9 Nasty Truths About Your Favorite Foods
Famous Death Row Last Meals
Grits get a bad rap. Thought of as a staple in Appalachian and Deep South diets (which conjures up plenty of fried and fatty foods), grits are making their way into the mainstream and, gasp, can be had in restaurants as far north as Seattle and Boston.
Grits, or hominy grits, are made from corn kernels dried on the cob, removed, and soaked in a solution of baking soda, lime or wood ash. The kernels are then dehulled from the hominy. There is a do-it-yourself process from Mountain Laurel in case you venture to try a grits dish and want to give it whirl in the kitchen. Watch the lye solution ... I've made soap this way and you wouldn't want any going down the gully.
I'd like to see grits incorporated into recipes considered traditionally Northern: any rice/meat combo that doesn't involve shrimp: souffles, tabuli, any rice dish. Still, pork-laced red beans and grits, Andouille (a Louisiana sausage) and grits, creamed spinach and grits ... I feel like the shrimp boat guy in 'Forest Gump.' Seriously, check out the grit scene. And if there isn't one around you, start asking hosts/hostesses to pass along the request to management at your eats joints.
VIDEO: Cop Kills Naked Man Allegedly Eating Another Man's Face
First Woman To Command A Warship In Royal Navy History
The Craziest Hidden Messages On $1, $20 Dollar Bills (PHOTOS)
'American Idol' Changes Record Contract Policy: Runner-Up No Longer Guaranteed Major Bucks
The Richest Woman in the World: How Gina Rinehart Earns her Billions
Missing Canada Children Found In Mexico Four Years Later
America's 10 Highest-Paid CEOs of 2011 (and How They Earned It)
What Happened When Alex Kenjeev Paid His Student Loan in Cash
PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart Almost Bares Sideboob
Samsung Galaxy S III review
Country Star Yearbook Pics
SEEING IS BELIEVING: This Boston Terrier Has The World's Largest Dog Eyes
Hawkeye and the Blue Ear Help a Mother and Her Hearing Impaired Son
Safeway Worker Stops Man From Beating Pregnant Woman, Gets Suspended
50 Years On, Fire Still Burns Underneath PA Town
Leap Motion gesture control technology hands-on
SLIDESHOW: And You Thought Your Navel Piercing Hurt
Etan Patz Murder Suspect Knew 'Intimate Details,' Sources Say
Honor Student Jailed For Missing Too Many Classes
Celebs Who Are Secretly Geniuses
A Night To Remember: HuffPost Gay Voices Salutes Same-Sex Prom Couples
WATCH: Stunning Quebec Protest Video Going Viral
The Best And Worst Picnic Foods
Conservative Pundit Slams Donald Trump
Dario Franchitti Wins Indy 500
Ancient Trove Unearthed Near Armageddon Site
Beryl Threatens Southeast Coastline
PHOTOS: 75 Years Of The 'Most Beautiful Manmade Structure On Earth'
Bristol Palin: I Made A Mistake
PHOTOS: Princess Charlene Finally Steps Up Her Style Game
Rodger Streitmatter: PHOTOS: 8 Legendary Same-Sex Couples
These Are The Richest Women In The World
9-06-2006 @11:40PM Mary E said... Born and raised in New Haven CT and have eaten grits all my life. Grits are great eaten like oatmeal or cornmeal mush, with butter, sugar and even a little milk. I also eat them as a side dish in place of potatoes or rice. Cover a nice chunk of cheddar with a heaping spoonful of hot grits. As a child my grandmother served them with smothered chicken and gravy. YUM! The trick with the instant grits, cook them with chicken stock for better flavor and longer than directed for texture. The regular grits are still the best. I use the canned Hominy in my TexMex salad. You just need to experiment, you may learn to like them.
Reply
9-07-2006 @10:39PM joyce said... There are several restaurants in the Annapolis and
southern Maryland area that serve grits.
I think they're great and enjoy them simply with salt
and lots of butter. I was introduced to them in
Georgia a few years ago and immediately became addicted. I like them much better than home fries for
breakfast.
Reply
9-07-2006 @10:53PM Southern Mom said... Ok...the question, "how do you cook 'em if not the instant or quick grits?"...ANSWER: Buy the regular ones and add a little extra water when cooking and cook 'em for a long time! They oughta be creamy when they're done. I almost never eat them anymore, what with all the healthy, no corn, no potatoes kind of thing...except at Christmas with Ham & Red Eye Gravy. Oh -- My -- Word! :)
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:54PM Greg Harsh said... Scrapple, grits and eggs w/ black coffee(starbucks)
Reply
9-07-2006 @9:31AM Mike said... Grits are best cooked in MILK...not water. They're much creamier that way. What you eat them with...that's uo to you. But grits are great!
Reply
9-07-2006 @7:02AM Gee said... I'm a New York City lady who loves grits. They're healthy if you don't add the other stuff (which makes them taste even better, tho).
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:49PM Dexter said... Try grits with butter and sugar and dip your toast in it... A little bit of heaven folks and don't let the yuppies in on the secret of the south, they will drive the price up like everything else they touch !
Reply
9-07-2006 @1:15AM Tom D said... I just read a book called Mayflower which said the Pilgrims ate grits in the 17th century. Not exactly the Deep South.
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:53PM Debi said... Grits! the only way to eat them...
Butter, salt, pepper
Egg over medium, cooked bacon, butter, salt and pepper.
Grits and fried any fish, coleslaw, hush puppies. yum!
NO SWEETS STUFF- That is for cream of wheat
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:56PM Lynn said... I was born and bred in the Big Apple, but there is nothing as delicious as the sweet grits with dried fruit, toasted nuts and maple syrup at the 10th Avenue Cookshop in Chelsea (www.cookshopny.com). Yum!
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:55PM Nathalie dupree said... Since I just published a whole book on Shrimp and Grits I can attest to the number of ways grits are used...most of them delicious, some for dessert. Many of the ones Craven suggests have already been in the main stream. In my 1986 book and TV show, New Southern Cooking, I cooked grits with yogurt, grapes, what-have-you.
Grits IS, by the way, just as oatmeal IS. Would you say my oatmeal are delicious? Grits are treated the same way, even though they have an 's' on them. And they are better than cornmeal!!!!
Reply
9-06-2006 @11:59PM Sadie said... Grits stands for Girls Raised In The South
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:06AM Debi said... The only way to eat Grits:
First and most important--it is a sin to add sugar or anything sweet to grits. That is for cream of wheat.
Butter, salt pepper
Egg over easy, cheese, bacon, salt pepper, and of course butter
So many ways a favorite is with fried fish and corn bread, don't forget- coleslaw / F.F.
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:05AM Mary said... You absolutely have to have grits with Southern-burnt breakfast meats, such as bacon and Jimmy Dean sausage...of course, lots of real butter, too. Dip the meat in the grits concoction....heaven!! Great with eggs, too, of course, any kind.
Now, hominy (not hominy grits) is absolutely disgusting. It looks like swollen and mutated white corn kernels that has been preserved in formaldehyde. My mother used to serve that out of a can. Probably the only thing she cooked that I did NOT like.
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:03AM PHILLIS MADISON said... I NEVER HAD GRITS UNTIL I WAS AN ADULT AND MARRIED A GUY FROM ALABAMA---AND MY PARENTS WERE BOTH FROM & RAISED IN THE SOUTH PART OF TEXAS. I LOVE THEM WITH JUST SALT & BUTTER OR MARGERINE--EITHER ON WILL DO. I LIKE TO EAT THEM WITH EITHER FRIED TOAST OR JUST ALONE LIKE CEREAL. THEY ARE ALSO GOOD WITH FRIED ECKRICH SAUSAGE & OVER EASY EGGS!
Reply
9-07-2006 @9:33AM BarbarA HARDING said... Grits are GREAT with gravy -shucks you don't have to have any meat incase you et it all up the night befo!
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:09AM LB said... I'm a southern transplant to California and grew up on grits - one of my favorite dishes! I was pleased to find that I could actually buy grits in the grocery store here. I think I converted my whole California family to be grits-eaters! :-)
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:13AM Vern said... Real grits are recognized by the lack of the words "quick" or "instant", etc. on the package. Stone ground and coarse are the best. Cooking instructions are most always provided on the package. Salt, butter, cheese and a little black or cayenne pepper are all you need to add. Of course, you have to have at least a couple over easy eggs, some thick cut bacon and/or some southern pork sausage. I've made myself hungry so now I gotta go. Y'all enjoy them grits, you hear!
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:13AM Pamala M said... For stone ground grits- Buy the yellow stone ground grits/corn at most health food stores. Bring 4 cups of water with 1 tsp salt to boil. Add 3/4 ground corn and bring back to boil. Turn it to low and cook 30 mins, or turn it off and put a lid on it and the mixture will be ready in the morning for breakfast. Pour the corn grits into the boiling water slowly stiring the entire time or you will get lumps. We eat grits with butter salt and pepper, with cheese, with gravey, with whatever sounds good. My hubby loves them at any meal. We don't eat them often, even though mine are a whole grain. Even whole grains are 100% carbs and make us FAT! We probably have them twice a month. My hubby loves them best with shrimp and seafood gravey. My kids like them best with butter and a side of squash and tomatoes. I like them best with duck, stuffing, and green beans. That was Christmas dinner growing up at my Aunt Shirley's house. Stone ground corn made into corn bread (no flour) and then dried and crumbled. Add broth and sage and oh my you have the best corn bread stuffing (which is really grits) in the world. Use less water in making grits and bake them into a 9X13 pan with cheese and minced veggies and your kids will have a healthy snack.
Reply
9-07-2006 @12:12AM Cathy Keller said... I'm a Jersey girl, but came to Florida on vacation in 1987 & discovered grits...well...I just loved them! I always joked that the reason I moved to Florida in 1988 was because of Waffle houses and grits..I just love them and I also eat them with butter & salt & pepper. I do want to try them now with eggs on top. Sounds yummy.
Reply