I'm from Atlanta, boy, and lived all over the South until 1971 when my parents finally came to their senses and moved us to Florida. I have lived in Jax longer than I've lived anywhere else, though, so I guess that makes me an honorary Jacksonvillian. ;-)
Cee ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: Gator Talk Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 10:07 PM Subject: Re: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... I'm with you, Cees. You must be from Jacksonville too! Are Jacksonvillians the only people who know how to eat? :-) Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "Cecilia" <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:13:19 -0500 To: <[email protected]> ReplyTo: [email protected] Subject: Re: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... Oh, Jerry... I'm not quibbling with the red eye gravy! I've been eating that my whole life and love it. My maternal ancestors were Virginia/NC Appalachians before some of them migrated down to the big city in Georgia. It's the sugar/honey/syrup with grits that I can't like. I've accidentally tasted grits with honey or sorghum syrup that sneaked over from my biscuits. Like I said... no. Just. No. ;-) Eat it and enjoy it if you must, but I'll stick to butter, salt and pepper on my grits. Call me a purist. Cee ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry Belloit To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 8:20 PM Subject: RE: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... Cee, That recipe for red eye gravy comes out of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. If you don't want to put it on grits, try biscuits. You should try the gravy out before you veto it. You could also use honey and a few drops of black strap molasses if you don't want to use sugar. Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cecilia Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 7:54 P To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... Jerry, Jerry, Jerry... you've been north of the Mason-Dixon line for far too long. It appears you have suffered from brain damage... perhaps from prolonged brain freeze. My arms would probably fall off if I tried to put any kind of sugar anywhere near grits. I guess it's OK for you as long as it keeps a steady flow of grits into your frozen body, but... no. Just. No. ;-) Cee ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry Belloit To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2011 10:16 AM Subject: RE: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... Try it in cooking red eye gravy. You may like it. (about 1-2 teaspoons as you are deglazing-dark brown sugar.) Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cecilia Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 9:30 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... Sugar? No no no. I would have added something about how well grits go with grouper. We love 'em that way... much better than fries with fried fish! Cee ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry Belloit To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 12:59 PM Subject: RE: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... The only differences in this grits article is that I would add cheese as an acceptable addition as well as add just a little brown sugar to the pan after you have deglazed it with strong coffee (this is a good use for left over coffee that had been on the burner for several hours.) BTW, this is a cure article! Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jay Cicone Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 9:48 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [gatortalk] Speaking of grits... What Are Grits Nobody knows. Some folks believe grits are grown on bushes and are harvested by midgets by shaking the bushes after spreading sheets around them. Many people feel that grits are made from ground up bits of white corn. These are obviously lies spread by Communists and terrorists. Nothing as good as Grits can be made from corn. The most recent research suggests that the mysterious Manna that God rained down upon the Israelites during their time in the Sinai Desert was most likely Grits. Critics disagree, stating that there is no record of biscuits, butter, salt, and red eye gravy raining down from the sky, and that God would not punish his people by forcing them to eat Grits without these key ingredients. How Grits are Formed. Grits are formed deep underground under intense heat and pressure. It takes over 1000 years to form a single Grit. Most of the world's grit mines are in South Carolina, and are guarded day and night by armed guards and pit bull dogs. Harvesting the Grit is a dangerous occupation, and many Grit miners lose their lives each year so that Grits can continue to be served morning after morning for breakfast (not that having Grits for lunch and dinner is out of the question). Yankees have attempted to create synthetic Grits. They call it Cream of Wheat. As far as we can tell, the key ingredients of Cream of Wheat are Elmer's Glue and shredded styrofoam. These synthetic grits have also been shown to cause nausea, and may leave you unable to have children. Historical Grits As we mentioned earlier, the first known mention of Grits was by the Ancient Israelites in the Sinai Desert. After that, Grits were not heard from for another 1000 years. Experts feel that Grits were used during this time only during secret religious ceremonies, and were kept from the public due to their rarity. The next mention of Grits was found amidst the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii in a woman's personal diary. The woman's name was Herculaneum Jemimaneus (Aunt Jemima to her friends.) The 10 Commandments of Grits * Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits * Thou shalt not eat thy Grits with a spoon or knife * Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits, for this is blasphemy . * Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Grits. * Thou shalt use only salt, butter, and red-eye gravy as toppings for thy Grits. * Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits. * Thou shalt not put ketchup on thy Grits. * Thou shalt not put margarine on thy Grits. * Thou shalt not eat toast with thy Grits, only biscuits made from scratch. * Thou shalt eat grits on the Sabbath for this is manna from heaven. How to Cook Grits For one serving of Grits: Boil 1.5 cups of water with salt and a little butter. Add 5 TBsp of Grits. Reduce to a simmer and allow the Grits to soak up all the water. When a pencil stuck into the grits stands alone, it is done. That's all there is to cooking grits.(Some folks like their's soupy and that's OK) How to make red eye gravy Fry salt cured country ham in cast iron pan. Remove the ham when done and add coffee to the gravy and simmer for several minutes. Great on grits and biscuits. How to Eat Grits Immediately after removing your grits from the stove top, add a generous portion of butter or red eye gravy. (WARNING: Do NOT use low-fat butter.) The butter should cause the Grits to turn a wondrous shade of yellow. (Hold a banana or a yellow rain slicker next to your Grits; if the colors match, you have the correct amount of butter.) In lieu of butter, pour a generous helping of red eye gravy on your grits. Be sure to pour enough to have some left for sopping up with your biscuits. Never, ever substitute canned or store bought biscuits for the real thing because they caused cancer, rotten teeth and impotence. Next, add salt. (NOTICE: The correct ration of Grit to Salt is 10:1 Therefore for every 10 grits, you should have 1 grain of salt.) Now begin eating your grits. Always use a fork, never a spoon, to eat Grits.. Your grits should be thick enough so they do not run through the tines of the fork. The correct beverage to serve with Grits is black coffee. DO NOT use cream or, heaven forbid, Skim Milk.) Your grits should never be eaten in a bowl because Yankees will think its Cream of Wheat! Ways to Eat Leftover Grits: (Leftover grits are extremely rare) Spread them in the bottom of a casserole dish, Cover and place them in the refrigerator overnight. The Grits will congeal into a gelatinous mass. Next morning, slice the Grits into squares and fry them in 1/2" of cooking oil and butter until they turn a golden brown. Many people are tempted to pour syrup onto Grits served this way. This is, of course, unacceptable. TRADITIONAL BLESSING BEFORE EATING GRITS May the lord bless these grits, May no Damnyankee ever get the recipe, May I eat grits every day while living, And may I die while eating grits. AMEN -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
