Grits

A quick and easy side dish that goes well with roast chicken, turkey or pork chops.

"For my birthday," writes Cynthia Black of Kansas City, Missouri, "my husband took me to Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale. One night we ate dinner at Top of the Rock, a restaurant at the resort. As a side dish, they served incredible cheese and jalapeño grits." This colorful side dish would be delicious with roast chicken, steak, or pork.

Chef Tory McPhail writes: "I was 19 years old and just out of culinary school when I first started at Commander's Palace. Despite my training, nothing prepared me for the pressures of working in a fast-paced kitchen, or in a restaurant of such high quality. I think my success came down to sheer effort and a lifelong passion for cooking. Even as a kid I loved playing with cookie and pie dough. "After a seven-year absence, which I spent working abroad and opening a new Commander's Palace restaurant in Las Vegas, I came back to New Orleans last year. Since returning I've enjoyed cooking for my friends. On the weekends we'll go fishing, and then I'll grill our catch and serve it along with a fresh salad. That meal combines the two best things about living in the South — lots of fishing and great fresh produce." Serve these creamy grits with fried eggs for a southern-style breakfast. Andouille, a spicy pork sausage, is available at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

"On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I was greatly taken with the grits served at the restaurant Slightly North of Broad, on East Bay Street," says Charles C. Gordon of Ontario, Canada. "Is it possible to get the recipe?"

Elarji (Adapted from The Georgian Feast) This very cheesy cornmeal pudding, made here with grits, is a perfect accompaniment to Georgian Pork Stew. The surprise is that ordinary supermarket mozzarella works better than fresh as a substitute for the Georgian sulguni cheese for which this recipe was designed.

"At the Charleston Grill in Charleston, South Carolina, we were overwhelmed by how delicious the grits were," write Neil and Judy Kleinman of Pasadena, California. "This spectacular side dish was made with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and was served in a small skillet."

For accompaniments, toss watercress and thin slices of red onion with Dijon vinaigrette, and add chopped fresh basil to stewed tomatoes. Pecan pie can top it off.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr When Craig Claiborne accepted an invitation to a hunt breakfast in Virginia, he didn't understand that riding a horse would be part of the deal. He found the experience hair-raising but furnished us with a delightful account of that weekend — along with this fluffy rendition of the South's beloved grits. It makes a good side dish to almost any meat — especially ham, of course.

Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, this smothered fried chicken with polenta and herb gremolata is perfect for a dinner party. 

A bowl of velvety grits and saucy shrimp with Carla Hall’s herbaceous potlikker at the base of it all.

Bryant Terry’s luscious jackfruit tamales are not only a fascinating look at the crossover between Mexican and African American foodways, but proof that truly great tamales don’t require meat.

Edna Lewis once said, “People should really leave grits alone.” We won’t argue with the queen, but Kia Damon’s creamy, custardy roasted sweet potato grits are proof that all rules have exceptions.

Brunch, lunch, or dinner, we're never not excited about sweet, garlicky shrimp and cheesy grits.

File under: Breakfast for Dinner.

Quaker brand grits work really well in this recipe, and they are distributed very widely. If you can’t find them, use any other white, medium-grind, long-cooking grits.

Winter’s answer to the grain bowl, this feels super hearty and satisfying.

The search for crispy trout skin stops here. Dredging the fish in ground almonds works wonders, adding a delightfully toasty exterior.