Southern breakfast

Today I did my best to serve up a traditional Southern breakfast--the extra hearty kind--to the sister missionaries in my ward.

The missionaries here actually haven't had a lot of Southern food, for the most part. A lot of the members here are not actually Southern--a large portion grew up in the West. That makes it fun for me to cook Southern food and to be the one to introduce these poor deprived people to Southern cuisine. Not that I'm necessarily the best to do so--just the only one to do so.

This evening, we had cheese grits with ham, eggs, buttered green beans, and biscuits. I haven't really made biscuits much since I was about 10, so this was an adventure. It was the kind of adventure that didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to--I was trying to increase the recipe, and was distracted near the end and didn't put in enough liquid. The biscuits tasted good, but that was kind of completely negated by the fact that the texture was terrible. They were dry and hard.

Despite the biscuit mishap, the meal turned out to be a success! The Sisters enjoyed the food and both said how happy they were to be eating authentic Southern food (ha! I feel like I tricked them. I never really thought that I'd be Southern enough to make authentic Southern anything!).

I really, really, like the way I make grits. It's taken me a while to figure out exactly how I like them, so here's a gratuitous recipe to go along with the food story:

Grits
4.5 C water
1 C plain grits
2 bouillon cubes
1 t salt (I actually don't know how much; I salt to taste but I'm pretty sure you need at least this much)

Boil water; add grits and bouillon cubes while stirring. Reduce heat. Cook until grits are tender, about 10 minutes. If the grits get too thick, add additional water. (I like my grits kind of thin and very soft. If you cook them long enough they get creamy and their texture isn't so gritty).

If desired, mix in 3/4 C cheddar cheese or to taste. Serve with your choice of breakfast protein (eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, etc. I suppose even tofu if you're into that kind of thing), and sauteed or fresh vegetables.

EDIT: Lately I've been making my grits with just a smidge of Swiss cheese. Swiss cheese is really overpowering (so much so that I thought I hated it for a long time), but I've realized that it is actually quite delicious and the right amount adds a depth of flavor to cheesy dishes that is quite delicious.

Quiche!

Quiche is one of my very favorite breakfast foods. I love hearty breakfasts and I love cheese, so of course it's a perfect match for me. This is the recipe that my mom uses.

Quiche Lorraine

One deep dish pie shell
four eggs
6 oz swiss cheese in cubes
6 oz sharp cheddar in cubes
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 onion chopped fine (1/4 cup green onion)
4 slices bacon, crispy, broken up

preheat oven to 425
in pie shell add onion, bacon, cheeses.
scramble eggs and cream add salt and pepper, pour over all.

bake 15 minutes at 425. Reduce heat and bake 30 minutes at 350.

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Note: you can substitute sausage or ham for the bacon.