Smoky Blue Cheese Grits! Creamy grits are punctuated by pungent blue cheese and a hint of smokiness in this delicious twist on a Southern classic.
Confession: Food bloggers get stumped about what to make for dinner sometimes, too.
Don't get me wrong, I usually have a multitude of recipe ideas swimming around in my head. But most days when I get home from the office or finish a long day of working or recipes, the last thing I want to do is think about what to make for dinner.
Those are usually the nights when I say, "Honey, you're on your own." Then I chop up some tomatoes and avocado, throw them in a bowl with a sprinkle of sea salt, and call it a day. {For the record, this a delicious, albeit lazy, thing to eat.}
Ruts happen; Pork chops with a side of rice. Pork chops with a side of quinoa. Pork chops with a side of sweet potato mash. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I am lucky that my sweet husband has taste buds that almost never tire of eating whatever is set in front of him. He's one of those people that can happily eat the same items for breakfast every day for a year without blinking an eye. Meaning, he's not much help when I'm trying to be creative and ask "What should we have as a side?"
His request is usually some form of greens -- a salad, sauteed spinach or kale, etc., etc., -- along with some form of starch. But the starchy element of dinner {which, honestly, I could most times do without} is usually the same response over and over again. A girl can only make so any versions of rice, quinoa and sweet potatoes before she loses her ever-loving mind.
A few weeks ago, after a long day and a firm refusal to eat the same.darn.thing again on a day when pork chops were {once again} up to bat, I decided to get a little creative.
Grits.
Smoky blue cheese grits. Because most of the time, my creativity is fueled by a constant desire to use up the tiny bits of things that end up rolling around the pantry and the fridge without a purpose.
I happened to have half a box of grits sitting abandoned on one side of the pantry and a small chunk of blue cheese left over from my wine & chocolate tasting party that didn't look particularly inspiring. And so, smoky blue cheese grits came to pass.
If I said that the quick cooking time of grits didn't have something to do with my decision, I'd be lying. But the twist on a food that 1. Is usually thought of at breakfast time, and 2. Can be sort of bland if not properly seasoned or condimented {that's a legitimate word today, ok?} made for a thrilling new side dish.
Even though the husband wasn't so sure about the thought of pork chops over grits, he sure seemed to get on board quickly after a bite.
Smoky Blue Cheese Grits
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water
- ½ cup half and half
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup grits
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled, extra for garnish if desired
- 1¼ teaspoons liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water and half and half to a boil {watch it carefully as dairy has a tendency to bubble over when boiled.} Add salt.
- Slowly whisk in grits. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to whisk continuously until substantially thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add blue cheese, liquid smoke and butter and continue to whisk until smooth and thickened to desired consistency. {I like my grits on the thicker side, but if you prefer a runnier texture you can add more liquid to achieve that.}
- Serve hot with crumbled blue cheese over top.
_sugarmountain says
Blue cheese grits?! These look amazing, Dianna! We love grits at my house and I've never ever thought to work in blue cheese. Bookmarking this to try next week!
Paul | a fork and a pencil says
Oh, my! Blue cheese is a fabulous idea!
thekitchenprep says
@Paul - Thanks, Paul! It's a nice change up, I hope you give it a try! 🙂