Home for Christmas: Gathering at the Table

Oh, how I loved the conversations around Mama and Daddy’s table at Christmas. The ladder back chairs were hard and uncomfortable, but the conversations were easy and relaxed. We laughed and joked, and ate our fill of all the homemade goodies.

The chairs are gone now, and the table has relocated to my brother’s home. We don’t get together as often as we used to, but when we do, you can bet we’ll have the best food around, and laughter that abounds! We’ll be talking so much, we forget to include a key ingredient, or maybe we put two times the amount? Oh, well, more is always better, especially when it comes to family, food and fun!

Since many of us have guests for Christmas, I thought I’d share a quick, easy side dish with you. It’s sure to be a hit at your family gathering!

Roasted Corn Grits
1. Roast or grill one cup of frozen corn niblets with about 1/4 to 1/2 stick of butter. Yes, real butter. They won’t taste the same if you use the fake stuff. It’s not good for you anyway. Haven’t you heard that margarine is one molecule away from plastic? No, use real butter. If you have to, take a few laps around the block after dinner to work off the calories. You’ll feel better. For the best flavor (other than the butter), grill the corn. If your hubby doesn’t have the pit lit and ready for cooking, add a bit of liquid smoke to the corn. Heat on stove top or in the microwave.

2. In a 2 quart pot, add 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup heavy cream (I use half-n-half. I mean really, we have to cut calories somewhere, amen?), 1 cup yellow corn grits (not instant, use Polenta) and another 1/2 stick or more of butter. Add seasoning to taste. I use salt, fresh ground black pepper, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and garlic. I suppose while you’re adding seasoning, you could snazz it up with a bit of finely diced onion, but why mess with simplicity and perfection?

3. Bring mixture to a boil. Read the back of the Polenta bag carefully. Mine says “Stir frequently. Use a long handled spoon, because mixture pops and bubbles, and can burn.” OH YEAH it can burn when it pops out on you! OUCH! I tried to get a picture of the grits popping, but they splashed on the camera lens. I gave up.

I use my roux “spoon” to stir. Down here in south Louisiana, roux spoons are used when making a gumbo or soup roux (oil and flour burned to a pretty copper color) from scratch. But we don’t make roux from scratch any more. We buy Savoie’s already mixed roux. You can’t use that in a gumbo cooking contest, though. But I digress {SQUIRREL!}.

4. Don’t be concerned if you see little black buggy-looking things in the grits. They are NOT corn meal weevils. Black specks are normal in whole/coarse ground corn grits.

5. Stir continually for 3 – 4 minutes. Turn off stove, continue stirring until thickened. Cover. Let stand for 15 minutes.

6. Sprinkle chopped green onion tops over the corn grits, serve and enjoy your family time around the table!

Click here for a printable recipe card to save!

I am joining Blogs by Christian Women Christmas blog tour. Be sure to check out Shannon’s posts here.

They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. Acts 2:46 (NLT)

Until next week,