Rise & Dine!

I awakened this morning (had to be 4am) to the sound of my dear husband, downstairs in the kitchen, playing The 1812 Overture on cast iron pots.  At least, that's what it sounded like after 2 weeks of sleeping late during the holidays.  What was he doing down there???  I mean, it couldn't be fixing breakfast because breakfast was cooked yesterday. (Scroll down to previous blog.)

It's gotten to the point where my husband gets more excited the day after a holiday meal of turkey and all the fixins.  That's because, a few years ago, I figured out a new way to use the turkey and gravy leftovers.  And, since we had turkey and gravy yesterday, today's breakfast was in the fridge, waiting to flip on the gas.  I tell ya, they're not eating this well in the French Quarter this morning!

TURKEY GRILLADES & GRITS
leftover turkey meat
leftover gravy
fresh grits
That's it!  Just pull off as much turkey as you need to feed your crew.  Throw that in a pan and cover it with the gravy you made yesterday (Aren't you glad you went to all that trouble???  Told ya.), bring to a simmer, and voila!  Breakfast is served.  Well, of course, you do have to slave over a boiling pot of grits first.  Don't know how to make grits?  READ THE PACKAGE.  It's amazing what culinary secrets lie therein.  You'll find little-known tidbits from Le Cordon Bleu like:  bring water to a boil, add grits and stir.  If you can read, you can cook.  Just DO it.

Doesn't that look good? 

And, while we're on the subject of grits....  Chef Michael Murphy of the Ritz Carlton last year introduced us to the most awesome grits.  They're yellow, unlike the white stuff you get from Uncle Ben and the like.  The stuff Michael uses comes from Baton Rouge but I've seen similar products available at the regular grocery stores here.  In short, here's the difference:  the yellow grits are less processed (like brown rice vs. white rice) and, therefore, maintain more nutritional value and, most importantly, they taste amazing!  The cooking process takes just a bit longer than the processed stuff but, believe me, it's worth it.  We didn't have any today (ate them all) but I sure wish we would have!  I highly recommend you try yellow grits next time and try to buy LOCAL.

Now, the big question of the day:  What's for dinner tonight?  Hmmmm.......  I'll ponder that while I undo the aftermath of the "tinsel bomb" that went off in my house over the holidays.  Yikes!!

I think I need another cup of tea......