Sunday, November 18, 2012

Baked Sunday Mornings: Baked Cheese Grits


I missed Baked Sunday Mornings last week because we were busy painting the upstairs of our house and packing things up, which allowed for little recreational time over the weekend. (Also, the recipe was very coconut-heavy, so I knew my husband wouldn’t it eat it and that definitely decreased my motivation to fit it in.) We have entered the stage of the home improvement project that we are not doing ourselves. I optimistically thought that it would be completed in the two day estimate we were provided with, and that as of Saturday evening, we would be putting the house back together and preparing for Thanksgiving. Clearly I am new to home renovations projects (I mean, other than the many hours of HGTV I’ve watched) because after two days, the project is only about a quarter completed, most of our possessions (including a lot of our furniture) are packed away, we can only use about half of our house, and I am taking photos from my iPhone. Luckily, at the moment, the useable half of the house does include the kitchen and I was able to make this Sunday’s selection, Baked Cheese Grits. 

I remember seeing grits mentioned in books occasionally when I was a kid and just assuming they were something with an unpleasant gritty texture. As a Californian, they are definitely not regular part of my diet or even on restaurant menus all that often (at least at places where I eat). I do make this recipe for Buttery Polenta with Parmesan and Olive Oil Fried Eggs on a regular basis for dinner during the cold months, which can also be made with grits. I made the cheese grits exactly as instructed in the book, and instead of having it for breakfast today, I plan to reheat it and serve it with fried eggs and greens per my usual polenta recipe later in the week. After coming home to a chaotic house, it will be nice to have dinner over halfway done some weeknight. And I keep reminding myself that it’s just a few days of living in dishevelment and that our home will be beautiful forever. 

To get the recipe for Baked Cheese Grits and to see how the rest of the group fared, head on over to the Baked Sunday Mornings site.

9 comments:

Candy said...

Look great! Good luck with the home reno, I know how trying it can be but it will be worth it in the end

Unknown said...

I've never had grits in my life, if you can believe it. I really want to try them though - it just seems like the best kind of comfort food. Good luck with the home improvement!

Have Apron....Will Bake said...

Grits are not a regular thing here in Canada either. I was not sure I'd even find them. Though I've had polenta. hmm.
Your grits looks good. Sounds yummy having them with eggs and greens.
Good luck with the renos. We were there last year and it seemed to go on forever..along with the dust...ugh.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your house project!

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your house project!

Susan said...

Yes - home renovations always take longer than expected! The main thing is that you're pleased with the results. We just had our backyard hard-scaped and landscaped and it took almost 2 months - the original estimate was for one month. Luckily, we paid for the job, not by the hour.

My husband is from the South, so he ate grits growing up, but this is the first time I've made them. They were pretty easy & delicious.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Hi Margot,
Your grits look great! That's pretty impressive to have gotten them done amidst the house projects, even if you have a usable kitchen. Good luck with home renovations-- that generally seems to be a much bigger endeavor than it seems before you start... ;-)

Anonymous said...

I'd only had a grits "casserole" of sorts before these and now I'm thinking they're going to have to become a staple in the sides department at our restaurant and at home! :)

Anonymous said...

Ah, Grits. The ultimate Southern breakfast food. Love them and with cheese. Oh, Yeah.