This is soooo cosmic! I just got back from the grocery store, where I purchased some grits to make my famous

Green Chile/Cheese Grits

to take to a barbecue tonight. It's one of my favorite dishes and tasty as all get-out. Sort of souffle-ish, with a nice bite from the green chile. I love cheese grits with plenty of garlic and a little cayenne sprinkled on top. (These dishes are a reflection of my semi-Southern upbringing and the fact that I lived in New Mexico for 16 years. Definitely a dish for that "ethnic-crossover" thread.

And, I ate plenty of polenta, livin' in Santa Fe, living with a fancy schmancy chef and all, and I truly can't see what the difference is between polenta and grits. I use them interchangeably, pretty much, e.g., grits/polenta smothered in red, green and yellow bell peppers cooked with onions and covered with a delicate gorgonzola cream sauce. Either grits or polenta work fine, whichever I have in my pantry at the time...

And sometimes, such as today when I came back from a long bike ride in which I got caught in a downpour for about ten miles and soaked to the bone, absolutely NOTHING soothes and warms the cockles like a bowl of grits with corn stirred in 'em and butter and salt and pepper. And a nice cup of hot tea with mil. Yummy. I'm so international...

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