Friday, May 13, 2011

Book: Cooking For Geeks; Garlic Cheese Grits; market purchases

Beloved Husband gave me a new cookbook for our wedding anniversary: "Cooking For Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food".  I haven't gotten to read very far in yet, but I'm excited about it!

Last night we had "brinner": bacon, eggs, and grits.  I re-used a recipe I've posted on Facebook before, that I really like, for garlic-cheese grits

  • 4 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup grits, quick or old-fashioned (not instant)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated sharp Italian cheese, such as Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
  • 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray.
  2. Bring water, grits and salt to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer until the grits are thick, 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of grits.
  3. Meanwhile, combine oil and garlic in a small skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
  4. Stir the oil and garlic into the grits along with the cheeses and cayenne (or hot sauce); transfer to the prepared pan.
  5. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling and crusty on top, about 45 minutes.

Last time we had too much left over, so this time I cut it in half.  I used Parmesan cheese.  I put a wee bit too much cayenne pepper in it -- Beloved Husband likes spicy food, but I don't, so I try to find a middle ground, and I had tried for barely 1/8 teaspoon but I guess I should have used just a pinch.  Otherwise, I don't really make any changes to this one.

I kicked myself later, though, because at the farmers market recently I bought garlic scapes, and I meant to use them here but I forgot!  I'd never heard of garlic scapes before, but the vendor selling them is one I have bought from frequently, and she gave me a taste right there, and told me basically to use them where I would garlic.  I also bought some mustard greens from her, with no specific recipe in mind at the time, so I need to find something for them!

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