baked garlic cheese grits

I made cheese grits following Paula Deen’s recipe, found here and copied below (because I’m not sure that the link is a permalink).

I chose this recipe, because I knew that the cheese grits I wanted to make had milk and eggs and plenty of garlic and were baked like a custard or casserole. Paula Deen’s fit the bill. Also, her food tends to give good Southern-style results. I did go a little heavy on the very strongly flavored vegetable broth, but I think that’ll be fine, especially since no one at the potluck I’m taking this to has had cheese grits before.

• 6 cups broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups regular grits
• 16 ounces Cheddar, cubed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-quart casserole dish.
2. Bring the broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in the grits and whisk until completely combined. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the grits are thick, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cubed Cheddar and milk and stir. Gradually stir in the eggs and butter, stirring until all are combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with the white Cheddar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

anti-ramen

NY Times, Mar. 25, 2009 (link)

We’ve made this dish a couple times, now. Bittman is right in that it is an excellent fast, weekday dinner. The first time we poached thinly sliced steak in the broth and included it in the soup (amazing) and the second time we added canned chicken breast and frozen snow peas (good, but not amazing). Both times we used whole grain rotini, and we’re looking forward to making it with Asian noodles.

pasta with salmon sauce

Italy, BRW, p 555

The recipe calls for canned tuna packed in oil, but we used canned wild salmon packed in water. Also, out of consideration for Juliana’s sensitive palate, we halved the both the amount of capers and the amount of red pepper flakes. It ended up being nearly too spicy, but not quite. “Just right” is what I’d call that.

It is a truly delicious meal. This is the second time we’ve made it, and I think that it (and variations) will become a staple for us.

cooking pearled barley

I made barley to have as a side dish for lunches. I think this was the first grain (other than rice or oatmeal) that I’ve ever made. Mostly, I ate it with a delicious rich spinach pie. I also melted some Serena (from Three Sisters Farmstead Cheese) into a bowl and made a flavorful, creamy dish.

To prepare, I followed the instructions on the back of the barley bag and not Bittman’s “recipe”, which calls for half as much water (CEV, p 537-538), which I think was a mistake. This barley, though tasty, was mushy–kind of the consistency of thick oatmeal. I’d have liked to have had distinct grains with a little bit of chew.