"hominy" news and stories

Warning: This recipe is dangerous.

Makes you want to try it, right?

When Michael Schwartz wanted to include an appetizer he is famous for in his new book,
"Michael's Genuine Food: Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to Eat," his advisors forbade it. It turns out that the crispy hominy he serves at his restaurants in Miami and Grand Cayman is too prone to cause injury to trust in the hands of most home cooks. Schwartz, who was in New York last week to cook at the James Beard House, explained that when the little morsels of hulled corn hit hot oil, some of them have retain moisture, which makes them likely to pop like little yellow bits of TNT.

Splattering professional sous-chefs with volcanic oil at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink is one thing -- the hominy remains on the menu. But since the book is being touted on Martha Stewart and sold everywhere, his recipe testers suggested he remove the recipe and spare home cooks the risk.

Get the forbidden recipe after the jump.

Ever had a corn tortilla or a bowl of Mexican posole soup? Then you've eaten hominy.

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.

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