Oh my. What else am I missing out on?

[Dora]

Tonight on a lark I made cornmeal mush for my babe and myself for dinner. I'd never had it before, and just followed the recipe (scaled down) from Joy of Cooking. It was absolutely delicious. I was in comfort food heaven, and he seemed to like it too. I used whole milk, butter, and drizzled a wee bit of maple syrup on top.

How could I have possibly come this far in life without knowing how wonderful cornmeal mush is? What else do I need to try? What other simple food secrets is this cruel world keeping from me?

(Oh, and now that he's in bed, I've gone ahead and fried up some of the leftover mush, and drizzled the golden fingers with honey. Yum.)

**Skinner, may we please have a "yum" smiley?**

[SoCalDem]

1. yum smilie

[Dora]

2. Thanks! But now I need to know how to use it....

If it ain't in the "smilies lookup table" I don't know how to put it into a post.

[SoCalDem]

3. save it in favorites, and then use properties

right click...save picture as (this puts it on your hard drive)

to reuse it from their site (technically a no-no, but lots do it)..

rightclick...add to favorites
then when you want to reuse it, rightclick from your favorites and clcik properties..copy the high;ighted url into your post:)

[Tab]

4. Put this text in there

But remove the space after http: when you do it... (if I remove it now, you'll just see the smilie)


http: //207.44.157.174/forums/images/smilies/new/yumyum.gif

[Dora]

11. Like this?

Thanks!

[wildeyed]

5. Probably library paste would taste good with whole milk,

butter and maple syrup. :9

It is true, we have been so programmed to use prepackaged convenience foods, many of us have forgotten the simple pleasures. I recently started making plain white sauce to put over leftovers. Really simple to make, and far superior to anything that comes out of a can or jar.

[Dora]

8. My mother had much the same reaction.

"Well it's the maple syrup that makes it taste so good."

Of course, this is coming from a woman who probably has eaten more mush in her life than she cares to remember. I, however, prefer to believe that it's my innate culinary skill and kitchenary instincts that made that mush so delish.

[wryter2000]

6. More comfort food

Real macaroni and cheese. Cheddar cheese sauce with elbow macaroni. The Cooks Illustrated folks found it was best if you made a cheese sauce out of bechamel, combined it with the cooked macaroni, and put bread crumbs on top. I'd probably try combining the sauce and pasta, put the bread crumbs on top, dot with butter, and cook in the oven for a while.

Gingerbread is another food we almost never think of that's really yummy.

[Dora]

9. Oh, I'm all over the mac and cheese.

It's been on our menu for years. I do occasionally cheat and do the prepackaged organic, but only for myself or when it's on sale.

I like to make a basic mac and cheese much as you described, then throw in a chopped vegetable and either chicken or ham chunks. Last week I made it with canned chicken and broccoli florets. My fave is canadian bacon and zucchini.

[mtnester]

7. What else do you need to do? Fry that mush up!

That's right, fry it up for breakfast (make enough the night before). Serve with some links, drizzle again with butter and syrup, maybe add a little onion or chive before your fry it...OMG heaven

[Dora]

10. Did that... thrice.

I've had so much mush I could pull a sled.

My mush tended to fall apart in the frying though. Could it be that I wasn't patient enough to let it sit overnight in the fridge? I'll have to fry some more tonight to find out, I guess. :)

[japple]

12. Put some mush in the bottom of a small casserole. Pour a

layer of spaghetti sauce over it. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
Make salad. Have dinner. Yum.

[Dora]

13. ahhhh

a polenta casserole.... that gives me inspiration!

I'm seeing mush/polenta with italian sausage and mozzarella/provolone and spaghetti sauce in my future.

thanks for the idea!

[japple]

14. Mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, and fennel. Mmmh, good.

And so is chili with cheese and chopped green onions on top of cornmeal mush. My Mom called it Tamale Pie. 'Course, being from the south, we called it grits instead of mush.

[mtnester]

15. But, did it TASTE good? Attractiveness be damned!

:)

[anitar1]

16. It is wonderful when fried til crisp and served with a

homemade mushroom sauce over it. I got the idea from a vegetarian restaurant. Delicious. Saute the mushrooms and add buter , then add flour and salt, cook for a couple of minutes and add some half and half.

[eleny]

17. I've developed a a taste for grits

On our trip south, I started ordering grits with my over-easy eggs. The sight of the stuff always turned me off. But I like it! When it's made nice and smooth with butter and ground pepper on top.... oh yum!

[japple]

18. There aren't many places that serve good grits anymore.

Last June, on a trip to Texas, I had the worst grits I've ever eaten in a restaurant in Louisiana. It was a Waffle House or something like that--a chain--but you'd expect them to have very good grits. I don't think they're as popular as they were in the past, but I've seen grits & crab or grits & shrimp or grits with garlic and smoked cheddar on the menu at very nice restaurants throughout the south. I guess it's gone upscale!!

[Stinky The Clown]

19. Yeah .... that's the problem ..... "upscale" grits

We used to get good grits on trips south and when we stayed in Florida. We were down to see family there a year ago and all the grits we go (every morning at breakfast) were terrible. And we ate at several different places.

Best grits that I know of ...... ? When I cook my own here.

I lived, and operated foodservice businesses and consulted to the industry, for many years in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina (1967 1970 and again from 72 to 80) so I know grits.

edit to add .... Have you had them with Red Eye Gravy?

It is the easiest thing on earth. Cook some country ham in a dry pan. It will shed all sorts of fond into the pan. Just a few minutes is all that's needed.

Remove the ham and add enough coffee to deglaze the pan. Voila! Red Eye Gravy.

[eleny]

20. I was thinking that learning to make them is the way to go

Maybe you could start a thread on a slow day and give us some lessons. When grits are good, they're a terrific alternative to home fries. My husband isn't a fan.

One more thing on grits - Are they the same or a cousin to farina? My mom used to make farina when I was a kid and I always liked it better than oatmeal. The consistency of farina seems heavier than grits that are pretty light.

[NMDemDist2]

21. I love grits and make them at home, it's so easy!

git yerself some Albers Quick Grits (never "instant" grits)



or if you really want a taste treat get some stone ground grits from one of the many farms in the south there are a slew of mills that grind fresh grits.

there are two keys to making great grits IME, hard boiling water and butter.

bring the water, salt and a pat of butter to a hard boil, sprinkle the grits in slowly stirring constantly, lower heat to a slow boil

cook as directed.

easy as pie and as long as you don't have lumps they'll be fine. add more butter and pepper before serving (I love them with cheese too)

[eleny]

22. Thanks! I'll check around

Sounds just like how to make great farina! I can do this!

[Stinky The Clown]

23. There's not a lot of difference between grits and farina ......

If you can do one, you can do the other. Just stir them a lot while they're first starting or you'll get lumps.

And AZDD is right about instant grits ... they're not the same .... but ..... they have a place in my pantry cuz they make a really great, stick-to-your-ribs, quick-as-a-wink lunch when you're both famished and busy. I have the one's from Quaker with the assorted flavorings in them.

[eleny]

24. Great stuff!

I can make good farina. It's all in the stirring like mad.

I'm going to check around at my local health food store. They might have some stone ground grits products from the South right here. This is a V-8 moment for me. I was just down in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida fer crissakes. I could have probably visited some mills, taken a tour and picked up some. That's my kind of travelling - going to see the local stuff where they still have it. I should post about the interesting potter I visited in Sopchoppy, Florida. We spent 3 hours gabbing before I finally picked out some bowls and mugs. But that's for a thread of its own after I finally digest that lengthy visit. It's a stretch but still "kitchen related".

[japple]

25. Source for stoneground corn & grits

as well as buckwheat--my favorite pancakes.

http://www.fallsmill.com/index.html

I always bought grits, cornmeal, etc. at the healthfood/wholefoods store, but now that I live in a wasteland, I have to drive 1-1/2 hrs. or order online.

[eleny]

26. Thanks!

Buckwheat pancakes are my favorite, too.

[japple]

27. Re: "Upscale grits"

New sales come-on for grits:

GRITS: They're not just fo' po' folks anymore.