Grits & Cornbread.....Originals For You

For Yankees & Yawls Thank ye for taking time to visit our site. Your input is very important to us; therefore, we welcome your comments and/or creative ideas.If you have anything to contribute to the Hillbilly Southern Dictionary, Southern Sayins, Old Wives' Tales, or Recipes, please submit them to dfree@otelco.net Deep in the South, grits are whats for breakfast, dinner and supper! If you're a true Southern cook you already have a container of bacon grease on your stove. I use olive oil because it's heart healthy. If you want to make cornbread like my granmomma made it, use bacon drippings. Either way, git it ready - you'll need it to git started along with sweet ice tea, several iron skillets, lots o' gravy ('specially Red Eye). You should also know how to cook grits! Grits, similar to polenta, is served up with cheese, onion, and garlic. Grits are great with shrimp, sausage, or just plain with butter. Southern Grits Ingredients: 2 cups water 1 1/4 cups milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup quick cooking grits, not instant 1/2 cup butter In a medium pot, bring water, milk, and salt to a boil. Slowly stir grits into boiling mixture. Stir continuously and thoroughly until grits are well mixed. Let the pot return to a boil, cover pot with a lid, lower the temperature, and cook over low heat anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, or more, depending on the coarseness of the grind, stirring occasionally. Add more water if necessary. Grits are done when they have the consistency of smooth cream of wheat. Stir in half the butter and when the grits are soft, add more butter and serve. Don't forget the salt and pepper on top.....yummm!! History of Grits Grits are an integral part of our food history. For nearly four hundred years, families have been enjoying this delicious food. Grits date as far back as 1607, when the colonists came ashore at Jamestown, Virginia. They were met by friendly Native Americans offering steaming hot bowls of "rockahominie," which was softened maize seasoned with salt and animal fat. It was here that our passion for grits was born. Throughout the years, grits have developed into a comfort food that many families enjoy not only for breakfast, but as a delicious side dish for meals as well. Known as the "Southern oatmeal" before air conditioning was invented; grits were preferred over oatmeal because they could withstand the heat and humidity found in the South. Grits have also been credited with getting many Southern families through the Depression Era of the 1930's. Since grits were plentiful and inexpensive, they were a blessing during this bleak time in America's history. As times have changed, grits have evolved from a regional food often used for survival to a food of choice and comfort in many American homes. Their convenience and delicious taste have made them a favorite for busy moms and their children. Grits have also gone upscale, being featured on menus in many five-star restaurants throughout the country. The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground. Some cookbooks refer to grits as hominy because of regional preference for the name. Americans have been using the term "grits" since at least the end of the 18th century. Dont forgit G.R.I.T.S. means (Girls Raised In The South)!...lol What are Grits Hominy grits, or just plain grits, are an institution here in the South, though they can be hard to find in northern states. Hominy is made from flint or dent corn,varieties with hard kernels that are dried on the cob then removed and soaked in a solution of baking soda, lime, or wood ash. This process causes the hulls to soften and swell. The kernels are then hulled and degermed using friction, then dried. Grits, coarse whitish grains, are ground from hominy, as is masa harina, the flour used to make corn tortillas. (granny sais they grow on trees!) Ham and Red Eye Gravy Ingredients: 1 (3-pound) country ham, store bought, sliced 2 tablespoons fat from the ham 1/2 cup coffee 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons butter 1 beef bouillon cube (optional) Grits, recipe above Heat iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fat from the ham and render. When the fat is rendered, add the ham steaks and pan-fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside on a plate and keep warm. To the pan, add the coffee and water and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the butter and the bouillon cube and stir to incorporate. Serve the gravy over the ham steaks on grits. Click here for more recipes Southern Cornbread Being of southern heritage, I have a great fondness for cornbread.--piping hot and moist, buttered and very crispy--cornbread is the perfect complement to any meal. I lOve grits, And black-eyed peas, And collard greens, too. Which go very well with cornbread. Warning to all y'all yankees and other non-Alabamians, y'all probably aren't going to like this. What you should do, is modify your cornbread recipe to have more baking-powder/salt so it will rise up and be lighter, and y'all seem to like having sugar in yer cornbread, which ruins it, yep. Instead of sugar, why don't ya try putting a bit of honey on it before eating it, that way any Alabamian nearby won't gag or nothing...lol Really, this is the way it supposed to be. I wouldn't joke about something serious like cornbread. Be sure and make enough so you'll have some leftover. Then, what you do is break it up into chunks, and put it in a bowl, or even better in a soup mug or drinking glass (what y'all call a "tumbler" or something) pour some milk over it and eat it with a spoon. What they call "cornbread and sweetmilk". Beats cornflakes! Cornbread was being made by Native Americans long before the first Europeans settled the Americas. The earliest cornbreads were called "pone", from the Algonquin word "apan", and were a simple mixture of cornmeal, salt, and water. No one really knows why cornbread recipes differ so much between the Northern and Southern states. Northern cornbreads use significant amounts of sugar and flour, while Southern cornbreads use none at all. Makin the best cornbread requires a cast-iron skillet, so if you all only have one of those wimpy frying pans with a wooden or plastic handle, you've got to make a trip to the store. Where can you find a good cast-iron skillet? How To Consume Cornbread Serve hot. Slather with butter or margarine. Best served with southern "soul food," pot likker, vegetables, or soup. Real Southern Cornbread Ingredients: 2 cups of self rising cornmeal 1/4 cup of oil or shortening 1 cup of REAL buttermilk(made from milk straight from the cow) 1 fresh egg 1- 9 inch iron skillet Preheat the oven to 425° Put about 3 tablespoons of oil or shortening in iron skillet then heat in the oven at 425°. While it is heating, beat the egg, oil and milk, Combine the cornmeal. Remove skillet from oven, pour your mixture in batter will sizzle and return to the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. If your skillet is seasoned properly then it should remove from the pan with a crispy brown crust. I have used mayonaise instead of the 1 egg and it tasted so good! I got so many compliments that day, so now I use mayo all of the time. With the REAl milk and this combination...the cornbread was just soooo goood! Try it!! Of course it is hard to find milk straight from the cow. Here are a few places you can try. Real Milk? Health benefits of Real Milk. Hunt all the receipts you'uns lak but don't hunt the bears. They tend to git a little ear-a-tated. Have you ever seen a mad hillbilly bear? He's makes a junkyard dawg look lak a lap puppy. Click here for more cornbread recipes Cornbread Tips: For a crusty cornbread, make sure there is a good "layer" of oil or shortening in the pan. A tablespoon of mayonnaise can be substituted for the egg. Use muffin or cornstick pans (preferably iron), to vary the shape. Instead of baking, fry the batter like pancakes. When directions on cornbread says to stir until moistened,be sure to do exactly this.Overbeating can result in a dense cornbread instead of light and fluffy.I "figger" you have enough Frisbees without baking your own. Y'all be good now, ya heer? Home Kudzu Prim Candles Southern Recipes My Home Town~Dixie Letters Sayins and Tales Links E-Mail Southern Belles Grits & Cornbread! Southern Remedies 355 DOWLOADABLE Printables!! HOME Content Copyright Originals For You

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking grits, not instant
1/2 cup butter

In a medium pot, bring water, milk, and salt to a boil. Slowly stir grits into boiling mixture. Stir continuously and thoroughly until grits are well mixed. Let the pot return to a boil, cover pot with a lid, lower the temperature, and cook over low heat anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, or more, depending on the coarseness of the grind, stirring occasionally. Add more water if necessary. Grits are done when they have the consistency of smooth cream of wheat. Stir in half the butter and when the grits are soft, add more butter and serve. Don't forget the salt and pepper on top.....yummm!!

History of Grits

Grits are an integral part of our food history. For nearly four hundred years, families have been enjoying this delicious food. Grits date as far back as 1607, when the colonists came ashore at Jamestown, Virginia. They were met by friendly Native Americans offering steaming hot bowls of "rockahominie," which was softened maize seasoned with salt and animal fat. It was here that our passion for grits was born.

Throughout the years, grits have developed into a comfort food that many families enjoy not only for breakfast, but as a delicious side dish for meals as well. Known as the "Southern oatmeal" before air conditioning was invented; grits were preferred over oatmeal because they could withstand the heat and humidity found in the South.

Grits have also been credited with getting many Southern families through the Depression Era of the 1930's. Since grits were plentiful and inexpensive, they were a blessing during this bleak time in America's history.

As times have changed, grits have evolved from a regional food often used for survival to a food of choice and comfort in many American homes. Their convenience and delicious taste have made them a favorite for busy moms and their children. Grits have also gone upscale, being featured on menus in many five-star restaurants throughout the country.

The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground. Some cookbooks refer to grits as hominy because of regional preference for the name. Americans have been using the term "grits" since at least the end of the 18th century. Dont forgit G.R.I.T.S. means (Girls Raised In The South)!...lol

What are Grits

Hominy grits, or just plain grits, are an institution here in the South, though they can be hard to find in northern states. Hominy is made from flint or dent corn,varieties with hard kernels that are dried on the cob then removed and soaked in a solution of baking soda, lime, or wood ash. This process causes the hulls to soften and swell. The kernels are then hulled and degermed using friction, then dried. Grits, coarse whitish grains, are ground from hominy, as is masa harina, the flour used to make corn tortillas. (granny sais they grow on trees!)

Ham and Red Eye Gravy

Ingredients:

1 (3-pound) country ham, store bought, sliced
2 tablespoons fat from the ham
1/2 cup coffee
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 beef bouillon cube (optional)
Grits, recipe above

Heat iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fat from the ham and render. When the fat is rendered, add the ham steaks and pan-fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside on a plate and keep warm. To the pan, add the coffee and water and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the butter and the bouillon cube and stir to incorporate. Serve the gravy over the ham steaks on grits.

Click here for more recipes

Southern Cornbread

Being of southern heritage, I have a great fondness for cornbread.--piping hot and moist, buttered and very crispy--cornbread is the perfect complement to any meal. I lOve grits, And black-eyed peas, And collard greens, too. Which go very well with cornbread.

Warning to all y'all yankees and other non-Alabamians, y'all probably aren't going to like this. What you should do, is modify your cornbread recipe to have more baking-powder/salt so it will rise up and be lighter, and y'all seem to like having sugar in yer cornbread, which ruins it, yep. Instead of sugar, why don't ya try putting a bit of honey on it before eating it, that way any Alabamian nearby won't gag or nothing...lol

Really, this is the way it supposed to be. I wouldn't joke about something serious like cornbread.

Be sure and make enough so you'll have some leftover. Then, what you do is break it up into chunks, and put it in a bowl, or even better in a soup mug or drinking glass (what y'all call a "tumbler" or something) pour some milk over it and eat it with a spoon. What they call "cornbread and sweetmilk". Beats cornflakes!

Cornbread was being made by Native Americans long before the first Europeans settled the Americas. The earliest cornbreads were called "pone", from the Algonquin word "apan", and were a simple mixture of cornmeal, salt, and water. No one really knows why cornbread recipes differ so much between the Northern and Southern states. Northern cornbreads use significant amounts of sugar and flour, while Southern cornbreads use none at all.

Makin the best cornbread requires a cast-iron skillet, so if you all only have one of those wimpy frying pans with a wooden or plastic handle, you've got to make a trip to the store. Where can you find a good cast-iron skillet?

How To Consume Cornbread Serve hot. Slather with butter or margarine. Best served with southern "soul food," pot likker, vegetables, or soup.

Real Southern Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 cups of self rising cornmeal
1/4 cup of oil or shortening
1 cup of REAL buttermilk(made from milk straight from the cow)
1 fresh egg
1- 9 inch iron skillet
Preheat the oven to 425°

Put about 3 tablespoons of oil or shortening in iron skillet then heat in the oven at 425°. While it is heating, beat the egg, oil and milk, Combine the cornmeal. Remove skillet from oven, pour your mixture in batter will sizzle and return to the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. If your skillet is seasoned properly then it should remove from the pan with a crispy brown crust. I have used mayonaise instead of the 1 egg and it tasted so good! I got so many compliments that day, so now I use mayo all of the time. With the REAl milk and this combination...the cornbread was just soooo goood! Try it!! Of course it is hard to find milk straight from the cow. Here are a few places you can try. Real Milk? Health benefits of Real Milk.

Hunt all the receipts you'uns lak but don't hunt the bears. They tend to git a little ear-a-tated. Have you ever seen a mad hillbilly bear? He's makes a junkyard dawg look lak a lap puppy. Click here for more cornbread recipes

Cornbread Tips:
For a crusty cornbread, make sure there is a good "layer" of oil or shortening in the pan.
A tablespoon of mayonnaise can be substituted for the egg.
Use muffin or cornstick pans (preferably iron), to vary the shape.
Instead of baking, fry the batter like pancakes.
When directions on cornbread says to stir until moistened,be sure to do exactly this.Overbeating can result in a dense cornbread instead of light and fluffy.I "figger" you have enough Frisbees without baking your own.

Y'all be good now, ya heer?

Home Kudzu Prim Candles Southern Recipes My Home Town~Dixie
Letters Sayins and Tales Links E-Mail Southern Belles
Grits & Cornbread! Southern Remedies

355 DOWLOADABLE Printables!!

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