Operation: Grits
This morning, I attempted to make cheese grits, and was moderately successful.
I at first took the endeavor to be a complete failure. As I was cooking it, the concoction was lumpy and unappetizing, and not gritty at all. But I managed to break down the lumps small enough that I could easily mistake the lumpiness for grittiness. And it was quite tasty, and nicely cheesy! Behold, the power of cheese, to make something disgusting a winner!
It was a learning experience. Today I've learned:
- My "large, heavy-bottomed pot" is either not large and heavy-bottomed, or not a pot. Or my "medium-high heat" was too hot. It boiled over, but I managed to stop it in time to avoid the extent of the last grits disaster.
- I did not know what "whisking" was. I do not own a whisk (it's now on my list), but once I realized what was happening (lumping), I improvised something like whisking by stirring with two spoons.
- Read the recipe thoroughly before beginning. I should've learned this one the last time, but again and again I make this mistake.
I used Alton Brown's recipe. And I didn't read it thoroughly. I only glanced at the ingredients to see what I needed that I didn't have. It calls for "coarse ground corn meal." I went to the store to buy some corn meal, and didn't see anything coarse-ground, so I bought just the basic white corn meal (thankfully having the sense not to buy self-rising). I wasn't sure why I needed corn meal, and I didn't think about it. It never occurred to me that the recipe never calls for grits. It never occurred to me that the corn meal was supposed to be the grits!
The finely-ground corn meal started lumping the second it hit the heat, and I was only somewhat successful in breaking up the lumps after I realized what was happening. Finely-ground corn meal is not very gritty. What was Alton Brown thinking? Did he not go to school in Georgia and live there? He should know better. Corn meal does not equal grits, no matter how coarsely-ground; I'm sorry. Grits is bleached hominy. This is not. This is what you get for trusting someone from California.
I should've trusted the Quaker. He knows grits (despite being a Yankee). Seriously, y'all, which of these faces would you trust?
Look at the Quaker. Look at that kindly smile, those trustworthy eyes. And he's religious, for goodness' sake.
In any case, the cheese made it all better. It was yummy. And easy. Next time, I'll follow Alton's recipe, substituting in real grits for the spurious corn meal. The addition of milk, salt, pepper, butter, and especially cheese was spot-on.