Side Dish -- Cheese Grit Casserole (With Ham = Entree)
Submitted by dvdlee on August 27, 2004 at 10:15 am

DESCRIPTION
Side Dish -- Cheese Grit Casserole (With Ham = Entree)

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Family / Ethnic / Regional

INSTRUCTIONS
This recipe is originally based upon one found in Southern Cooking by Craig Claiborne (Clamshell/Times Books).

Craig Claborne’s cookbook is a wonderful gem. I have cooked many, many of the recipes and never had a bad one. This noted New York food author, critic, and reviewer was born in the South and his mother ran a boarding house/restaurant. His early childhood stories relate to the food in his book, but he also goes on to explore other sub-cultures of Southern Cooking (Creole, Cajun, etc.). I don’t use his recipes for Tex-Mex, or Creole since other books are better in that area. But for old-fashioned Southern Cooking he is hard to beat.

This is a Soutern ethnic favorite (Cheese Grits) and I love it with the addition of good Ham.

There are three different kinds of grits on the market (the only difference is in amount of time for preparation and how much they have been pre-processed). The kinds are: Instant, Quick-Cooking, and Regular (Plain). Instant have been heavily process, powdered, etc. so all you do is add boiling water and you are done ý but it doesnýt taste very good! Quick-Cooking is where the grits have been semi-processed so that they donýt require long cooking. Regular Grits are the unadulterated real thing and require around 25 minutes to cook and also require a medium amount of stirring. Quick-Cooking grits are OK, especially if you are adding other things to them. Plain grits are usually cheaper, and are more ýnaturalý in their production, etc. You can usually find plain grits where you can buy bulk items at a grocery store (natural foods) for the best price - or you can pay more for packaged natural grits.

Note: Southerons use the work Grits as a singular noun (Others--i.e., Yankees) think Grits is a plural. But, I like Grits. Grits is good. I eat it all the time.

2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup grits, preferable stone-ground (not Instant!)
Salt
2 cups grated sharp or medium Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped Garlic (optional, but very good!)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Pepper
Strips of sugar-cured ham -- also called "city ham" (deli or from a ham steak slice)

1. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and gradually add grits while stirring. Add salt. If using regular grits, cover and cook for around 25 minutes stirring every couple of minutes. If using ýQuick-Cookingý Grits, prepare according to package directions.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F.

3. Remove grits from heat and add the cheese to the grits, stir well. Add the garlic, Worcheshire, and eggs. Blend well. Add fresh grated pepper and more salt if needed.

4. Pour into a 2-quart greased casserole. You can either lay the ham pieces on top of the casserole or blend them into the casserole. (If you mix them in, put some more cheese on top of the casserole to form a nice crust.) Bake for around 30 minutes. (You can cover the casserole if you don't like any type of crust, but I like a little crusty top, so bake it uncovered.)

Serve portions with some parsley or chives sprinkled on top.

Since this is a cornmeal mush dish with meat pieces, you need to serve something crispy with it ý a salad, cole slaw, marinated cucumbers, etc.