Club: Baked-Baked Cheese Grits

I'm so excited for Club: Baked this week for two reasons......I'm hosting, and I got to pick a very special recipe in the book (Baked Explorations)......Baked Cheese Grits!  Why is this such a special recipe, you ask?  It's very much my Dad.  He isn't necessarily from the South, but his parents and grandparents were so he was raised on a lot of Southern-type cooking.  Fast-forward quite a few years, and he's passed on the Grits and Eggs breakfast to me and my siblings.  Granted, I'm sure I'm the only one that still makes it, but I don't care.  I LOVE grits!  Of course it also helps that I'm a big-time Daddy's girl.  

   

 These baked grits remind me so much of that meal my Dad would make Saturday mornings, that it was uncanny.  Definitely a rich and creamy and cheesy and super de-duper fatteningly delicious way to make grits.  It was incredibly easy and a much more refined way to eat my childhood breakfast than the "smash it all together in a kind-of repulsive looking, albeit, delicious mess" sort of way. 

 I really wish I could have found stone-ground grits to use, as the recipe calls for them.  Alas, after going to six different grocery stores and specialty stores, I was out of luck.  Unfortunately, this recipe is using quick grits.  Never fear. My hunt will not end here.  I WILL find stone-ground grits to try someday!  Probably later this week, as Murphy's Law, would have it right!? 

{baked cheese grits}
   "baked explorations" by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito

2 c. whole milk
[2 c. water]
1 c. stone-ground grits
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c., packed, grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 4 oz.
1 c., packed, grated Monterey Jack cheese, about 4 oz.
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or, alternatively a similar size baking dish.

Pour the milk and 2 c. water into a medium saucepan, cover, and heat on medium-high until the mixture boils, about 5 minutes. Uncover the pot, add the grits, salt, and pepper, and reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly until grits are the consistency of thick soup, about 8 minutes.  Reduce to a simmer, stirring every 2 minutes, and cook for about 15-20 minutes to let the grits thicken further.  Cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring constantly to prevent the grits from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  The grits will be really thick at this point.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3/4 c. of the cheddar cheese, 3/4 c. of the Monterey Jack cheese, and the butter.  Pour the grits into the prepared skillet and top them with the remaining cheeses.  Turn the oven to broil.

Place the skillet directly under the heating element for 203 minutes, or until the cheese topping is melted and starts to brown. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 large servings.

Check out how the other bakers fared this week by going HERE.

Bruce Paltrow's World-Famous Pancakes

I {heart} breakfast!  When I was growing up my Dad was always up super early on the weekends and had breakfast ready for us.  We'd wake up to the smells of waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, grits-and-eggs (a favorite I'll share later!), etc. Not all at once, of course.  :)  The delicious smells would permeate the whole house and I LOVED it!!!  Now that I'm married, I am the one making breakfasts.  I am always trying to find something new and delicious and this recipe ranks right up there as a new all-time favorite!

I love pancakes and waffles, but especially love the Swedish-style pancakes.  This recipe is a perfect blend of both.  It is so reminiscent of traditional pancakes with a lot of Swedish pancake elements, that I just couldn't get enough!  With six eggs, you can definitely taste the "egginess" in them, but they're only slightly sweet, which balances so perfectly with the sweetness of the syrup that compared to traditional pancakes, you won't be getting that overpowering sugar-high from eating them!  DELICIOUS!!!!


{bruce paltrow's world-famous pancakes}
   from "My Father's Daughter" by Gwyneth Paltrow

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 c. plus 2 T. granulated sugar
1T. plus 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. fine salt
3 c. buttermilk
6 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled plus more butter for cooking
6 large eggs
up to 1c. milk, as needed to thin batter (I added about 1/4 c. to get the thinness in mine)
Maple syrup, for serving

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, butter and eggs together in another bowl.  Add the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients, whisking just enough to combine (small lumps are okay).  Let the batter sit, covered, overnight. The next morning, heat up your griddle or favorite nonstick pan and slick it with a little butter.  Add enough milk to the batter to thin it to the consistency you want.  Cook the pancakes on the griddle, flipping them after bubbles appear on the surface of the uncooked side.  Let cook 2-3 minutes more, then remove and eat with lots of warm maple syrup.

TWD::Bread Pudding

 This week, our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Sharon from Simply Southern.  Until about five years ago, I wasn't a big fan of bread puddings.  What changed my mind?  I tried a crockpot recipe for my mother-in-law who LOVES bread pudding and since we were living with her at the time, I thought it would be a nice gesture.  Well, as it turned out, I ended up LOVING it, too!  

I mean, if you're a fan of cinnamon rolls, bread pudding is quite similar.  My kids even love the flavor and taste.  Not too sweet, a hint of cinnamon and a creamy eggy flavor and completely decadent and satisfying with every bite.  Dorie's original recipe called for 1Tbsp. of bourbon on top.  Well, we're not into that kind of stuff at our house so I didn't add it, but I really don't think it needed it.  It was DELICIOUS all on its own!  

To see what other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers did with their recipes, visit the TWD Blogroll.

{bourbon bread pudding recipe}

Pea Salad

Pea Salad
From the kitchen of Ashley Jensen. This one is always so satisfying!
1 (20 oz) bag frozen peas
1 celery stalk, chopped
8 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/2-1 c. mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste.

I like to mix the night before so the flavors can mix, but the recipe says to mix it 1 hour before serving....