A great recipe - our first cooking post

Have you ever had a recipe that you really liked and then lost it?

When I was living and working in South Carolina, my boss brought the best casserole dish to an employee pot luck we had at the newspaper where I was working. It was a big hit and I got the recipe and for the next couple of years, fixed this dish on a semi-regular basis. Then we moved and our house was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo and I lost much of our household goods. I did not lose my recipe book, but for some reason, I could never find this casserole recipe again.

Today, while surfing, I came to a site called The Part Time Gourmet with the following entry:

Trendy Food of 2006 - Grits?

Elizabeth Downer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists out grits as one of the hot food trends of this year. While grits have been a staple in the South for more than 200 years, they haven't been all that popular to the North.

She says that they are now being used by chefs all over the country to create comfort foods.

My best friend's father grew up in Georgia, and he used to make us cheese grits on a weekend morning. That was some seriously good stuff, I'm tellin' ya.

Here are a couple of receipes from the article which are likely close to that great breakfast item that I haven't had in over 10 years now.

BAKED CHEESE GRITS

I sometimes vary the original recipe by using shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno chilies. This is especially good as an entree side dish. Recipe can be doubled.

• 2 cups cooked grits (I use instant)
• 1 pound grated cheddar cheese
• 5 eggs, well beaten
• 1 can evaporated milk (I use fat-free) or light cream
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook grits according to directions on box. Stir in cheese, eggs and milk. Pour into buttered 2-quart baking dish. Bake one hour or until set.

Serves 8.

and there was my recipe. Now before you turn up your nose at the idea of grits (something I did originally) you need to try this. The only variation would be the substitution for jalapeno cheese instead of plain cheddar, which is absolutely yummy.

Elizabeth Downer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists out grits as one of the hot food trends of this year. While grits have been a staple in the South for more than 200 years, they haven't been all that popular to the North.

She says that they are now being used by chefs all over the country to create comfort foods.

My best friend's father grew up in Georgia, and he used to make us cheese grits on a weekend morning. That was some seriously good stuff, I'm tellin' ya.

Here are a couple of receipes from the article which are likely close to that great breakfast item that I haven't had in over 10 years now.

BAKED CHEESE GRITS

I sometimes vary the original recipe by using shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno chilies. This is especially good as an entree side dish. Recipe can be doubled.

• 2 cups cooked grits (I use instant)
• 1 pound grated cheddar cheese
• 5 eggs, well beaten
• 1 can evaporated milk (I use fat-free) or light cream
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook grits according to directions on box. Stir in cheese, eggs and milk. Pour into buttered 2-quart baking dish. Bake one hour or until set.

Serves 8.