Grits & Shrooms

Lately I seem to get hooked on one particular food, and stick with it for a while. Last time, it was seafood - ceviche, soft shell crabs, clams & mussels. This time, it's mushrooms.

This go-around, I bought a package of baby portobellos. Then I saw Michelle's post on Thursday Night Smackdown, and I had to make grits & shrooms. I sliced up the mushrooms, and sauteed them in a mix of butter and olive oil. I didn't have sherry (!) or arrowroot, so I used a half-a-splash of brandy, chicken broth, and thickened with cornstarch.

On to the grits, I heated up chicken broth to boiling, then whisked in some cornmeal. Simmer, stir, simmer, stir, adding a little water as necessary. I had no cream, and no goat cheese, and my milk went bad, so I used cotija cheese and butter.

Scoop some grits into a bowl, and top with saucy shrooms. Doesn't look like much, but it was delicious.

I would've liked to sprinkle on some parsley, but the bag in the fridge that I thought was parsley was, in actuality, cilantro. And I wasn't too sure about cilantro in grits, even if they were laced with Mexican cheese.

Grits and mushrooms - who knew? Definitely a keeper, and open to endless variations.