You got me there…
Ham and Red Eye Gravy
* 2 tablespoons margarine
* 1 slice of ham, about 1/4-inch thick
* 2 tablespoons strong, black coffee
* 1/4 cup water
Melt margarine in skillet and fry ham until done. Remove ham to a platter and keep warm. Add coffee and water to the fat; bring to a boil. Serve gravy with the ham and grits.
For a large slice of ham or two slices, double amount of liquid.
Haha! I was going to say the exact same thing to Guy, Aesiron!
No self-respecting Southerner would be caught dead eating maple syrup. 
Cane and sourgum syrup all the way, only ya gotta put it on your Country Fried Ham and biscuits and mooge it all around on the plate with your grits and some of Reeder’s Red Eye gravy. The sweetness of the cane syrup and the saltiness of Country Ham rolling around together in your mouth is to die for!
Dayum. I’m hungry! That’s it! I’m pulling out the cast iron skillet from it’s exile in the back of the cabinet. Forget eating heart healthy today!
Wanna try something that’s heaven on a plate? Baked Garlic Cheese Grits!!
6 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups grits
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs, well beaten
1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated about 4 cups
1 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
Cayenne pepper to taste
Bring water to a rapid boil with salt; gradually stir in grits with fork. Cook until all water is absorbed. Stir in butter bit by bit; carefully add eggs (quickly, so they won’t cook in the hot mixture), cheese, garlic and cayenne pepper. Put into a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole. If you like, sprinkle some paprika on the top to give it a little color.
Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Serves 8.
Labdad, your recipe is wonderful. Just like my mom’s but she initially cooks the grits with a small can of chopped green chiles. Try it sometime! Absolutely heavenly.
Mmmm, fish and grits. I haven’t that in too long, Askia.
We have a bit of a grits controversy in our household. I like white quick grits; Left Hand of Dorkness prefers the slow-cooking yellow kind. He usually wins, since he makes breakfast more often than I do. I will say this for yellow grits: they’re really good with marinara sauce on them. When your friends come over, you can call it polenta.
I like grits just exactly the way the OP discovered them, as part of a big Southern breakfast — fried eggs over medium, country ham (the saltier and tougher, the better), sawmill gravy (and/or red-eye gravy), and buttermilk biscuits. Put it all together in one big plate, and don’t worry about it mixing together, because you always finish up by sopping up the last puddle of eggs and grits with your last bite of biscuit.
Welp, I’ve ordered myself some white stone-ground grits and if they arrive before this weekend, plan a big ol’ breakfast of sausage patties, grits ‘n’ over-easy eggs.
The restaurant’s breakfast platter which introduced me to this new addiction consisted of split biscuits, sausage patties, scrambled eggs, grits, and gravy. I think the gravy rather did me in in the richness category, so I’ll leave that part out when I cook at home. I mean, I like high cholesterol foods as much as the next person, but there’s only so much capacity in mah belly!
I guess the next dish I should tackle will be chicken-fried steak, another delicacy which I’ve never tasted.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
You poor deprived thing! How did you ever manage to survive this long without FOOD?
If you like grits for breakfast, Cream of Wheat is even better, IMHO. It’s quick too. I like both, but Cream of wheat just has a more delicate flavor that I think is yummy.