|
04 Sep 99 - 08:04 AM (#111386) Subject: Grits From: Penny S. I can't search far enough back to find the original grits references on my machine, but I had the chance to try some today, and turned it down. Our local mall has a shop specialising in supposed American food. (Made in America, but the sort of stuff which in its UK equivalent I don't eat.) Anyway, there was a display of packets of Instant Grits. (Grits equivalent of Whooph Biscuits?) So I was havering about trying them, wondering about their availability in Cheddar Cheese, Red Eye Gravy and Bacon versions, when I noticed the price (£4.95!) and commented, in case any staff were in ear-shot, that I would stick to polenta. A passing American suggested that as grits were widely considered to taste awful, and that Instant grits would no doubt taste worse, I would be wiser to save the £5 for a flight to the States for the real thing. So I'm sticking with polenta, and still wondering where I did see the ordinary sort of grits in a real shop. Penny |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:37 AM (#111388) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri The plain instant grits aren't too horrible, but the flavored ones are pretty disgusting. They definitely aren't worth £5!!! According to the Universal Currency Converter, £4.95 is worth $7.92 in US Dollars/$11.82 Canadian. YOWCH! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 09:18 AM (#111392) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 I'd say that "Penny Saved and Penny Earned." A wise move as I personally wouldn't spend two cents on grits...especially "Instant Grits." Of course I ain't too hot on polenta either. I'm always amazed that some foods having a history of of being "cheap" are now given a status and a price that's totally contradictory to the original value. grits were cheap and could be served up to a large family along with home made sausage, biscuits, and eggs from your own chickens, smothered in gravy which only needed a little more flour and salt and pepper. This meal will now cost you seven bucks at "Cracker Barrel." Why hell, for that same price I could get a dozen frozen White Castle "sliders" at the supermarket! Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 09:37 AM (#111393) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Ya know it bites when you don't prufreed and a typo or omission fucks up your own joke. That last line should read --- "a half dozen frozen" ......I'm so gawd dumb damn, just ain't got no swave at all.
CATSPAW49 ** "Spaw" **** |
|
04 Sep 99 - 11:06 AM (#111405) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Dear Penny, Please don't listen to these 'grits-bashers'! Grits are still a cheap, excellent food that is still very popular here in the Southern U.S. Unfortunately, like most regional dishes, it needs to be consumed in its natural setting to be fully appreciated. Save your money instead of paying out for 'faux' grits there in the U.K., and put it toward a ticket to Texas. I promise that you will find the most wonderful places to experience 'true' grits here. Or, anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. And to catspaw49 -- any true grits lover knows that the only decent way to eat grits is with a pat of REAL butter, along with a little salt and ground black pepper! Save the gravy for the biscuits -- where it belongs!! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 11:12 AM (#111406) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barbara Penny, I like polenta, and I like grits. A 1# box of grits here costs about (pretend this is a pounds sign)L1.85. If you want to try the real thing post me your addy in a personal message and I'll mail you a box. Blessings, Barbara |
|
04 Sep 99 - 11:21 AM (#111409) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: JedMarum Do save yer money an' come an' try grits with yer Texas breakfast! It's true, they ain't much on their own, but I love 'em mixed in a bit with my eggs, biscuits and gravy ... or with just a dash of butter with salt and plenty of black pepper ... but ya gotta have 'em in Texas! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 11:57 AM (#111420) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Amen Liam! Testify! I told my husband about the grits discussion here, and he had a great observation about grits that he'd heard from his brother, who used to be a truck driver. . . Driving through the southern states, if you go into a truck stop east of Texas and order breakfast, the cook automatically gives you grits along with everything else. West of Fort Worth, Texas, you'll automatically get hash browned potatoes instead of grits with your breakfast order. In between Texarkana and Fort Worth, you get asked. [Of course, in Dallas, they wouldn't know what you were talking about if you mentioned 'grits' -- but, put your little finger up in the air and call it 'California style non-processed, naturally bleached, crushed corn' and they'll know what to give you!] |
|
04 Sep 99 - 12:45 PM (#111425) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Yeah, I know........Karen loves grits with her eggs and I love to bash grits. I lived in the south for a long time and I love the Southern Mountains, but if you "grits gourmets" had a mountain of grits and I had a feather up my ass, we'd ALL be tickled to death. Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 12:52 PM (#111426) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dale Rose That passing American referred to in the original post was no doubt a Yankee, judging from the comment that grits were widely considered to taste awful. In the South or even in the near South, grits are certainly one of the staples of life. I certainly mean no disrespect to Northerners, but they couldn't be counted on to give an accurate assessment of the value of grits to Southern culture, (and the Southern breakfast!) any more than we could discuss Crown Pilot Crackers or Upper Peninsula pasties with any degree of objectivity or accuracy.
check out grits.com recipes and more |
|
04 Sep 99 - 01:00 PM (#111428) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Barbara, thanks for the offer, but once you add postage to your grits, that won't save much. I'm going to keep looking over here. I'm beginning to think I hallucinated the packet of non-instant grits I did see (and filed under "this is where to get them when I want to try them"), but I'm sure that somewhere there's going to be a proper, not over-selling itself, emporium with grits in. I'm not desperate to try them, just curious, with my curiousity constantly being whetted by near misses. I also now have a good idea of the mark-up on other goodies(?) in the store here. Like Oreos as a breakfast cereal? |
|
04 Sep 99 - 01:01 PM (#111429) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Couldn't identify the accent specifically, but it was what I think of as "soft". I suspect you are right about the northern-ness, though. Penny |
|
04 Sep 99 - 01:16 PM (#111432) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Big Mick Penny, listen to the Old Big Mick carefully......ignore 'Spaw.........grits remind him of used kitty litter.........and I implore you to try them with the pat of real butter, salt and pepper to taste. I am a northerner who was introduced to the wonder of grits IN TEXAS by a beautiful red headed woman to whom I am forever grateful. Next thing you know you will be throwin' "y'alls" around and wearing western clothes. Grits are some of God's best work. LOL Big Mick |
|
04 Sep 99 - 01:17 PM (#111433) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Somewhere I have a recipe for grits & collards. I'll see if I can find it. I can't stand 'em but the Tennessee bride loves them--- even from Cracker Barrel. Bob S. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 01:45 PM (#111442) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Thank you Bob!!!! I "feel your pain" brother! And Penny......IGNORE BIG MICK!!!! First, he lives in "that state up north" as it's known around here. Second, he doesn't know enough to put the potato in the FRONT of his thong, and third, he's defending all these Texans. It's unfortunate that we can't "SEE and TALK" to each other on the net as the surest way to tell if a Texan is lying is to watch for lip movement. (:+) Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 02:52 PM (#111454) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. All you grits lovers out there, do yourself a huge favor and get some freshly stoneground grits. Importantly, they must have been kept frozen since being ground unless you're getting them right from the mill. (The reason: essential oils and other ingredients in the corn, once crushed, will soon evaporate, and you'll be left with something diminished from its former glory.) There's a place in Charleston SC called Hopping John's, which is mostly a cookbook store, that sells them, they do mail order, and I think they have a webpage. I'll look it up and post it. He also sells the only real cured country ham that can be bought, regardless of the Smithfield authenticity labels at the market. Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:04 PM (#111457) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Yes Chet you're right.......Karen of course has the grits, but ta' hell with grits, let's talk Country Ham!!! I've never been a big salt user and now I have to watch it a bit closer, but I'll blow it all for great Country Ham anytime and HJ's is OUTTATHISWORLD!!! Penny, if you REALLY want a great American South taste, skip the grits and getcha' some Country Ham!!! That's REAL eatin'!!! Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:04 PM (#111458) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Couldn't find a webpage, but the phone # is (843)577-6404, and it's listed as Hoppin' John's Cooking School. Unless things have changed lately, it would be worth a call. Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:04 PM (#111459) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Roger in Baltimore Grits don't taste bad. It is closer to say they hardly taste at all. Grits call for some additive to "enhance" their own lack of flavor. But, like tofu, they are a healthful extender for any meal. Low fat, etc. Roger in Baltimre (South of the Mason-Dixon line, but not by much) |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:11 PM (#111462) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton In a Florida hospital, circa 1933: grits for breakfast served as a hot cereal with milk and sugar (on Sundays, add raisins); grits for lunch, served as recommended above with a pat of butter, salt and pepper to taste; for dinner (evening meal), grits served in place of potatoes or rice (they'd never heard of polenta) doused with a dollop of whatever gravy was appropriate with the meat dish (ham, beef, or questionable-source-animal). Six months of that and it took me about fifty years to recover my taste for ground-up corn. But if you think grits are bad, try hominy! Even Texans may draw the line at that. Loved the "california-style, non-processed, etc." story contributed by Aine, who knows how to get those neat accent marks out of her keyboard. I'm saving that one for Caroline, who also grew up on and was delighted to find in the local grocery store WHITE CASTLE burgers! Don't knock 'em, sPaw, that's northern soul food. Sandy |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:24 PM (#111463) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bill D was in the boot-heel of Missouri many years ago doing an environmental survey; sent several days there, near New Madrid...ate breakfast each morning a little further south....on the first morning, at a little diner, no grits on the menu...on the 2nd morning, a bit further, they HAD grits and enquired as to whether you'd like some...on morning #3, no matter WHAT you ordered, grits were included without you saying anything!.I think we found the Mason-Dixon line!....got so I could eat 'em ok...with some butter..maybe some sugar,(brown, if possible)...but I'll never go out of my way for 'em.. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:34 PM (#111465) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Well, well, feathers up your butt, uh catspaw49? I can't think of a finer thing for a Yankee to ... no, I won't be tempted to go there . . . I was always taught that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Being the friendly, red-headed, native Texan that I am, catspaw49, I will just invite you down here for a tour of the best eating places in the world -- and not a White Castle to be seen!! Dear Chet W -- have you been breathing Dallas air?? What's all this high-falootin' stuff about fresh ground, frozen, just from the mill grits? Darlin', please. This is the SOUTH of the U.S. where it gets over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (at least in Texas) several days of the year -- we've been eating grits down here for a few hundred years now -- how long has there been refrigeration??? Essential oils . . . this ain't rocket science, sweetie, this is grits! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:40 PM (#111467) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer OK. The first time I hit Tennessee back in ought56, I stopped at a breakfast joint. One of the featured items was(were) brains. I had enough, I figured so I passed. Two days later met my future wife, who it tuned out liked them as much as grits(a lot). I never have tried either & promise to never try them. But, whenever we made a trip back to TN she loaded up. She still loves the grits, but have'nt heard much about brains(the eating kind) lately. And I am not going to bring the subject up. Bob S. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 03:51 PM (#111470) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Lonesome EJ I think of grits as kind of a breakfast condiment, like a complimentary taste for your over-easy eggs and ham. They need a lot of butter and salt n' pepper. Now, I've got a question. Who decided Texas is really a part of the South? Ain't nobody thinks Texas is in the South except Texans. Everybody else knows the South ends at the Mississippi line and the West commences. Ain't nobody in Alabama or Georgia eats godforsaken stuff like huevos rancheros in the morning. Nope, the heart of the South is a little town called Julesburg in North Central Alabama and if you have to go more than 800 miles, it just ain't Dixie. And that goes for you Lone Star pretenders- now fold up your tortillas, admit it and go home. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 04:03 PM (#111474) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman 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... ww ww |
|
04 Sep 99 - 04:25 PM (#111477) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Ah Sandy...ME??? No I freely admit to loving those little square gems. Had a summer job once where there was one a half block away and I damn near lived off of them. But like millions of others I found later that the TRUE power of the White Castle 'slider' was at 2 AM, when you were drunk and there was nothing else open!!! HooBoy........Now my digestive system can't really takem' anymore, but every month or so the urge hits and.........well, it's worth it now and again. And Aine, c'mon now, you been around here long enough to know that if I don't insult people and poke around at them all the time, half this bunch thinks I'm sick again!!! Texas has it's spots and San Antonio for me is the best of them....used to love going there for trade shows and any other chance I could wangle out of the company. A native told the guy I was with one time to "keep your boots out of the sun" and the fella', having never been there before thought it was a joke. A little while later he said his feet were burning up. So I guess he thought I was serious about the lip movement joke too! Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 04:49 PM (#111481) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Ah now, 'Spaw, you're trying to get on my good side, aren't ya? I'm glad to know that you've been to the Lone Star State -- now I know that you know how nice we are down here! Come back down for some chicken fried steak with white gravy and homemade biscuits anytime, darlin'! And Dear Lonesome EJ -- Maybe you're lonesome because you haven't studied your history very well. I believe that Ulysses S. Grant and a lot of other folks around that time thought that Texas was a part of the South . . . And thank you, I will fold my tortilla and take it home -- and I'll wrap it right 'round some braised beef, grated cheese and salsa (no cilantro, thank you - my Daddy used to call it pissweed!!) and I'll pick up my Corona Extra (with 2 slices of lime, please) and I'll take a big ole bite and a big ole sip and say Thank you, Jesus, for making me a Texan! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 05:04 PM (#111483) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Hey Sandy....If you get back here, can you tell that story again about "No grits-No Eggs"....I'm looking, but I can't find it. Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 06:29 PM (#111499) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: RWilhelm I first had grits about 15 years ago on a trip to the south. Now we have grits every week with Sunday breakfast. In Massachusetts instant grits are the only choice. For me, the product has come to represent the southern experience and I even wrote a song called "Grits for Breakfast" in praise of spending the winter in the south. Grits are great but can someone tell me why southern restaurants don't serve real butter?
|
|
04 Sep 99 - 06:40 PM (#111500) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Didn't know that. The places here in Lakeland, FL serve real butter. But then, some say Florida isn't really the south. Bob S. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 07:09 PM (#111504) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Aine, my friend, and all: Being a science teacher, I have a sometimes unfortunate habit of explaining why simple things are the way they are; drives some of my friends crazy. Forget the history of refrigeration; that just lets us store them longer without having to have our own mill to grind fresh grits. If you can get them fresh ground, they take longer to cook but after one try you'll say, like I did, "I never really had grits before this!". I'm not demanding that you try them. This is a hot tip. Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 07:21 PM (#111507) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Banjer Here again goes the great grits discussion....Grits ARE GOOD...I love 'em, they are best when fried eggs are mixed in with them, lotsa butter, salt & pepper....Or as a side when ya'll have a mess of catfish fried just right....You folks that knock 'em just haven't found the best there is. And as for the brains....Pork brains with eggs, scrambled together, a mess of collards on the side...Hummm! Go-oood! Mustard greens, turnip greens, when cooked right are also next to ambrosia...Haven' thad a lot of that good eatin' for a while, wife is a Connecticut yankee, doncha know....Seems like the only thing them Yanke wimmen can do is boil the bejessus out of anything! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 07:30 PM (#111510) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Dear Chet, please read the following out loud with your best authentic North Texas accent: Chet, baby, come on over here to Mama. That's it, now sit down on the settee here beside me. That's right. Oh, you're lil' glasses are slipping down your nose agin. Push 'em back up, now. That's right. Now, Mama didn't raise too much of a fuss last July when you lit up that lil' rocket and burned the back forty, now did I? That's right. Now, as long as your lil' high-top sneakered feet are under my table, we won't have any more talk about how Mama should fix her grits, now will we? Good boy. Now, you just jump down here and run off and play with your rockets. Mama loves ya. An' be sure and come inside when I call ya for dinner, ya hear? |
|
04 Sep 99 - 07:31 PM (#111511) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton Shot my wad telling it the first time, 'sPaw! Maybe one of the super-nerds that frequent these pages can locate it for us. Can you search for a word? If so, try LUMPKIN, the town in Georgia where the great adventure occurred. If we can't find it, I'll dutifully re-tell it, out of pure loyalty to the cause. Caroline says the secret of White Castle "sliders" (those must be the bite-sized tasties that used to cost 5 cents each or two-bits a bag) is that they are "steamed over a bed of onions." Makes sense to me. Smell a White Castle a block away and be salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs by the time you reach the door. The guy that wrote "Everything I Need to Know, I Learned, etc." says the best chicken fried steak is to be had up in Idaho somewhere. Obviously, he's never been to Lambert's in Sykeston, Missouri! Even Texas can't do any better than that, Aine! Sandy |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:10 PM (#111517) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Well the body feature isn't up on the forum search and I think we were on a thread totally unrelated to food (gee thread creep is so unusual too), but Sandy I've been running across a lot of other food references from groundhogs and scrapple and hominy and we've had White Castle "talks" before too. We must all be nuts around here............. BTW Caroline, you're right...and the holes in the burger(5)....add in those minced onions and steam those buns on top of them (funny kinda' dinner roll bun too)...slap it together with a pickle ......OHMYGAWD!!! I may have to make a Columbus run tonight. Oh yea, There was some movement afoot to name the new Columbus NHL team the "SLIDERS"....cute, but they didn't go for it. Oh, and Aine......Grant didn't consider Texas south. it was part of the west, as was Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky.............Anything that lay across the mountains was west and the term "South" was very much reserved for the deep south (AL-LA-MI), southern Virginia,Georgia and the (ESPECIALLY South) Carolinas. Spaw |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:26 PM (#111522) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Aine, that was beautiful. Thanks, really, I loved it. But I'm smack in the middle of South Carolina, and I don't quite know a north Texas accent, but your words above felt just like home. Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:35 PM (#111524) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Áine Dear Chet, I'm glad you took it in the spirit in which in was intended -- and it'll work just fine in a South Carolina accent too -- my mother's people came over to Texas from the Carolinas (by way of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana). My Grand-daddy was a railroad engineer on one of the last steam powered engines in the South, so the family travelled a lot. I have aunts & uncles born in every state in the South. Mother was born in Montgomery, Alabama. So, I guess you could say we speak the same 'lingo'. Now, don't be squinching your lil face up about those silly ole grits anymore darlin', all right? |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:35 PM (#111525) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Lonesome EJ Aine. your point is well taken, and I was more or less joshin' y'all because I know how proud Texans are of their heritage, and Texas brigades served valiantly in the Confederate armies of both West and East. But you have to admit that West Texas has more in common with the geography and culture of New Mexico and Arizona than it does with Virginia and South Carolina. Maybe because I was raised in Kentucky, Texas always seemed like a land way out West full of Cattle and Cowboys. And I just never figured y'all for grits and hamhocks. |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:40 PM (#111526) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. And I was introduced to the sins of White Castle when I went away to college in Greenville, SC, which, being close to the mountains, was not considered to be particularly southern, especially by those in the super-township of Charleston. It was there I learned, since most of our students were from Florida or New York, that not everybody knew about grits, or even frequent rice-eating, or God-forbid, CHICKEN BOG! Wanna hear about that? Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 08:47 PM (#111527) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barbara Yay-yus! Yayus Ah dew! Tail us 'bou dit awl! |
|
04 Sep 99 - 09:36 PM (#111536) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. Okay, you take a dead chicken, feathers off, head off, feet off, and cut up into the usual pieces (legs, thighs, wings and (dare I say it) breasts). You boil the chicken pieces and traditionally you would leave them as they are, with the bones, but I take the bones out. Save the broth, cut up lots of onions, slice some smoked sausage, add salt and a Lot of black pepper, and add the chicken meat back in. Make sure that the broth is adjusted so that there is about 10-15% more than you would normally put in your intended amount of rice. Bring to a boil, add the rice (two cups is about right for one chicken, so there should be about 4 and a half cups of broth. Bring back to a boil after rice is added, then turn it down low until rice is done, stirring a little bit. The rice is, as the name suggests, a little soggier than usual. Great for feeding large groups of people cheaply. You can dress it up with free-range herbs, boullion cubes, some vegetables like carrots. It is the subject of cooking contests and festivals, but only in the northeast corner of South Carolina. Tell people you cook it with swamp water. I left out the part about pre-preparing the yardbird. Chet |
|
04 Sep 99 - 10:38 PM (#111543) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Arkie Had a speaker from Wisconsin in the Ozarks a few years back. He made the statement in his introductory remarks that he knew he was in the south when he saw grits on the menu. I told him afterwards that he was in the south when he found grits on his plate not on the menu. Some of the border states accomodate visitors from the north, by placing grits on the menu, but in the deeper south, at least it used to be true, restaurants simply served grits with breakfast and saw no need to place them (it)on the menu. As for country ham, I grew up in Southampton County, Virginia and dined on country ham with some regularity. My father and his brothers cured their own hams and supplied my mother's family with ham. I did not have to eat Smithfield ham or any other storebought ham until well into adulthood. Having had my taste for commercially cured ham forever ruined, I rarely take a chance on it anymore. My ancestral ham curers are all gone and not a one of my generation took up the art. Are Peanut fed hogs are a things of the past. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 12:02 AM (#111561) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman At the risk of commiting sacrilege, I have to say that I tried White Castle sliders once and THAT's one culinary treat to which I respond, "Huh?" OF course, it was for a fund-raiser when I live in Santa Fe and some organization had a truck load of them driven in from Chicago or wherever their homeland is, and we paid big bucks for boxes of frozen White Castle burgers and ... well, I guess something got lost in the translation. Obviously I need to be drunk in ??? and looking for an open restaurant at 2 a.m., right? Maybe White Castle sliders with grits on the side. AND ... the VERY BEST chicken-fried steak is found right here in my kitchen! ww |
|
05 Sep 99 - 04:03 AM (#111587) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Boy did I start something! And aren't I now more determined to try adding grits to my range of Real English Breakfast foods. (Anybody know how an Ulster Fry differs from the English version?). To be fair to our visitor, there was a very subtle intonation to his voice which could have been either "why on earth is this Englishwoman so interested in this extraordinarily unattractive food, I had better indicate, very politely, that she won't like it" or "I don't expect this woman will like these if she tries them, even though I do, so I had better forewarn her". He did recommend I ate them at source, remember. As to cheap foods becoming sought-after, I have never been able to understand the attractions to people not a hundred miles away of frogs and snails and very small birds eaten in one mouthful. They are not cheap, but they are the stuff you eat when you are really desperate in a famine. So how come the high status? And what are White Castle sliders? Penny |
|
05 Sep 99 - 05:10 AM (#111589) Subject: White Castle From: Joe Offer Penny - White Castle "sliders" are paper-thin, square hamburgers from a chain of hamburger joints that's far older than McDonald's. The restaurants look like a mix between a gasoline station and a miniature castle. There was one by Grandma's house in Detroit and my folks let me get a hamburger there just once, since we usually couldn't afford to eat out with five kids in the family. The hamburgers tasted absolutely wonderful to me, since they were kind of forbidden fruit. I spent my teenage years in Wisconsin, which didn't have White Castle, so I had to find other things to eat at two in the morning. The frozen ones you get in the grocery store aren't so good. -Joe Offer- |
|
05 Sep 99 - 07:07 AM (#111596) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Joe: I was "sure" there was a White Castle in Janesville, WI back in the 40's. Maybe my memory is sliping more than I think it is. Old Timers disease? Bob S. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 11:02 AM (#111624) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: paddymac I grew up in the Chicago area, so never had any exposure to grits until I joined the marines, where I became quite fond of them. Many a cold morning in Chicago was met with a steaming bowl Farina and the like, but my personal favorite was "Choco-o-Wheat". When my ex and I were raising our boys, she, being a native born southerner, tried serving grits, but the kids wouldn't eat 'em. I solved the problem by sprinkling a spoon full of Nestle's Quick on them. The kids loved 'em that way, but wifey nearly graced the table with a tecnicolor yawn. Maybe that's a part of why we're "exes" now. Penny, dahlin', puhleeze don' be bad-mouthin' frogs. Frog legs and grits is an early morning treat beyond compare. 'Course, it might have something to do with being out giggin' (as in stickin' frogs, not playin' music) all night, with more than the occasional beer. Take the cleaned frog legs, dip 'em in a wash of eggs & sweetened condensed milk (diluted a bit with whole milk), roll 'em in corn flake crumbs, then slow fry 'em in butter in a cast iron skillet. Delicious! With grits and eggs along with 'em, you're fully prepared for a long nap. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 12:21 PM (#111647) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Pelrad I think this is a thread leap rather than a creep, but I'm gonna post it anyway. :-þ Several of you have said that in the deep South they don't bother to put grits on the menu but they are automatically put on your plate...The Tunisian equivalent of that seems to be canned tuna fish. A friend of mine was there for six weeks, and it didn't matter what he ordered (even a PLAIN cheese pizza with emphasized CHEESE ONLY), it came adorned with tuna. So, if you order something in a restaurant someday and it arrives with tuna fish plopped on top, you'll know you've strayed across borders and oceans into northern Africa. I can't say anything about grits, as I am such a Yankee that I've never had them. No White Castles around here either... |
|
05 Sep 99 - 01:06 PM (#111653) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: annamill You, my friends, will love this. Grits (I love em') are sold at my place of employment as a breakfast hot cereal, right next to the oatmeal and Cream of Wheat. I work at Bank of New York, Wall Street , New York. I guess there pretty popular here , or, we have a lot of Southerners working there. My love of grits comes from my mom who was born and raised in Greenville, SC. I love 'em with a fried egg on top so I can break the egg and have the yolk drip down into the mound of grits. Then I put a little salt and pepper. Hmmm Hmmm.. Love, annap |
|
05 Sep 99 - 01:35 PM (#111656) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer I guess they may be edible that way. (BG) Bob S. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 01:47 PM (#111660) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 W ehaven't really touched on the virtues of grits yellow cousin, MUSH......Fried up right, it's hard to beat on a winter morning, covered in butter and drowned in REAL maple syrup. 'Course dogshit would probably be good covered in butter and drowned in maple syrup...........but anyway, I do love mush!!! And since we're off on this food thread, I once again bring up my favorite breakfast meat, well sorta'...Krepples or Scrapple which you can read about by CLICKING HERE and of course this is Mudcat where no food discussion would be complete without Possum Bone uh Poteat Spaw |
|
05 Sep 99 - 02:50 PM (#111667) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Hi Pelrad, your probably a bit young to remember White Castle, haven't seen one around these northern parts (Boston) for over 30 years, didn't even know they still existed, always thought that they were driven out when the rail came in. Kinda like a modern Joe & Nemo's without the hot dogs, ugh, not as bad as Boston Baked Beans though. I'd been through the deep south a few time & when traveling once through there with RiGGy we stopped at a truck stop & I wanted to try it (GRITS), well it was alright even pleasent then I some how passed over & ended up in Texas (South America to us far northerners "chuckle") & low & behold in Austin were I got my first & only RCA cowboy hat as a gift from Manny of Texas Hatters I was taken to Falcone's & had Fhaetas (sorry this norther can't spell southern food) & I've never had anything by that name again that was even close to what they served up, spoiled for life. I've tried most of what I could get my hands on when somewhere else except when in Hawaii, it was lunch time & I went to the roach coach (better know as the puke wagon) along with the rest of the guys I worked with & spotted "poi" on the board, said I'm gonna try that. Poi is a staple food along with rice, of the islands that's a mushed root that had a sheen of heavenly blue (Maxwell Parish sp? must've painted that food) well all the guys started laughing & saying no-no you don't wanta do that, to which I replied that like rice the Hawaiians have been eating it with everything for as far back as water. With that they all said ya they were raised on it but it as still god awful & if they hated it & wouldn't touch it then someone from a far distant shore would no doubt die a death of gagging. I thought to myself, I had once nearly been thrown of a boat during a storm because as the greenest crew member I alone was not only holding down my food but was looking to whip up something good to eat, this was a first but I passed on the poi. Sorry to further the thread leap. Barry |
|
05 Sep 99 - 02:51 PM (#111668) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton Bob Schwarer: You're from Janesville? Do you know Jerry Rasmussen's songs? He grew up in Janesville and writes about everything from "Living on the River" to "County Fair" by way of "32nd Army Tank Division Band." Pelrad: The great powers have smiled upon you recently. In spite of Wyo Woman's unfavorable remarks (she takes everything with hot peppers and salsa!), White Castles are now available in the frozen food section of our local grocery store. If we can get 'em here in the northwest corner, you ought to be able to find 'em, too. Instant bite-sized heartburn, but... You've lost Caroline, CatsPaw. Fried mush was something her Georgia-raised mother made for the family, and Caroline loathed it, possibly because she knew it was mostly an economical way to use up yesterday's left-over breakfast. Maybe it was the Karo syrup that killed it for her. They never had real maple syrup in those depression times. Sandy |
|
05 Sep 99 - 03:21 PM (#111675) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Yeah, Sandy. I have Jerry Rasmussen's recordings. I grew up across the street from a bunch of Rasmussens. I asked Jerry if he was one of them, but he said that he wasn't. That particular house was torn down years ago, probably right after WWII. Bob S. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 03:21 PM (#111676) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Will y'all quit talking about FOOD!!! I had to go get some grits today and ended up with a pound of Quaker "Quick Grits" for a buck-thirty-five. Then I simply had to have some sweet corn because Catspaw's been talking about it and I needed a butter facial. The store was completely out!!! Boy, am I bummed - sheer maizery! (No, I haven't yet experienced a craving for dogshit and maple syrup...or frog legs.) |
|
05 Sep 99 - 03:38 PM (#111680) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: kendall morse (don't use) hey catspaw.. Your comment about some foods having a history of being cheap.. then gaining popularity is true. No one is going to believe this, but, many years ago here in Maine, Lobster was so plentiful and under utilized, that people used to use them for fertilizer in their gardens. They were also given to the residents of the "poor house". The times are still a changing. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 03:53 PM (#111684) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barbara Say Barry, I think that wonderful Texas food you're talking about and misspelling as Phaetas, is actually the Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food called Fajitas. A variety of burrito with spicy chicken and fried onions & peppers as the main ingredient? Around HERE (ORegon)they sell permutations of those at Subways and -- hold onto your shorts -- Wendy's (as a Fajita Pita, I'm afraid). Not going to tell you they are anything like what you had in Texas, but they might evoke a memory or two. After all this talk, I had to go out and buy a box of grits yesterday, and I sure like 'em. We got tons of sweet corn around here too, tho ours isn't ripe yet. Just put your mouth up to the drive door, Jeri and I'll shove one in, dang, won't fit. If I were going to grind it myself, anyone know where I could order whole dried hominy? Is that the way you'd do it? Hominy is what, the puffed rice of corn? how do you get from corn to hominy? Blessings, Barbara |
|
05 Sep 99 - 04:13 PM (#111686) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Ain't it amazing Kendall? And that's like Caroline's comment in a way too.......Sandy talked about her hating mush possibly because she knew it was a cheap fixin'. Maybe I'm the "backlash" of that same feeling. As a kid I HATED mush and now I'm thinking that it's presence was so common that I somehow knew this "wasn't what they ate uptown." And now do I enjoy it because of the nostalgia, the great memories of childhood? Meals were a fantastic time in my family. Is that what makes mush so good now? But the price of "fashionable" foods never ceases to amaze me. Fashionable isn't the right word, but when you look at the price of grits, as Jeri just did...........get real. As soon as someone "discovers" a food, the price takes off. Frozen White Castles for gawdsakes! And yeah, I know there is a difference, but I'd just as soon have "puddin'" as mousse(sp). But I DO wonder exactly what chemical concoctions I'm eating that makes whitefish taste like lobster, scallops, and crab!!! Spaw |
|
05 Sep 99 - 04:17 PM (#111687) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Yup, Kendall, I believe, known as slave food in eariler times & to much of it given to servants or slaves was outlawed, used to wash up & litter the beaches after a storm (seacoast's version of a windfall), so I've read, I'm not that old yet. Mussels & mako is another example, you couldn't have given that to a one eyed cat 20 years ago now it's found in fancy resturants at a price that would make any fishmen think that Y2K will be the year to beat all, as long as their fishfinders don't belly up first. Barry, who's now craving a fresh half cooked slab of bluefish smothered in green peppers & onions with a side of sweet butter & sugar corn or is that salt & pepper corn, no, could that be brown & black indian corn, alright please pass the dogshit. Thanks |
|
05 Sep 99 - 04:34 PM (#111697) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: K~~ I read this whole thread on my break and now I'm all hungry and it's still an hour before quitting time **pout** |
|
05 Sep 99 - 04:36 PM (#111699) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sandy Paton Soak that corn in a lye solution, Barbara, as the masochistic Swedes used to do to make lutefisk. Them little ol' kernels'll swell right up and become hominy. Then wash it long enough to get rid of the lye leavin's, theoretically. In order to choke that stuff down, you grind it up into grits. As Utah and Kendall Morse would say, "Good though!" You mean the fajitas at Taco Bell don't cut the mustard, Barry? They may not be Texas, but they're ubiquitous! Kendall, I really like the "seafood" mystery-mix that imitates crabmeat. Make up a "seafood salad" with it now and then, as a break from peanut-butter sandwiches. Caroline reminds me that her mother almost never bothered to fry the mush until it was growing some little blue friends all over the top. Now that might discourage even a fried mush lover dreaming of old family times. Let's hear it for "pooch poop!" Sandy |
|
05 Sep 99 - 05:10 PM (#111704) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Chef Paul P. came up with blackened redfish and almost caused the demise of a previous trash fish (red drum). Also, I read somewhere that the local name for orange roughy is "slime fish". Anyone from Australia or New Zealand confirm that? Bob S. |
|
05 Sep 99 - 05:50 PM (#111711) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Pelrad LOL Barry, nope, I'm not quite old enough to remember White Castles around here. :-) And poi is icky, but it might have been a good experience for you. Doesn't really taste like much, just mashed tubers. And I agree, the fajitas in restaurants around here taste kinda like dirt, after you've had the real thing. I blame it on the bland green things that pass as chilis around here. Anyone want to send some REAL chilis up north? |
|
05 Sep 99 - 05:54 PM (#111712) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Yeah Caroline...kinda' hard to get sentimental over mold, I gotta' agree. Reminds me of my single and twenty something days when Ely Lily bought my fridge to make pennicillin. Spaw |
|
05 Sep 99 - 06:07 PM (#111720) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri My Mom sent me a chocolate chip bundt cake for my birthday when I was in England. It took a month to get there and went from New York to California to Germany and a couple other places. I was damned if I was gonna give up - cut the green stuff off and ate it anyway! (When did we have saurkraut?) |
|
05 Sep 99 - 06:26 PM (#111723) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bill D funny..*grin*...I sit here reading complaints about what they 'do' to grits in Boston, or fajitas in Oregon or BBQ almost ANYWHERE....and all reasonable comments."They have messed up my traditional food with foreign and gratuitous additions and ingredients"..............and there don't seem to be the vociferous arguments that surface when I complain about it being done to songs!....Thought I suppose there are recipe trading bulletin boards where it DOES get nasty.... Just idly musing... |
|
05 Sep 99 - 07:32 PM (#111735) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Sourdough This is going to get to Regional food preferences and even traditional music but I have to go back to the beginning of the story which is travelling in a dugout canoe on the Marrowijne River that separates Suriname from French Guiana in the rainforests of Northeastern South America. I was with a group of people that were setting up arrangements for an anthropologist expedition the interior rainforest of the former Dutch Guiana the following summer. There were five of us outsiders traveling in a 20 metre dugout canoe powered by a 75 horsepower outboard motor. We had two boatmen and a translator as well as a utility type who did most of the cooking. In each village we wished to stay in we had to go through a welcoming ceremony which took quite some time because it required listening to long conversations in the dialect of these people which was made up of several West African languages. They were descendents of former slaves from the coastal plantations who had been living successfully for nearly three centuries in the bush. They were fiercely independent and took the cleansing ceremonies for outsiders very seriously. They had managed to keep their traditions as well as their self-respect even though they were well known to the coastal people where the cities are. Known as Djuka or Aucaner people, they disocuraged vistors but once you made it "in" they were warm and hospitable people. Our boatman was very interested in one particular village, Manlobi which was several days upriver and along our route. There was an obiahman there who had the reputation of being able to cure very serious injuries and illnesses. The boatman knew him because he was one of the more frequent travellers on the river. He usually made a trip every year. He was Djuka but he had chosen to live on the coast. I wish I could think of his name and it probably will come back to me later but I do remember he made a living taking tourists on short canoe trips up to Stoelman's Island and back to Albina, a one day round trip to the furthest settlement where there was electricity and direct communication with the outside world. If any of these place names sound familiar to you it may be because they are near the mouth of the river that leads to Devil's Island and the associated French city, St. Laurent. The boatman had a little farm on the coast and, a few months before, while clearing brush with a "cutlass" (what I had always called a machete) he had hit a stone and the blade had glanced off, struck his leg and severed his Achilles tendon. His impaiment was pretty serious and he had been anxious to take this trip because it meant he would be able to stop off and see Papa Mato in Manlobi. He was convinced Papa Mato would be able to cure him. When we came ashore in Manlobi, even we outsiders could tell that there was something wrong. The people looked listless and paid little attention to our crew. Soon, our interpreter was able to tell us what was wrong. The village had a kind of idol(when I did get to see it quite a while after all of this, it reminded me of an oversized sofa pillow). It was of enormous significance to the people there and it had been stolen. Papa Mato as the religios leader had decreed that there would be no religious celebrations of any sort, including drumming, for a period of time that I don't remember exactly but it was longer than we were going to be there. It also meant that he was not going to be able to treat the boatman's Achilles Tendon. (I have a choice where to go with this story now, to the food or to the music. I think I'll go to the food.) The staple food in this part of South America is manioc root but the variety that grows there is poisonous. The Indians taught the Djuka people how to grind it up by pounding it mercilessly and endlessly in hollowed out tree trunls with a very heavy pole. Then they showed them how to place it in a woven cylindrical sack that is hung from a tree with weights attached to the bottom of the sack. If you've ever seen a Chinese finger-trap toy, you will easily understand how this works. The more pressure i.e. wieght, you hang on the sack, the greater the squeexe. What comes out is a juice with the poison in it. The poison is used on hunting arrows and the 150 pound log of ground manioc, now quite dry, is ready to be cooked in one of the two main ways it is served there. It can be prepared as something like Grape Nuts, little hardirregular balls of the stuff or baked on griddles into a thin round flatbread. In either case, the texture is dry and hard. Since most of the food is stews of one sort or another, the bread can be added as we might rice or used as an implement with which to eat it. It is tasteless and so hard that it makes stale tortilla chips seem flavorful and delicate. If you ar enot careful, it can rip up the insides of your mouth. (I remembered being on the Arizona desert watching a javelina eating cactus, thorns and all and thinking with a mouth like that I could eat the manioc bread.) It was extrememly hard to see how anyone could get excited about sitting down for a meal in which manioc made up the central portion but when I saw not only the villagers eating with pleasure but the boatman and crew who were returning home, eating with the enthusiasm of a Bostonian reclaiming his baked beans or a Texan his barbecue, I could see how much associations have to do with taste. I guess comfort food can be nearly anything. After dinner, I sat next to Papa Mato in his home, a thatched hut with a dirt floor on which no one ever sat. There were always chairs and stools. The translator was busy but when it was my turn to talk, I mentioned music. I had been recording the music of the Djuka whenever I could but it appeared that in this village, because of the recent desecration of their shrine, this would not be possible. There was to be no music. What was particularly disappointing was that the Djuka have a separate tradition of religious drumming that I hadn't heard and Papa Mato was reputed to be an outstanding exponent of the form. I asked if I could play. Would that be all right with Papa Mato and with the villagers? He encouraged me to do so and I brought into the cabin my appalachian dulcimer. Wildwood Flower, Buffalo Gals and Cripple Creek were well received. Then Papa Mato asked to inspect the dulcimer. I passed it to him. He did the usual things of tapping the face, hitting the strings randomly, that sort of exploration. Then he handed it back to me. Everything had gone so well that I now took a chance. I turned it over and beat out a little paradiddle on the back of the instrument. Then I handed it back to the old obiahman. Slowly, at first, and then with increasing strength and purpose, he began drumming with his hands. No one said anything or interrupted him until fifteen minutes or so later he was through. He was transformed, his eyes were clearer, his face more expressive. I don't know exactly what happened but the music had done something to him and for him and even if we didn't know any details, all of us outsiders knew that we had just been a part of something special. We had seen another aspect of the power of music. Hmmm, maybe this should have been better placed in "Why We Sing." |
|
05 Sep 99 - 11:57 PM (#111760) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. We may not have had maple syrup, but we sure as hell had homemade cane syrup (similar to, but not the same as molasses). Used to take the cane to a guy that had a mule-driven squeezer to squeeze out all the cane juice, and then he boiled it down into syrup for a very reasonable price. Now where was it that someone mentioned that dogshit is a staple food? Oh, and regarding Taco Bell, I had a wonderful experience with one in southern Louisiana a few years ago. I guess because I didn't know the local dialect I inadvertantly ordered the chicken salmonella burrito and spent four days of my vacation in a hospital in Lafayette. Wouldn't consider stopping at one now to pee. Chet |
|
06 Sep 99 - 07:54 AM (#111800) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Point of pedantry (food safety tip of the day): Salmonella can take from 6 to 72 to make you sick. The average is somewhere around 24 hours. If you ate something and got sick immediately, it wasn't that meal that caused it, or it wasn't Salmonella. Symptoms include headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. Fever is usually present. And now back to your regularly scheduled program... |
|
06 Sep 99 - 07:56 AM (#111801) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: paddymac Chet W. - Couldn't help but notice the seeming connection between canine tailings and Taco Bell. The really sad part is that there are probably millions of people who define "Taco" by the crap they serve up at TB. Ugh! |
|
06 Sep 99 - 09:00 AM (#111812) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 I want to thank all you jerks on this thread for forcing me to have a Scrapple attack and cook up some beauties this AM. My Triglycerides thank you, my Cholesterol thanks you, and my cardiologist thanks you. Spaw |
|
06 Sep 99 - 09:17 AM (#111815) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Banjer Hey, Catspaw, while you're in the kitchen don't ferget to whip up a mess of grits....OK? |
|
06 Sep 99 - 09:27 AM (#111818) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 As a matter of fact Banj, they're cookin' now. Connie and Wayne spent the night after doing the "Drive-In" and we're having a huge mix and match kinda' breakfast.....biscuits, egg casserole mess (cooked with last nite's leftover ribs, Scrapple, gravy.........you get the idea. We'll be so logged down the rest of the day ................. aw, who cares???? Spaw |
|
06 Sep 99 - 10:20 AM (#111824) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme I had grits for the first and only time in the FAR south---Mexico City. I do believe that these were served with a healthy supply of invisible and not very tasty AMOEBAS on top. By the time I got back to the hotel room I was searching for a commode. That was over 40 years ago---the last time I ever dared to eat 'em. Art |
|
06 Sep 99 - 10:50 AM (#111834) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: dpara So this is the Mudcat Forum, eh?, where the longest detailed thread in three days is about food. I was prepared to leap into the fray about the definition of folk song (if doesn't include dynamic variation over time, what CAN you be talking about) or start a thread about Just where or from whom did Leadbelly learn his version of the Gallows Pole; but no, it's food. Breakfast food, no less, the two great breakfast foods of North and South: White Castles and grits. Growing up in Chicago, I knew that White Castles, or the Ivory Room, or the Porcelain Palace was indeed the only thing open past 11 p.m., and there was one every eight blocks or so. Like bratwurst grilled on along the Danube in Regensburg, you order them in multiples of two. After al these years, my first box of frozen White Castles was a disappointment. My God, they left out the pickle. How cheap can you get? Even my brother disdains them, the one who lives in Boulder and includes a stop at White Castles between the airport and my mother's house. My cousin, once taking on the chauffer's job warned him,"Look, you can't eat White Castles in my car. I'll let you SMOKE in my car, but you can't eat White Castles." It is interesting that the ad slogan for White Castles now is "What you Crave." All non-relevant references to nutritional value are are forgotten. My mother got a nice home version for White Castles, "Sliders," which uses small party rolls spread with a mixture of ground beef, onion dip and cheddar cheese, and of course, pickle slices. It's a great appetizer, especially among guests of mixed regional backgrounds. I can't believe you all let the green chili grits recipe go by without requesting it. That sounds really great, and I will try to get it from WyoWoman, who must be or has been a musician, because they are omnivores by experience. It probably has to do with being let in through the kitchen all the time. In the Memphis Commercial Appeal once I caught a discussion about grits. It had nothing to do with their desirability or value as food -- that was a given. No, it had to do with speech and grammar. It was whether the word "grits" was singular or plural. (i.e., "Grits is on the menu in the South," or "Grits are best enjoyed at breakfast with egg yolk, butter and salt and at dinner as cheese grits casserole.") Many letters were offered, much like this thread. The definitive comment was as follows: Cornbread IS. Pork chops ARE Grits AM. Look, you all, I'm starting to think about my next meal. dave |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:11 AM (#111838) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme White Castle sliders have exactly the same effect on me is as that rather large dose of amoebas had. Dave, Where in Chicago were you from? Did we ever talk about that in all the time we've known each other? Strange. Art |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:14 AM (#111841) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Never heard of anyone eating a "grit". Bob S. |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:14 AM (#111842) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Another pedantic post pertinent to poop - you can get sick with amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery a few days after eating the Bad Food, but the incubation period is usually 2-4 weeks. Coulda been Clostridium perfringens at 6 - 12 hours, Staph poisoning at 1 - 6 hours or Bacillus cereus (8 - 12 hours but the vomiting part can happen at 2 - 4 hours). That last one is found in starchy foods like rice, pasta and potatoes and gets to sick-making levels when the food is left at room temperatures. Go here for more than you want to know: FDA Bad Bug Book |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:25 AM (#111849) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dale Rose Dave, I know this is off topic, (we do that a lot) but the discussion on the definition of folk music has been discussed, cussed and recussed many times over the last few years, and no doubt will be again. As for your thread on Just where or from whom did Leadbelly learn his version of the Gallows Pole?, well, just start it and see where it takes you! |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:35 AM (#111852) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman OK, I'm sitting here munching some leftover Green Chile/Cheese Grits, which were a huge hit at the bluegrass jam I attended Saturday night. And since Dave asked, I'm sharing (and yes, my experience has been the some of the lengthiest, most vociferous threads on this site end up being about food. Which pleases me -- gotta love a good eater, since I'm a good cooker) my recipe for GC/CG. TA-DAH!!! Green Chile/Cheese Grits 2 cups water 1/2 cup grits 4 ounces (or more if it pleases you) grated cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped green chile (drained, if it's frozen)(whether you choose mild, medium, hot or utterly incendiary is up to you. Some green chile is very mild, but flavorful.) 1 egg minced garlic to taste salt and pepper In saucepan, slowly stir grits into boiling water. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Cook 5-7 minutes or until thickened, stirring often. (If you try to cook it with the lid off, the boiling grits go off like Old Faithful) Stir in cheese, green chile, egg, garlic, salt and pepper. Combine well. Pour in oiled casserole dish (I use a big, cast-iron skillet, sprayed with cooking spray). Bake in 350 degree F. oven for about 45 minutes, or until a cold knife inserted in the middle comes our relatively clean. (It can still be a little gooey...) Serve with a side of black beans or yummy pintos and a good beer and ya'll got a good ol' cross-cultural meal, amigo. ;-} ww
|
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:36 AM (#111853) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Art, my first few years were in Chicago also. The last place we lived was on 63rd street, about where the expressway/interstate goes thru. This would have been 1939. We left in February & headed to Wisconsin after my father died. Also lived in a place near Parnell & 70th St. Just across from the railroad tracks. Went by there again about 1960 or so when I was working in Barrington. The place was run-down, but still standing. Too late for the place on 63rd. It was long gone. Used to get into some of the White Sox games free. It was a Parks Dept. program. All we needed was our streetcar fare. Once some of us kids tried to walk to the airport (what is now Midway). Got as far as California & turned back. This would have been 1937/38. Got my first airplane ride there. A Ford tri-motor. Bob S. |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:50 AM (#111856) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Pelrad Now, 'Spaw, seems to me YOU are the one who mentioned scrapple, so you can't blame us. If you'd had a grits attack, then we couldn't deny it. :-) Sourdough, what a great story, thank you for sharing! ('m so jealous; here I am sitting on an Anthropology degree and doing nothing with it.) And WW, thanks for the recipe. I wasn't sure you would share, so I was trying to glean a general recipe from your post. Now I just have to find some grits and some decent chilis. I, for one, have been taking care to visit this thread only after I have eaten a full meal. lol |
|
06 Sep 99 - 12:01 PM (#111858) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Pelrad -- I know, I know -- one of my major challenges in moving to Wyoming was just finding INGREDIENTS! But all of a sudden a few months ago our local grocery store started carrying frozen green chile. Bueno brand, just what I used to get in New Mexico when the stuff I'd had roasted and frozen ran out before the new harvest. So, it's out there. What part of the world do you live in? Maybe you can ask your grocer to order it?
|
|
06 Sep 99 - 09:42 PM (#111990) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Art Thieme Bob, I know those areas well. I used to drive a cab in Chicago. But you were ahead of me. I was born in '41. I used to take the "L" to 63rd & Stony Island and walk over to Mandel Hall at the University of Chicago for the folk festival every January. Either that or the Illinois Central out to 57th St. We lived on the North side but we'd ride the Clark Street bus all the way south to 35th St. and go to the Sox Games. It took about 2 hours on the bus to get there. There wa a local legendary type of guy who'd ride the Clark St. bus all the time named "Casey Jones". He always traveled with a live chicken on a leash. Attached to his belt he had a toy phone and a doll. He'd talk through that little phone and hold conversations with the doll and the chicken. He was a great old Chicago character. Bill Veeck was around about then. I'll never forget the time he pulled up his pants leg and put out his cigaette on his LEG. That was when I realized he had a wooden leg with an ashtray in it! Art |
|
06 Sep 99 - 10:33 PM (#111998) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Roger in Baltimore Catspaw, So you like scrapple, but aren't fond of hominy. Oh do I have the dish for you. Around here they make a concoction called "Pudding". No, not the Bill Cosby stuff. It is a concoction of meat by-products. In fact, it is simply scrapple without the corn meal. Now, you wouldn't want to eat it by itself. Refrigerated, it comes in blocks (poured into an aluminum loaf pan). A slice in the frying pan, however, soon turns into a semiliquid mess. Well, the only way to eat "Pudding" is with Hominy. Now you can put the hominy on the side or you can put the "Pudding" over the top like gravy on mashed potatoes. But you eat 'em together. Lots of Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) in Carroll County and this is a traditional breakfast treat. The main reason I go to Church Breakfast's in my county is to get a couple of helpings of Hominy and Pudding. Local restaurants are seldom bold enough to have this dish on their menu. Scrapple is pretty common on menus. Gee, Sandy, I like Hominy better than grits. And after you have had your Hominy and Pudding you might want to prepare for Cottage Cheese and Apple Butter for lunch or dinner. These two dishes show up on many a salad bar for they are a classic Carroll County side dish when combined. And speaking of Apple Butter, the only civilized way to eat scrapple is covered with a layer of refrigerated Apple Butter. Oh the crispness of the scrapple mingles with the soft texture of the apple butter. The hot greasy fried taste of the scrapple is countered by the sweet coolness of the apple butter. Hm, Hm, good! Well, it could be I'm going off the diet this weekend just because of this thread. Big RiB |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:00 PM (#112006) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Barry Finn Hi Roger, how can you eat that stuff, sounds like you just bled a tree & a bear & put it to a warm mix, but you make it sound so interesting. You wouldn't by chance be whipping up any of this so called breakfast food at the getaway would you? Barry |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:15 PM (#112009) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: alison Hi, An Ulster fry probably differs (answers to a question way higher up this thread)... because we have potato bread and soda farls fried which may not be available for the english version........ ( we can also add fried bread and pancakes...... basically if it fits in the pan... it's included) slainte alison |
|
06 Sep 99 - 11:26 PM (#112010) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman OK, I"ve been accused of liking everything with chiles and hot peppers on it, BUT ... If you haven't tried posole, you've never REALLY had hominy. It's this delicious soup that's made with a broth base (I use chicken or veggie broth to accommodate my vegetarian daughter, but I think pork stew meat is more traditional) and hominy and salt and a little garlic and some red chile flakes and a little oregano or cilantro (easy does it) in it. And you serve red chile on the side (real New Mexican red chile, not the Tex-Mex stuff with hamburger and beans, which is chili...) and pinto beans and maybe some shredded, cooked pork (beef can be substituted) roast and ... mmm, what a feast. If anyone wants the recipe ... WW |
|
07 Sep 99 - 12:11 AM (#112027) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 HEY BIG RiB !!! I remember your description from another food thread RiB....Sounded good then...Sounds good NOW!!! So the Finn and I are in line for a serve-up of this at the getaway. Now I know you're staying at the Super 8, but I'd be more than happy to have a breakfast buffet at my camper......Lessee....... grits, WW's green chile grits, Scrapple, Puddin' & hominy.................so we line up a few 'Catters to come over since the FSGW folks are short on food fixing anyhow......and SusanA-R has that restaurant and uh, ....soundin' good....... Ya know, I just took a 5 minute break and actually thought about this. It started out as some fun BS, but hellfire...THIS IS DOABLE!!! Wonder who else is at the Travel Trailer Village? I gotta' think about this some more....could work. Spaw |
|
07 Sep 99 - 01:26 AM (#112036) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Big Mick Count me in on breakfast, you have me so damn hungry...............I worked up an appetite with THE FAIR ONE out behind the Mudcat Tavern 9. OOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh but we are going to enjoy this Getaway.......Damn, can't wait. Mick |
|
07 Sep 99 - 08:31 AM (#112075) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Allan C. I guess I like grits just about any way you can fix 'em. I like to put a gob of them on top of some sunny-side-up eggs, add extreme amounts of pepper and some salt, then break the yolks allowing them to mix into the grits. Yum! But I also like them in a bowl with butter, sugar or honey, and milk. A little-known bit of presidential trivia: Ike ate grits for breakfast nearly every day of his adult life. |
|
07 Sep 99 - 09:20 AM (#112080) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Yeah........So, like, uh, what?...........Is that an endorsement of grits? I mean, 'cause if Ol' Ike is some kinda' "Poster Child" for grits.........well........I mean like there you have it! Spaw |
|
07 Sep 99 - 12:51 PM (#112142) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Alison, thanks - we can get potato farls, and soda farls over here. Also Staffordshire oatcakes which are like pancakes, and are wrapped around the bacon and dipped in the runny egg yolks. And on your principle of it fits, fried bread, and yesterdays' cunningly planned leftover potatoes, mashed or sliced, and bubble-and-squeak (would this be acceptable if called fried colcannon?). I think all those ands should read or. So, basically, its not so much what you fry as where you fry it. Penny |
|
07 Sep 99 - 01:22 PM (#112150) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Allan C. 'Spaw, it so very difficult and an awful burden for one to carry around such a heavy load of useless and pointless information. And so, with hope of relief nearly gone, an opportunity - however flimsy - appears and suddenly the load is lightened ever so slightly. I can offer no other justification for having submitted this true gem of information. I remain grateful for the lighter burden. |
|
07 Sep 99 - 01:26 PM (#112152) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bert Knew this woman who loved grits. But she complained that English food was bland!!! Never did figure that one out. Give me an English breakfast any time. Bacon, eggs, mushrooms, potatoes (maybe bubble & squeak), fried tomatoes, a couple of slices of black pudding or kidney, fried bread (in bacon grease of course). - Aaaahhh Grits? Huh! The bag that they come in is probably tastier. Bert. |
|
07 Sep 99 - 01:32 PM (#112153) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Always happy to oblige Allan. I feel your pain ( and I suspect most others hanging out around this place do too). Ike also had a couple of weimeraners, some of the earlier ones in this country, yet I've seen two different specials on "First Dogs" and it's never mentioned. I wonder why? Was it because they lived at Gettysburg and not at the White House? Sorry Allan, didn't mean to return the serve. Spaw |
|
07 Sep 99 - 04:45 PM (#112232) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: :-) burp |
|
07 Sep 99 - 04:51 PM (#112234) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Steve Latimer I first experienced Grits while in Florida escaping a Toronto winter. I always attempt to try local dishes where ever I go. I really liked grits as described above, a pat of butter, salt and pepper and some egg yolk stirred in. I find them to be quite a bit like Cream of Wheat in taste and texture. Some of the other delicacies I tried down there are catfish, which I thought I'd hate but really enjoyed, Barbecue which although we have barbecues in Canada I have never experienced anything like the Ribs, Chicken and Pork I had in Florida. I enjoyed Chicken Fried Steak, although I know it can't be healthy and while on that topic, what's with sausage gravy? It has to rival our Canadian dish, Poutine (Chips smothered in ultra thick gravy and melted cheese) as the quickest way to O.D. from fat and cholesterol. Having said that I make sure that all breaksfasts I have in the southern States include Grits and biscuits and sausage gravy. In keeping with the tradition of sampling local wares, I once did some substantial single malt sampling while in Edinburgh. I woke up the next morning feeling one heartbeat ahead of death and my head feeling like it had been hit by a stray caber. I went downstairs for breakfast which was included with the lodging, but there was no menu, they just served eveyone the same thing. I have a rock solid constitution. I was given fried bread, which I could barely get down, and then the waitress brought one of those little covered serving dishes. Uncovering it revealed Kippers, a couple of yellow looking dead fish staring up at me. It was the only time in my life I've ever had to flee a table.
|
|
07 Sep 99 - 08:58 PM (#112285) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. More food threads! By the way, jer, it was Salmonella I had in Louisiana. I know the symptoms, the timing, and it was also what the doctors in Lafayette said I had, although they wouldn't say it to the insurance people afterward. Never seen a community (Morgan City/Franklin/Houma, Louisiana) close ranks against a passer-through as they did with me. I have only bad wishes for Taco Bell, as would most people who were nearly done in by their negligence. Take yer best shot. Chet |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:04 PM (#112309) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Lordy, Steve L., that was graphic enough to have ME like ta' hurl... HOWEVER, I just had my first bacon and HOMEGROWN tomato sandwich of the season, so I am a happy, happy camper. I only buy a pound of bacon a year, right at this time, when the tomatoes finally start bearing. One simply has to have a bacon and tomato sandwich with a lot of pepper and salt at the end of summer -- otherwise, how can fall arrive? Yummo. ww |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:15 PM (#112311) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Big Mick Hey WW..........Got a little extra bacon cooked? I am dying for one of those sandwiches and a cup of coffee. Mick |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:15 PM (#112313) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeri Oh great, WW - now I have to go buy some bacon to go with the tomatoes! Anyone want to know how a foodborne illness investigation gets around to pinpointing what food caused it? (***THWAK-SPLAT***) YOWCH!!! Who threw that enchilada!? Alright, I can take a hint... |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:17 PM (#112314) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Mick -- sure, Sugar. You just come on over and I'll throw some bacon in the pan. Coffee's always fresh and hot at Mama Wyo's Off-Ramp Cafe....
|
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:17 PM (#112315) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dave Swan Bob raises a point which troubles this native Californian mightily. No one ever speaks of a grit. Always in the plural. Why ? Maybe I'm not really hungry and all I want is a grit. Would that single kernel be a grits then? If so what's the unsung plural of grits, gritti? That sounds Italian to me. "Augustino, how are the gritti this evening?" And while we're at it, what in the name of description is pone? I've got the corn part (maize for the English speakers in the audience) but pone? Why are there no other kinds of pone? One never hears someone wax poetic about settin' on the ol' Chevy seat on the front porch, scratching the ol' hound dog and scarfing up some apple pone. Why not? Can anyone out there enlighten me? Note to Wyo Woman: about twenty minutes from my house is a restaurant where you're greeted by the whap-whap-whap of corn tortillas being made by hand. I bet I could air freight some to you and they would be close to right. If ever you're a hankerin' for tortillas done right let me know. E.S. |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:25 PM (#112317) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman Yes, yes, yes, yes. I LOVE fresh corn tortillas. There was this wonderful restaurant in New Mexico (Old Mexico Grill) that served the best corn tortillas. Little, bitty things, and so tasty ... My daughter and I used to go and have big bowls of garlic soup and a stack of corn tortillas. The ones we get in the stores here taste like the boxes the grit comes in... How could we arrange this , mmm, shipment? WW |
|
07 Sep 99 - 10:32 PM (#112321) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dave Swan Hit the e-mail listed for me on bbc's page. I'll catch up with it tomorrow. We'll figure out likely dates and so on. Fire a few e-mails back and forth, and you're scarfing tortillas a mano in no time. E.S. Now then, who's going to let me out of my etymological quandry? |
|
08 Sep 99 - 12:31 AM (#112351) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 I dunno El Swanno........I just had a look at a singular grit and to be honest, the fucker's so small that you could fit 183 of 'em up a flea's ass.....not much hardy eatin' there! Spaw |
|
08 Sep 99 - 01:06 AM (#112355) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dave Swan Would a flea's ass yield a soprano ocarina ? Just curious. E.S. |
|
08 Sep 99 - 08:00 AM (#112396) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Allan C. Grits is a plural collective like rice. Rice used to be rouse in olden times; but then hardly anyone ever ate just one rouse so they started referring to it (them) as rice. Unfortunately some of the finer distinctions of the language get lost as you head south in the USA and eventually you arrive at a place where you are told, "Them are grits." |
|
08 Sep 99 - 08:48 AM (#112410) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Dani Well, y'all, you just ruined a perfectly good bowl of Cheerios... I could walk out my back door, across the street and eat my fill of grits and bacon, sausage gravy and biscuits, pig any way you want it. Got to stay barricaded in MY house or I wouldn't fit THROUGH that back door. Now, a staple I haven't seen mentioned is the condiment that is a permanent fixture on THESE Southern breakfast tables: a bottle of Texas Pete (from Garner, NC, go figure) to garnish the puddle of butter on your pile 'o grits. And another thing.... Hoppin' John's is alright for those fancy-dancy folks who like their pedigrees, but I'll be happy to ship gratis a pound or two of hearty long cooking (sprinkle 'em in a grain at a time) grits for anyone who's homesick or yankee or curious, george - whichever ails ya. And thanks for the recipe! Now I know what we're having for supper tonight.... |
|
08 Sep 99 - 09:48 AM (#112437) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Of course if real grits is what you want, you got to get corn already rancid, spread it on hard clay and stomp on it with you hogsewage-coated boots until they're just right. Stomp long enough and you may not even have to cook them. Good eatin', Chet |
|
08 Sep 99 - 11:06 AM (#112464) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: N.C. Girl Most of what I have had the time to read on the Grits recipe is pretty accurate, as far as the salt and pepper, butter, gravy etc. I did not see one which mentioned bacon crumbled up in them. That is really good too. Also, try Garlic, not a whole lot, and grate up some cheddar cheese in them. That is really good. My kids like them with cinnamon and sugar. YUK!!!! Oh! almost forgot this one. Spread them on a cold or warm piece of toast like jelly. That is good too! |
|
08 Sep 99 - 11:28 AM (#112474) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bill D how to get 1 (one) grit...or one wheat germ...or one Grape Nut..... ready? ....cereal dilution... (oh, c'mon, ya gotta say it out loud....and ya gotta be up on lab techniques...and...oh, never mind..) |
|
08 Sep 99 - 11:32 AM (#112475) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: catspaw49 Or why not just cook up a batch and then flush 'em down the head right away, thus eliminating the middle man?(:+) Actually, it's more fun to make fun of grits and some other classic regional foods than anything else. Truth told, I like them about as much as I do Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice.......both slightly different, but similar. I've just never wanted them fouling up my eggs, that's a potato's job. When I mix my runny eggs with grits, I need a spoon to eat them. And I don't use ketchup either....My Dad used ketchup on damn near everything and I thought that was the way everyone did things. I now eat my steaks "Seared"....and I'd prefer raw if the numbnuts in the kitchen can't figure out how to cook one XXXXXXXXrare. My dad always ordered steak "medium-well" and of course I did too; I think I was in my teens before I realized that medium-well wasn't a cut of meat! Some things you get over, some you don't.....My Mom did her best to teach table manners, but with my Dad for a role model it was hopeless. Karen is having the same problem of course with our sons....especially Michael...He's "Daddy's boy" alright! Sweet Corn season has ended here and once again I've escaped without a divorce, although Michael and I have often found ourselves alone at the table............... Spaw -- Who's getting more serious about this FSGW breakfast idea! |
|
08 Sep 99 - 11:36 AM (#112476) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer These recipes sound great. Just throw the grit(s) away and eat everything else. Still get your fat/cholesterol hit. Bob S. |
|
08 Sep 99 - 02:08 PM (#112525) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. I don't know whether to be sorry I started this or delighted. You have reminded me about the Norman kipper I have in the freezer. And that I have now found stockist of Craster kippers. And that Waitrose sells Manx kippers "caught in the Irish Sea" ??? The Norman kipper came from our annual French market, which usually has bi-libual notices. This one just said "Kippers". So I asked what the French was - now you have to say this with an exaggerated French accent - "Kipperes". I raised my eyebrows. "They used to be called Aroung fumee (spelling wrong), but now, in Normandy at least, we call them kippers." But it is a properly smoked, no colouring kipper, and I'm going home for it now. Penny |
|
09 Sep 99 - 09:48 AM (#112775) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Bert Ah! kippers, We can get them here sometimes, shipped down from Halifax, Nova Scotia. I envy you the real ones though Penny. It's the other good stuff that I miss, Buckling, Bloaters, Whelks, REAL shrimp (all we get here are prawns), smoked haddock, rock eel. Hey, I've just found out there's a Chinese Market in Philadelphia where you can buy winkles; you have to cook them yourself though. Think I'll go and get some this weekend. Bert. P.S. As for grits, I think you can buy them in England at a corn chandler's, where they sell something pretty similar as chicken feed. |
|
10 Sep 99 - 05:05 PM (#113248) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. That kipper was TOO salty! |
|
10 Sep 99 - 07:59 PM (#113277) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Chet W. That's learning the hard way! Chet |
|
11 Sep 99 - 12:17 AM (#113333) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: WyoWoman There is a guy in my office who persists in opening these tins of "kipper snacks" for a nice little afternoon munch. They stink up the entire office -- it's amazing such little bitty fish can fill such a huge space with odor. At first, I think he didn't realize how loud they smelled. Now, I think he just opens them to see me twitch! Is this the kippers of which y'all speak? Hmmm. Kippers 'n' grits. Now THAT's cross-cultural! ww |
|
11 Sep 99 - 05:45 AM (#113360) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Jeremiah McCaw "I'd like to try some grits, please, ma'am." "Hominy?" "Oh, just two or three." Oh, c'mon, ONE of youse was thinkin' it at least! My first encounter with grits was just a couple years back when I drove to Florida (from near Toronto) with a couple of friends. The prevalent chain along our route was the "Waffle House" - pretty fair cheap brekkie stuff. I saw grits on the menu. Now I been hearing references to grits all my life. Hadda try 'em, y'know. Why the hell didn't somebody tell me grits was just cornmeal porridge?! BIG disappointment. Didn't taste like anything at all. Started to experiment with anything in reach, and ended up with the butter, salt & pepper combo, and got them (it?) somewhat palatable. The fried thing with syrup sounds a lot like what one friend describes from his youth as "johnnycake". Thread creep: I'd heard about (and even tried up here) chicken-fried steak. Loved it, right from the concept (take THAT, health nuts!) to the taste; but I knew I had to try it in its natural habitat. Last year's drive down to visit friends in Austin provided the opportunity. Just the thought of deep-fried breaded chopped sirloin smothered in chicken gravy caused my arteries to begin to collapse in joyous anticipation. In the space of a week, I managed to have it 'bout 4 or 5 times. Now somewhere between Austin and Luckenbach is a restaurant called the "Hill Country Baker" (near Johnson City, I think). What choice did we have? - sign outside said, "World's best chicken-fried steak! Nearly three dozen sold!" Best I had whilst down there, I do believe. Lookin' forward to goin' back for three reasons: my friends, the music (Luckenbach on a Sunday afternoon is a delight) and the food. Texas - good. |
|
11 Sep 99 - 04:50 PM (#113449) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: Penny S. Well, as I ate that kipper, I did think that it needed something bland and cereal-like to tone it down, and grits sure crossed my mind. Especially as I often eat strong flavoured fish with couscous or bulghur wheat. It goes well. I'm going back to Craster or Loch Fyne. Penny |
|
11 Sep 99 - 06:00 PM (#113472) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: wildlone Get this all.My dear white haired old mother[who sang in the George Mitchel choir]has just come in and saw grits, she said"If you want decent grits,go to a decent builders merchant".Dont you just love them.WL. |
|
24 Oct 99 - 12:17 PM (#127486) Subject: RE: BS: Grits From: bob schwarer Did not reread the entire thread, again so this may be here.
Found the grits homepage at naturally, www.grits.com Bob S. |