Cheese Grits

 We don't have the cheese grits recipe posted here? This is a problem because this is the first place I look for it.

 Betsy, write whatever ode you desire in the comments. I'm just going to get the recipe up so I can get back to cooking them.

 

Cheese Grits a la Cannon

Revised 2020
Combination of Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Co., 2001, More with Less p. 160, and experience:

Ingredients (Proposed for Xmas 2003)

1 c. Mr. George’s grits
4 c water
1/3 c. margarine
2 c. cheese
1 tsp. Worchester sauce
6 drops Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten 

Directions

Melt in 3 qt saucepan:
    2 Tbsp. butter
Sauté in butter:
    2 cloves garlic, minced

Add: 
      4 c. water
    3/4 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp. pepper
    1/4 tsp. mustard
    1/4 tsp. turmeric
Bring to boil.

Gradually add while stirring: 
    1 c. Dixie Lily GF yellow grits
Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 3-5 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. 

Preheat oven.

Remove from heat.
Stir in:
    2 eggs, beaten
    2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
    4-8 drops hot sauce (1/8 tsp.)

Pour into a greased 2 qt. souffle dish. (Anne’s white oval casserole should work well.)  Sprinkle with paprika to taste.

Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until puffed and light brown.  
(Alternate baking directions:  Bake at 275° for 1 hour.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 min.)  

How to test it’s done trick from web:
USDA recommendation:  center reaches 160°.

 

A New Tradition for Christmas Eve Soup

Sometime in the '90's, we established the Christmas Eve tradition of crockpot clam chowder, cornbread, salad, and cookies for dinner. It worked as something that was easy to prep during the day, finish after (or between) the Christmas Eve church service(s). Outside of out usual diet, so it felt special.

John's mom also makes clam chowder on Christmas Eve, at least some of the time, so it seemed like a reasonable idea to keep that tradition going as we establish the next generation of traditions.

Except I didn't really want to make a meat focused tradition? Even seafood! While no one in our household is vegetarian at the moment, it is not a stretch to imagine hosting friends or family who are. (Even though right now, our local friends are pescatarians. Though we do have some fish allergies in the social circle...)

Tonight we tested a French Onion Soup, and I think it might just work. If we could manage it on a day with morning and evening services, with a toddler who is off his normal sleep schedule, and a quick visit from a friend between church and dinner, it gives me hope that it will be possible to continue in years where we're running around to other Christmas Eve commitments and visits. 

Like the clam chowder, it's a dish that feels out of our usual routine. Despite being a straightforward recipe, I think it's likely to stay that way; it's not the filling meal of a soup that we usually turn to. If I order French Onion Soup at a restaurant, it's likely to be a starter or a side. Tonight's salad was heavy on chickpeas, and incorporating that level of protein elsewhere in the meal makes sense. It's a lighter meal that leaves plenty of space for chocolate cakes or cookies or other desserts. Which seems fitting for the occasion.

Tonight's recipe does not need to be the definitive tradition! But writing it down now gives us a place to keep notes on what has been done.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup for the Slow Cooker

Adapted mostly from Southern Living, Food 52, and Simply Recipes.

• 2 to 3 pounds of Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
  
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 0.5 teaspoons black pepper
• 0.25 cup melted butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 quart vegetable scrap stock 
• Bit of white wine
• 1 Tablespoon molasses
• 1 smashed garlic clove
  
• 10 shakes of dried thyme
• Stale sourdough for gluten eaters. Toasted gluten free bread for those with allergies.
• Gruyere cheese
  

Last night, I sliced the onions and put them in the crock with the sugar, salt, and black pepper. Left them in the refrigerator overnight (it was strongly scented when I opened it this morning). This morning I pulled them out, put the insert in the electric pot itself, and stirred in the melted butter, tossed in the bay leaf. Turned the whole contraption on high and went about the day. The onions released their juices and changed color over the course of the day. I stirred them around lunch time and again before we left for the afternoon Mass.*

When we got home in the evening, I microwaved the stock.** While the stock was warming, I drizzled in a bit of white wine (we don't have sherry vinegar, and do have a bottle in the fridge that gets cooked with). Once that was incorporated (and had a bit of time to cook off the alcohol), I added a spoonful of molasses and the smashed garlic clove. When the stock was warmed, I poured it into the pot and added in 10 shakes of the dried thyme.

Ideally this would all reach a simmer and the flavors would meld over the course of, checks the reference recipes, a half hour or so. Realistically, I preheated the oven, grated the cheese, and pulled together a salad and then rushed to get food to the very hungry toddler.

Ladled soup into ramekins on a cookie tray. Topped with the appropriate breads (different colors of ramekin for the different types of bread). Added a generous amount of cheese to each. Set the broiler to low and slid the whole thing into the oven. A few minutes later, pulled it out, and served.

* One possible change to consider is doing the onions on low overnight instead of high during the day. I'm curious if that would get them to a deeper caramelization than they reached today. Could also let the lid be ajar a bit more frequently during the day.

** Two notes on the stock. First, most recipes call for more than what I used, but it was what we had on hand. Second, if the week before has an inkling of cooking with dried mushrooms, I would totally upgrade to mushroom stock.

GF Chex Mix

Many of our holiday traditional snacks are gluten filled, but chex mix is easily made gluten free. Celia, Mom and Dad's former congregant made excellent chex mix. This is based on her recipe, which is adapted from the chex original. Given that I made the second batch of the week today (it's a hit with the neighbors), recording here for future reference.

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
1.5 tsp. seasoned salt**
5 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 clove minced or pressed garlic
2 2/3 c Corn Chex*
2 2/3 c Cheerios
2 2/3 c Rice Chex
1 c. salted mixed nuts
1-2 c. GF pretzels

Preheat oven to 250°. Melt butter in large shallow roasting pan (15x10x2 inches) in oven. Remove.

Stir in seasoned salt, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Add Chex and nuts. Mix until all pieces are coated. Bake in over 1 hour. Spread on absorbent paper to cool. [Editor: uh, paper towels.] Store in container with tight fitting lid.

Helpful hint from Chex: Party Mix may be frozen, so you can save time when you make
a double batch. (Celia's comment: If you have enough large pans.) Thaw at room
temperature in container in which it was stored.

*Celia prefers Crispix, but it’s not GF according to John’s research.

**Seasoned salt: 

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp paprika
1/16 tsp. (aka pinch) turmeric

Christmas Cassoulet Experiment

We didn't have anywhere to rush off to on Christmas Day this year, no family brunch to attend. This gave us more time to relax but presented a conundrum: what to have for Christmas dinner.

------------------------

I got off the waitlist for the Rancho Gordo bean club this fall. (I know, I know.) My first shipment came with Cassoulet beans. I only had a vague sense of what cassoulet was. I dutifully googled cassoulet recipes. 6 hours in the oven? Waaaaaaaaaaaaay more meat than I ever cook? I can use them in a vegetarian soup, thank you very much.

-------------------------

I half jokingly, half seriously mentioned cassoulet while looking up recipes again. "What's that?" "A French casserole with duck, but we could use chicken, and sausage and ham hocks." "Okay." "Oh, and the beans I got." "Sure. Make a shopping list."

-------------------------

After researching a dozen recipes, I tabulated the baking times and temps. Tried to balance slow cooked goodness and not running the oven all day long, deliciousness without too much fat. I followed Rancho Gordo and Serious Eats' recipes the most closely but was inspired by many others and my own instincts. Here's what I did. 

What I did

 

0.8 lb Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans

0.5 lb  loose sausage

3 Chicken thighs with skin and bones

½ large onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1.5 Bay leaf

2 sprigs of parsley

1 stalk celery, diced, + some celery greens

5ish cloves garlic, divided

~1 tsp dried thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

5 peppercorns

6 cloves

3 Tbsp tomato paste

 

1. Soak beans overnight in salted water.

2. Drain beans and add new water. Cook beans with herbs (parsley, celery greens, rosemary; dried thyme, peppercorns, cloves in a tea bag) and garlic. 18 minutes in instant pot. Natural release for 20 minutes. [Next time cook less or on stovetop. Did not hold shape.] Remove herbs.

3. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken thighs in a bit of canola oil on medium high. 10 minutes first side, skin side down. 5ish minutes the second side.

4. Remove chicken. Divide sausage into 6 patties. Brown sausage on both sides. Remove sausage. Drain most of extra fat.

5. Saute onion, carrot, and celery. Add garlic when mirepoix begins to soften.  Add tomato paste. Puree veggies with a bit of the bean liquid.

6. Layer ingredients in ovenproof dish. Put ⅓ of beans on bottom. Mix in some of the vegetable puree. Place the sausage patties on top. Add a thin layer of beans and vegetable puree. Place the chicken on top, skin side up. Add the remainder of the beans and vegetable puree. Add enough bean liquid to submerge the top layer of beans.

7. Bake for 1.5 hours at 325F. Break skin on top and stir it back into the top layer. Bake 40 minutes at  335F. Debate if ready. Break skin and stir back in. Bake 20 more minutes at 335F. Serve.

    

    We served with rolls and a kale-apple-carrot-pecan salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was good, and I'd make it again, yet I wouldn't seek it out or make it a must-do tradition. Part of the enjoyment was in the experiment itself.

Baked Oatmeal

 I never liked grits.

For a Girl Raised In The South it feels like sacrilege. And yet, for 30 years, it was my truth. 

So even though I now order shrimp and grits at restaurants and make grits bowls with roasted veggies often enough that I used up the entire bag a houseguest gave us, it still feels like a primary* part of my identity is not liking grits.

 Christmas smells like cheese grits. Which I would dutifully try. Eating my grit and then going back to coffee cake. (At least until my last healthy holiday at home, when I actually liked them. And then ate a serving. And so John doesn't know that I don't like grits.)

We talked about making cheese grits for this Covidtine Christmas, but we used up our fancy houseguest bag. So switching to the baked oatmeal that John's mom makes felt reasonable. It even used up the can of pears that neither of us remembers buying. Acquisition from a previous roommate? Perhaps. Luxury anyway? Yes.

Baked Oatmeal

1.5 cups rolled oats (4.5 ounces)

1.5 cups thinly sliced peaches (canned peaches in juice may be used; or pears/blueberries. Could add nuts)

1/4 cups sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350º.

Grease 8 inch square baking pan. (Or whatever casserole/dutch oven you want to use.)

Combine oats, fruit, and sugar. 

In another bowl combine egg, vanilla, almond extract, and milk. Whisk together

Add liquids to oat mixture. Mix well. 

Pour into baking dish and bake uncovered for 50 minutes.

*Primary as in original. Not primary as in most important.

The next generation of holiday foods

"Nana, what's this?"

The funny looking tool must have hung on the wall next to the stove since before I was born. But I don't think I noticed it until I was in college.

Can we agree that it's funny looking?

It's a dougnut cutter.

It is genius. I'm not sure how the fancy cooking gadgetry shops aren't selling these en masse throughout the holiday season. (I found one British site that has something, but it's missing the hole.)

1) It's a super-fun tool.
2) But it is mostly single use.
3) That would pair well with specialty sugars and glaze mixes and decorating supplies and whatever the hot doughnut cookbook is that season. (Actually, edit, is there a hot doughnut cookbook? Liz, we could propose a cookbook! That sounds like a great post-graduation career plan, right? ... Scopes out the competition. Top Pot published something three years ago. Maybe I'll stick with Plan A after all.)

Anyway.

The photos aren't date-stamped, but we think we made doughnuts with Nana the last Christmas in the house.

Elizabeth and I agreed then that we'd probably argue over who got the doughnut cutter when we divided the kitchen. Especially since I haven't had much success finding a similar cutter. Even in the internet age. Refer to my tangent.

This fall we sat on the apartment floor sorting. You take the cookie sheets. I get the silverware. Do either of us have space for the stand mixer? These baby pie plates are so cute!

We stared at each other when this came up. And then mom swooped in and claimed it.

Which obviously means that this was the Christmas for making doughnuts at mom's house. We pulled out the community cookbook, decided that 4.5 cups of flour was probably more than we needed and scaled down.


 


Doughnuts (makes not quite a dozen)
1/2 cup milk
4 teaspoons shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 packet yeast
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
dash nutmeg
1.5 - 2.5 cups flour, divided
Lots of oil for frying
Powdered sugar + spices for dusting

Scald the milk. Add the shortening and salt.
When it's cool enough, add the yeast and a cup of flour. Mix well. Then let the dough proof for 15 minutes "until full of bubbles."
Meanwhile mix the egg, sugar, and nutmeg. When the dough is ready, add the egg mixture and another half cup flour. Add flour by the half cup until it's kneadable. Then knead.
Let the dough rise for about an hour.
Turn out on a lightly floured board and roll. The recipe says 3/4 inch thick, but since we were making a third of the recipe we were closer to 1/4 inch thick.
(No, that wasn't the actual logic. Yes, that was the actual measurements.)
Cover with cloth and let rise "until top is springy to touch of finger."
Heat oil to 350-375ºF. (Our stove was finicky, so we kept turning the heat on and off to maintain the right temperature when we were frying. The candy thermometer was critical for this.)
Drop a doughnut into the hot fat with the raised side down. This lets the top side rise while the other side cooks. Fry for about a minute. Flip. Fry other side for a minute. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
To dust with powdered sugar, put the sugar in a small paper bag. Put in 3 doughnuts at a time to shake, shake, shake.

~~~
Other cooking this holiday season:

Cheese straws and lady fingers a la Grandma Gerri

Chocolate Orange Peels. This year mostly following this post. Hot tip was to blanch the peels when they're in large sections and then cut into small strips before the candying process. Other experiment, when I ran out of chocolate chips, I tossed the rest in cocoa powder (this year was super sticky). Chocolate is better.

And I didn't cook them, but did get the recipe for Grandmom's Sausage Balls.

Found Them!

I found Grandma Gerri's recipe cards! We need to send her goodies next Christmas. Or  this summer.

Ladyfingers

3/4 cup Margarine

4 Tablespoons confectioners sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

3 Tablespoons cold water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup nuts

Mix together. Grease pan. Bake at 250º-350º. Roll in confectioners sugar

Cheese Krispies (4-5 dozen)

2 sticks oleo

1 package (8 oz.) Cracker Barrel sharp cheese, grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

2 cups plain flour

2 cups Rice Krispies (not used by Gmom)

Mix well and fold in Rice Krispies. Pinch off a teaspoons worth at the time and mash with fork. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes.

Pecan Pound Cake (3 loaf pans)

5 cups of pecans (chopped)

1 pound margarine (Walmart) softened

3 cups sugar

4 cups plain flour; sifted

1/2 cup self-rising flour; sifted

eggs (8 medium/ 7 large) 3/4 cup, rest of 2 cups milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Cream together margarine and vanilla. Add ~1/3 of the flour. Add cup of eggs and milk and beat. Add another third of the flour. Add the last cup of eggs and milk. Add the final third of flour. Fold the nuts in. Grease and flour pan. Bake at 300º for approximately 90 minutes. When it pulls from the side of the pan, then it's done.

Pecan Pie

Recipe pastry

2 eggs beaten

1 cup dark Karo syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons melted margarine

1 cup pecans (whole)

Roll pastry, line pan.

Mix eggs, syrup, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter, etc. together. Fold pecans in last.

Bake in 400º oven for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350º and bake 30-35 minutes longer.

Happy cooking!