Grits with Corn Cob Stock

When I was a kid, I adored corn on the cob.

Okay, I still adore it. But when I was a kid, I'd eat the corn off the cob, then I'd roll the cob around in the leftover butter on the plate, and I'd suck on the cob like I was still eating corn off it it, but just sort of hoovering out the last bits of flavor.

Fine. Okay. I might still do that. When no one is looking.

I mean, really, do I have to admit all my bad habits?

The point I'm wanting to make is that there's a lot of good flavor in that cob. You can't eat it ... but you can use it.

Recently, I had the book Up South in my hands thanks to a cookbook exchange group I belong to, and one of the recommendations was to make "corn stock" from corn cobs and then use that stock to make grits. I didn't try it at the time because there was no fresh corn around.

It's still not close to corn season here, but there was fresh corn at one of the local grocery stores, so I figured I'd try this corn stock thing. I didn't follow the recipe in the book (it's since been passed to the next person in the group) but I figured it couldn't be all that hard to extract flavor from some cobs.

I don't know if it matters if you use raw or cooked cobs that you've cut the kernels off of. I had two of each. But it might be kind of ... not great if you used cobs that people gnawed the corn off of. Or just not great to think that you did that.

I also included a few of the inner green leaves from the corn. My mom always used a few of them when she boiled corn on the cob, so I figured I'd toss a few into my stock as well. If you think that's weird, just leave 'em out.

Grits with Fresh Corn Stock

4 corn cobs (after the kernels are removed)
4 inner light green corn leaves from cobs (optional)
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup grits (not instant)

Put the corn cobs and corn leaves in your pressure cooker (I used my Instant Pot) and set to high pressure. Cook for 10 minutes, then let the pressure reduce naturally for at least 10 minutes before venting the remaining pressure.

Remove the cobs and the leaves. You're likely to have some bits of corn floating in the water. That's perfectly fine.

Add the salt and butter, then add the grits while whisking.

When the grits are added, put the lid on and set the Instant Pot to the Porridge setting, with a time of 20 minutes. If you don't have an Instant Pot, just set it for high pressure for 20 minutes. When the time is up, let it reduce pressure naturally for at least 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes if you get distracted. The longer you leave it, the softer and creamier the grits will be since they keep cooking during this time.

Vent any remaining pressure and remove the lid. The grits might look a little watery, but as you stir them, they'll thicken up. If you don't serve right away, they'll get even thicker, so you might need to add a bit of water if you're not quite ready for them.

If you have leftovers, refrigerate them. When you reheat you'll need to add water for sure.

Slow Cooker Buttermilk Polenta - or is it grits? You Decide

When I was a kid, grits were the tiny rocks at the bottom of the bird cage. I was quite surprised when I heard that some people actually ate grits.

Really? Rocks???? Wouldn't that be bad for your teeth?

But then I found out the edible grits weren't boiled rocks, and that in fact, they were made from corn.

Once I found out that I wasn't going to be eating rocks, I was willing to try grits, which led me to polenta. They're closely related. For some recipes, it might be the end use that tells you whether you've got grits or polenta. If it's Italian, it's polenta. If it's Southern American, it's grits.

While the corn used for grits in Italy for polenta is different from the corn used for American grits, the packages of coarsely ground corn I normally buy are labeled for use as either grits or corn. And I'm fine with that. While I'd love to have regular access to the special Italian corn, I'm pretty happy with the grits/polenta that I buy at the grocery store.

What something is labeled doesn't matter to me as much as what it tastes like, and I like that grocery store stuff. It's tasty, it had nice texture, and you can dress it up any way you like.

This time around, I decided to make a somewhat simple version of polenta, made even more simple by cooking them in my slow cooker. The beauty of using a slow cooker is that you don't need to worry about stirring, so you can set it and forget it for a while.

The downside to using a slow cooker is that they don't heat identically. Some cook at hotter temperatures than others. So the first time you make grits, you may need to adjust the cooking time.

To add a little tang to the polenta, I used buttermilk - but no cheese. And to add some savory flavor, I used Better than Bouillon chicken-flavored base. While I usually have home made soup stock in the freezer, I also keep Better than Bouillon products on hand for the times when I need just a little extra flavor. The great thing is that you get that flavor before you end up with too much salt.

Slow Cooker Buttermilk Polenta

1 cup polenta
4 cups cold water
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon chicken flavor
1 cup buttermilk

Put the polenta in your slow cooker and add the water while stirring. Add the butter and Better than Bouillon. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until liquid is gone (but before it starts "frying").

Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for another 30-60 minutes, until the polenta is smooth and creamy, but not soupy.

Serve hot.

You can serve it as a side dish next to just about anything, but lately I've been eating it topped with a chunky tomato sauce.

Spoon Bread from Savoring the South

My husband handed me a piece of paper and said, "Spoon bread. Is that the same as grits?"

Well, no. It's like the stepchild of grits and cornbread. It's softer and moister than cornbread, but not as oozy as grits.

I happen to love grits, and I love cornbread, too, so I was all geared up to try the spoon bread from Savoring the South by Angela Mulloy. The taglinc for the book is Memories of Edna Lewis the Grande Dame of Southern Cooking with Recipes. I think that pretty much sums up what you get.

The recipes in the book are written in an old-fashioned way, where the cookbook author assumes the reader knows basic terms and techniques. It makes the recipe directions shorter, that's for sure.

Whether on purpose or by accident, the spoon bread recipe I tried omitted a step. Egg yolks were beaten, other ingredients were added, and the next step involved egg whites, while the yolks were never spoken of again. Perhaps it was assumed that the cook would know what to do with the yolks without being specifically instructed.

I cut the recipe in half because it's best when fresh and I knew we'd never finish even half the recipe. The full recipe would be good for a large family or a gathering, but a small family would probably be fine with the half-recipe (which is what I have below).

Besides recipes, the book has a lot of narrative, so if you're the type who wants a story with your recipes, I think you'll enjoy this. As a midwesterner, I'd say that the recipes all do seem to have a southern heritage rather than a southern twist or a new southern whatever. It's like a classic old book without the musty smell.

Spoon Bread
Adapted from Savoring the South by Angela Mullow

1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs separated
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 1-quart baking dish. I used a metal chef's pan.

Heat the milk to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Sprinkle the cornmeal in slowly, stirring or whisking constantly so the cornmeal doesn't clump. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the cornmeal is the consistency of soft oatmeal. Mine got a little too stiff, so I added an extra splash of milk and whisked it in.

Turn off the heat and add the butter.

Whip the egg whites to peaks, then beat the yolks. If you beat the yolks first, you'll need to thoroughly clean your beaters, or the whites won't whip. Add the baking powder, sugar and salt to the yolks.

Add the yolks to the cornmeal mixture and stir to combine.

Fold in the whites gently. It's easiest to stir in about 1/3 of the whites to loosen the cornmeal, then fold in the rest. But do it however works for you.

Transfer the batter to your prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the spoon bread is puffed and the top is lightly browned.

Serve quickly.

I received this book from NetBooks for the purpose of a review.

Cheesy Fried Polenta

I love grits. And polenta. Either or both. Love 'em.

I usually make soft polenta, but once in a while I let it chill, then I fry it a bit to brown it. So, when I got silicone mold from Good Cook with spring designs for their Spring Fling promotion, I thought it would be perfect for polenta - the size was just right for a batch of nice, thick squares.

Did I mention that this recipe is really cheesy? You might think I got just a tad carried away, but I don't think so. I like cheese. If you're not that much of a cheese fan, you can cut back.

I served this several different ways - as a simple side dish, and as lunch along with a chunky tomato sauce loaded with vegetables. And, I served it alongside eggs for breakfast.

Some of the designs looked better than others after browning, but no big deal there. No one's really looking for designs on their polenta, so any sort of design is a bonus.

You could also brown the bottom rather than the design side if you wanted to. The designs are easily visible without the browning.

When you're shopping for polenta to cook (as opposed to the already-cooked stuff) look for it in the baking section near the oddball grains. It might be labeled as polenta or as corn grits. You're not looking for the finer cornmeal that you'd use for cornbread.

Cheesy Fried Polenta

6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups polenta
8 ounces grated mild cheddar cheese

Heat the water to boiling along with the salt. Add the polenta slowly, stirring or whisking as you go so you don't end up with lumps.

Turn down the heat so you have an energetic simmer, stirring as needed to keep it from sticking and burning, unless the polenta is very thick.

Give it a taste and see if you like the consistency. I like it fairly soft - still a teeny bit of chew, but no hard or crunchy bits. If the polenta is very thick, but you'd like to cook it longer to soften it a bit more, then add a bit more water.

When it's juuuust right, start adding the cheese a little bit at a time, stirring it in after each addition. It should all melt int the polenta.

Pour the polenta into the silicone mold. Or, if you don't have a silicone mold, you can use a baking pan or glass baking dish. Smooth the top. An small offset spatula - the type you'd use for icing a cake - works well.

Cover and refrigerate the polenta until it's firm. I usually make it the day before I need it.

When you're ready to serve, unmold the polenta and cut it into serving-sized pieces.

Heat some butter or olive oil (or a mix) in a frying pan. Brown the polenta on one side or both - whatever you like - and until the polenta is warmed through.

Serve warm.

I received the silicone pan from Good Cook at no cost to me.