Garlic Cheese Grits

GRITS! Yep, it's a totally southern dish but GRITS also stands for Girls Raised In The South! Ha! While it's historically been a breakfast food down here in the south, over the years, we've modified the traditional grits recipe to adapt it to the lunch and dinner table.

Previously we added scrambled or fried eggs to it, or added crumbled bacon, browned ground meat or sausage to it or some people spooned sausage or red eyed gravy over it. However, Southern Grits has finally grown up and made it as a special and beloved food on dinner tables and holiday menu's here in the south. No matter where you live in the contintental United States or abroad, if you can find grits, you can enjoy this satisfying, comforting and special side dish to grace your table be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy this wonderful cheesy garlic version!

**This is the original recipe from the early 1960's. Now with instant grits available, you can cook it according to the directions and add the cheese, garlic, butter and seasonings accordingly, to taste. I still make it the original way.

1 cup grits, uncooked
4 cups water
1 tbl salt
1 stick butter
1 lb cheddar cheese, diced, sliced or grated
3 tbl minced garlic
2 tbl worcestershire sauce

Cook grits in the salted water. When cooked, add butter, garlic, cheese and worcestershire sauce. On low heat, combine well until butter and cheese are melted. Salt and pepper according to taste. This can be served as is or placed in a casserole dish, topped with more cheese and baked at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.

***Note: Shrimp is a favorite addition to grits, particularly Garlic Cheese Grits. I simply steam some peeled shrimp in seasoned water, drain and add to the grits. To steam peeled shimp, place shrimp in a microwavable bowl, add enough water to cover, season with Tony's, salt, garlic powder. Stir and heat in microwave until cooked, about 8 minutes. Drain and add to grits.

Court of Two Sisters

One of my very favorite places to go in New Orleans is to the Jazz Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. I always request, and wait for, a table on the patio. The food is divine, the atmosphere relaxing, the setting gorgeous and of course the music is live New Orleans Jazz!


The history behind this wonderful restaurant was two Creole sisters and the notions shop they owned on this site that gave The Court of Two Sisters its name. However, 613 Rue Royale has long played a significant role in the history of the French Quarter and old New Orleans.


Originally known as "Governor's Row", the 600 block of Rue Royale was home to five governors, two state Supreme Court Justices, a future Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and a future President of the United States. It is not surprising, then, that the original resident was Sieur Etienne de Perier, royal governor of colonial Louisiana between 1726 and 1733. It has also been rumored that the outrageous Marquis de Vaudreuil, the colonial royal governor who transformed New Orleans from a marshland village into a "petit Paris", was once a resident of 613 Rue Royale.

The two sisters, Emma and Bertha Camors, born 1858 and 1860 respectively, belonged to a proud and aristocratic Creole family. Their "rabais", or notions, outfitted many of the city's finest women with formal gowns, lace and perfumes imported from Paris. Marriage, reversals of fortune, widowhood - nothing could separate the sisters. Indeed, as the New Orleans Times-Picayune was to report, the sisters died within two months of each other in the winter of 1944. United in death as in life, the sisters lie side by side at St. Louis Cemetery #3.


The best time to go is in the spring when the wisteria over the patio is in full, fragrant bloom and the weather is cool and pleasant.


While there, tour the entire building as it's an exquisite example of New Orleans French Quarter architecture.