Baboon Pirates

Scribbles and Scrawls from an unrepentant swashbuckling primate.

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Location: Texas, United States

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

More Food for "El Dia De Gobleador"

Break Out The Rolaids, You're Gonna Need 'Em!

Last week, in the first entry in the 2005 Pre-Thanksgiving Pig Out Planner, I offered up a recipe for Green Beans Oregano. This week, we spice things up a bit with another favorite of the family. This was Gigi's (my maternal grandmother) specialty. I loved it, but I like things spicier than she did, so I swapped out her usual sharp cheddar cheese for pepper jack cheese. If you've got Yankee tastebuds and black pepper makes your eyes water, feel free to switch back to boring old cheddar.


Spicy Cheesy Grits

1 cup quick-cooking grits (NOT INSTANT!)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups Pepper Jack cheese, grated/shredded
1/2 large jar of Cheez Whiz (6-8 oz or so)
1/3 stick of butter
1 tsp. garlic powder
cayenne pepper to taste
4 cups water
2 large eggs


In a decent-sized saucepan, dump in the water & salt, bring to a boil.

Stir in grits slowly, and stir constantly or you'll get big nasty lumps. Reduce heat to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove pan from heat.

Zap the Cheez Whiz in the microwave to soften it up, then pour in pan over the grits. Add in most of the Pepper Jack cheese, butter, red pepper & garlic powder, stirring as you go. Keep stirring until everything gets gooey.

Now you need to temper your eggs, or you'll get a wad of scrambled eggs in the grits. This is easy...

Crack eggs in a small bowl or mug, beat slightly, then take a large spoonful of the hot cheesygrits and stir it into the eggs. Keep stirring the egg mix as you pour into the pan, then stir the panful until it's all mixed well.

Pour the mix into a buttered small square baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for half an hour or so. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, then pop it back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving so it'll thicken up the last little bit.

Good stuff! We usually make a double recipe to feed 12-15 people, and there's never any left over!

Update: I forgot that this week's host of the Carnival of Recipes had asked for a Red White & Blue theme. I can fix this...

The cayenne pepper's red. The grits are white. It was too hot to eat right out of the oven, so I blew on it. So there!