I grew up in the South and being a Southern girl (y’all), I
love grits. Nutritionally, grits are not
a power house, but most grits you buy today have been fortified to increase the
B Vitamins and Iron. They are a natural source of selenium. One cup of yellow
grits has about 150 calories and 3-4 grams of protein.
Typically if you order grits in a restaurant they are made
in the traditional way, with water.I don’t love grits with water. First, I like
to have some protein at breakfast. Second, grits made with water are just….flavorless.
I do love grits made with milk. The milk adds a creaminess and mouth appeal and
protein too.
One thing I learned from my mother was to treat the grits
like risotto, adding the milk in stages.
It makes for a wonderful creamy texture.
Southern chefs favor the organically grown, stone ground
heirloom grits from Anson Mills in Columbia, SC. I have not tried them as yet, but I suspect
they are the “premium” grits to buy and eat. Emeril, Thomas Keller and Tom Colicchio are all fans.
The grits from Anson Mills http://www.ansonmills.com/products/8 must be soaked overnight and
cooked for up to 90 minutes. I would love to try Anson Mills grits. I can
almost taste the difference in my imagination.
Sadly, I have given in to poor old instant grits due to time
constraints. I also may shortcut the stove top cooking by using the microwave. In that, I feel I really need to trump up the
flavor to make them palatable.
Milk is always the base I use for my grits but I branch out
from there as my moods change. Shrimp
and Grits to me are more of a dinnertime food (breakfast for dinner) so I don’t
make them in the morning.
These are some of the ways I have varied my morning grits.
When cooking grits, I add:
Shredded cheddar cheese, roasted chopped green chiles and
chopped tomato for New Mexican Style
Pieces of goat cheese and Herbs de Provence for French style grits
Feta cheese and sometimes chopped Kalamata olives for Greek grits
Italian is Parmesan
and fresh chopped basil
This week I went to a Parmesan Cutting event at Scardello’s
Cheese shop http://scardellocheese.com/. I brought home a round of Cypress Grove Purple Haze Goat Cheese http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/our-cheese/fresh-chevre/purple-haze.html#.U9xiY-OJGRM
It is goat cheese with fennel pollen and
lavender. I added some to my morning grits. Deeeelicious!
Other ideas I have thought of or seen online but have not
tried are:
Mascarpone and grits
Black bean and cheddar cheese grits topped with avocado chunks
Goat cheese and garlic grits (thanks Bobby Flay!)
Corn and green chile grits
Fried grits (from cold leftover grits…thank you Mom!)
I am not a meat eater but you can also make your grits with
some ham, green pepper, tomato, mushrooms and cheese, like a country omelet without the egg.
Hmmm and now that I am thinking about it, what about meat
ball, marinara sauce and grits for dinner?
So you see, grits are not just for Southerners anymore. They
are for those of us with a great imagination and the love of variety in our
foods. I hope you will experiment with
your own ideas and make the most of your morning grits. I would love to hear
about your favorites.
