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°.

 

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.

Seattle Snow Day Minestrone

Yesterday, predictions were for anywhere from 1 to 18 inches of snow. The one thing that was clear was that a snow day off from work was in the forecast.

Upon seeing a couple of inches of snow outside my window this morning, the first thought through my mind was "What do I want to do outside today?" and the second was "What should I cook?" Chilly winter days filled with snow make me crave warm, homemade, fresh from the oven/stove food, and today I was in the mood for minestrone.

First, I turned to Jane Brody's Good Food Book but found no such recipe.* Then, I checked More with Less, which offered two possibilities, neither of which was quite what I wanted. Time for the internet then. Foodgawker gave me plenty of good suggestions but none of them fit what was already in my kitchen. In that case, might as well experiment.

Minestrone ingredients and approximate quantities:

(Note: I made a lot of soup, so either invite over friends or be prepared to freeze a bunch of soup. Or halve the amounts, you know.)

2 1/2 cups dried pinto beans

1 large onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 cup shredded, frozen zucchini

a bunch of kale torn into bite size pieces

1 can (14.5 oz) Italian seasoned, diced tomatoes**

3/4 cup chopped carrots

1 bay leaf

Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Salt, and Pepper to taste

1.5 cup macaroni

1. Since you probably didn't realize you were making this the night before, quick soak the beans in a stock pot by bringing them to a boil, turning the heat off, cover and leave for 2 hours.

2. Simmer the beans for 2 hours. While they simmer, dice the onion, garlic, and celery. Saute the mixture in a tablespoon of oil until onions and celery are translucent.

3. Add the onion, garlic, celery, zucchini, kale, tomatoes, carrots and bay leaf to the beans. Add a bit more water if needed to cover beans and veggies. Season with oregano, thyme, and basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the macaroni and simmer for 20 more minutes.

5. Season with salt and pepper, and any more of the herbs if desired. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.

6. Enjoy while gazing out at the falling snow! This soup is delicious with Parmesan on top (though then it is obviously not vegan). It is also great served with oatmeal rolls. Mix the dough just after turning the beans on to simmer. Then, let rise as you work with the veggies. It should be ready to go in the oven a bit before you add the macaroni noodles to the soup.

*The Vegetable-Bean Soup with Pistou is similar but not quite. I've never seen minestrone with potatoes before.

**The Italian seasoning was by accident, so just use plain diced tomatoes and up the oregano, thyme, and basil.

A Bit of New Year's Luck

In the South, we eat collards and black-eyed peas as we ring in each new year. The foods will supposedly bring health and wealth and all things good throughout the year. My best friend's grandmother would even give us collards for New Year's Day.

Now that I'm in the Pacific Northwest, those dishes aren't as readily available. To welcome 2012, I decided to experiment with kale and pinto beans instead.

Israeli Couscous with Beans and Kale
Serves two.

0. Soak and cook pinto beans the day before.
1. Steam a handful or so of kale.
2. In a saucepan, saute a quarter of an onion in oil. Season with cumin and coriander.
3. When the onions are translucent, add a heaping 1/2 cup of Israeli couscous and toast lightly.
4. When the couscous is light brown, add 1 cup water and bring to a boil.
5. Once the couscous is done. Turn off the heat and stir in the kale and beans.
6. Enjoy, and have good fortune this year!

Seasoning Disclaimer: I currently have a cold, and with my head this congested, don't trust my sense of smell or taste. So definitely experiment more with seasonings, or use broth instead of water to cook the couscous. I thought that it would be better with a bit of acid and couldn't really taste the cumin, but then again, that could just be the cold talking.

Starting the New Year Right

Oatmeal's not very photogenic. That's not the point of any porridge. I guess.

I never liked oatmeal growing up. Unless it was mixed with brown sugar and on top of apple crisp, then I loved it. But the rest of the time, not so much.

Home over Christmas I had some and remembered why. The quick cook oats have the texture all wrong. I want the chewy oats. Most oatmeal days are rolled oats with a layer of berries, pour on some boiling water. Let sit in toaster oven for a few minutes so cinnamon sugar can caramelize. But for special days I've graduated to steel cut oats.


Grown up Oatmeal

Basic Skeleton of the Recipe from Alton Brown and the Food Network. But really, dress it up. Make it an occasion.

Bit of butter
1 part steel cut oatmeal
3 parts water
1 part milk
 Add-ins

Following Alton, I melt the butter and toast the oatmeal for a few minutes. (Might as well since the water needs to come up to a boil.) Pour in the water and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Do the dishes from last night or something.


Add the the milk (today a cup of skim, often a mixture of buttermilk and skim), I stir in a Tablespoon of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Today I added a handful of raisins. Some crumbled walnuts. Frozen blackberries and raspberries. (Frozen blueberries are picked out of the Target mix fruit bag to save for muffin making.)

Simmer some more until the liquids are mostly absorbed, today it took 14 minutes.

 Curl up with the bowl and enjoy.