sticking. Add some water during the cooking process if the liquid evaporates too much. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
Reseason with salt and white pepper if needed. Set aside and keep warm.

In a sauté pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the sausage and render for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Season the shrimp with salt and black pepper. Add the shrimp and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sherry. Place the pan back over the heat and flame the sherry, shaking the pan back and fourth several times until the flame dies out. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Add the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and mound in the butter. Add the shrimp back to the sauce
< and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 teaspoons
of the parsley. To serve, spoon the grits in the center of each shallow
bowl. Spoon the shrimp mixture over the grits. Garnish with the corn
relish and remaining parsley. Yield: 4 servings
 

Sweet Corn Relish

6 cups sweet corn kernels (from about 12 ears)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh chili peppers, such as jalapeno
2 cups chopped celery
1 very large sweet onion, such as
a Wadmalaw or Vidalia, chopped
(about 2 cups)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
(about 1 1/2 cups)
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
(about 1 1/2 cups)

Put everything but the mustard, turmeric, and corn in a nonreactive pot
and simmer for about 5 minutes. Put the mustard and turmeric in a small
bowl or teacup and mix together with some of the hot liquid from the pot,
then add the mixture to the pot along with the corn. Bring to a boil, then
reduce the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes. Pack the mixture into
6 (1/2 pint) sterilized jars, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for
10 minutes.
Serve this condiment with poultry, beans or rice. Yield: 6 1/2 pints

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 Can you feel the love?

And by the way, I feel honor-bound to inform you that should you be so fortunate
as to have the opportunity to consume a grit or two in the South Carolina coastal country, be aware that you will be eating “hominy”.  A Charlestonian, in particular, will be quick to correct you.  Only beyond the holy city is the ground product of hominy referred to as grits. I do declare!


And the grit goes on...
 

More grits recipes:

Creamy Grits with Cheddar and Parmesan
Margaret's Decadently Creamy Cheese Grits 
Garlic Grits
Nassau Grits

Sausage Cheese Grits
Sausage and Grits Frittata 

Mamete's Grillades and Grits
 

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