Customer Reviews

101 Things to Do with Grits

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I have to say that grits are a very versatile food and is much more than just a breakfast side item. In addition, grits aren't only something that "southerners" eat. It is as much of a staple as pasta, rice or potatoes. This book "101 Things to do with Grits" is an awesome cookbook. The recipes all use grits as a base and range from breakfast and appetizers to entrees and desserts. I cannot comment on the dessert grits, because I haven't made any of these dishes at this point in time. Yet they look really good.

I have really gotten some great ideas from this book. Many of the recipes I follow very strictly and other recipes I "doctor up". For instance, "Black & Blue Grits" has the main base of Worcestershire sauce and blue cheese. This dish is to be served along side steak. Well when I made these grits I added shallots. The recipe didn't call for shallots, but really added a great flavor.

My only complaint about this book is that many of the recipes need to be made after the "Basic Grits" are made. The "Basic Grits" are just foundation recipes. They are provided in the book, but as a cook is trying to make "Roasted Corn & Sun-Dried Tomatoes Grits" (for instance) he/she will find themselves turning back to page 12 to find the basic recipe for "White Stone-Ground Grits". This exercise can become tedious, however after one has prepared several dishes the concept is sort of grasped. At least the book has a spiral bind.

The other thing I find strange is that many of these "Basic Grits" recipes call for heavy cream. I don't know about anyone else, but if butter and milk are used in these formulas there is no need for "heavy cream". Heavy cream has a strong flavor and when used in addition to butter or milk it just entices a heart attack. Not to mention that cheese, bacon, olive oil and egg (among other fatty foods) are utilized in many recipes. So needless to say, I skip the heavy cream in any of the dishes I make and the grits still tastes good.

Overall this is a great book for a novice cook or a very "seasoned" chef. I love the different ideas that are centered on one food item. I highly recommend this book. I have several other cookbooks in the "101 Things to do with..." and they are also excellent

Ok, so there is a thing in the South where we feel like we know how it's done. And, the right way is our way. That in context, I'm quite appalled by this cook. The base recipe calls for cooking grits in 2 cups chicken broth and with 1.5 cups heavy cream and 4 tablespoons of butter. Why transform grits into a high sodium, high fat carb in the -basic- recipe? And, who in their right mind puts Tobasco sauce in grits? Again another base recipe. Thought that everybody knew that basic grits were water or milk, grits, salt, and pepper. How can they be so far off. Don't get me wrong, we like our tea strong and sweet and our pound cake heavy. But, grits are supposed to be somewhat bland. And, if you mess up the basic recipe, how do you then add the Worcestershire sauce or the gravy or the cocoa power or the other exotic versions that they then augment this basic recipe with. What's the purpose of writing a recipe around grits if you've made it into something else?

I bought a copy of this book at the Ryman Auditorium gift shop in Nashville, TN and paid full price. After flipping through it, I just couldn't wait for delivery from Amazon and had to buy it on the spot.

Thus far, it's been a great investment. I made Chipotle Grits with Pork Chops, Goat Cheese and Sauteed Apples for dinner and it was fantastic! It paired quite nicely with Pinot Noir. The recipe is definitely something I wouldn't have attempted on my own, but I'm so pleased with the quality and perfection of the meal that I'd serve it proudly to my closest food-snob friends. If I ordered this in a restaurant it would have been an $18 - 30 meal pp, depending on the locale. But I spent about $6 per person for tonight's meal.

An attractive feature of this book is that it calls for real ingredients (cream, butter) and interesting combinations of flavors and spices that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. I was raised on plain grits with margarine, cheese, or tomato gravy. A downside (to the way I was raised eating grits) is the amount of salt required to make grits palatable when served traditional southern style. Fortunately, many of the recipes in 101 rely on chicken stock, cream (I substitute milk), vegetable broth, veggie puree or wine. The point to these recipes is to have grits as the side as an enhancement to other items on your plate. These are restaurant style recipes, but super easy to make.

For ease of preparation, I use stone ground grits and add all liquids to a rice cooker and cook on the brown rice setting. It makes clean up a breeze and assures the grits are cooked to perfection.

I look forward to trying the Red Curry Grits soon. I believe if I just add shrimp at the end, it'll turn out like the shrimp and grits at Puckett's in Tennessee. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Buy two. One for yourself and one for a friend. It really is a welcome and unusual addition to my kitchen full of cookbooks!

This was bought as a gift for a friend - they loved it!!! Thank You!!!