This recipe sort of didn’t come together right. That’s because we got impatient. I had thought about just break it up into two posts instead of trying to merge them but it’s not enough information for 2 days worth of posts.
So here it is. This past weekend I was reading a breakfast cookbook and it had a recipe for Cheesy Garlic Grits. Not a bad concept but I didn’t like the idea of raw garlic in my grits or having garlic with breakfast. I do have some beautiful garlic sitting in my kitchen so I decided to compromise by roasting a bulb. Roasting garlic takes away all those nasty element in garlic leaving a sweet garlic flavored paste.
Roasting garlic is easy – slice off a very thin layer on the top. The idea is to expose the garlic cloves. I will note that the garlic I have is a hardneck garlic. The center stalk and the “paper” around the cloves are hard. And this bulb was huge. I kid you not, it was like the size of a baseball. Just keep that in mind when you roast yours – it might take less time.
Recipes for roasting garlic suggest coating the bulb with a little olive oil. I did that but it felt very wasted. I would think that it is optional. I will probably roast the next bulb without oil to make sure.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (this bulb took 20 and was still a little firm in places).
So while the garlic was in the oven, I started on the grits – bring 2 cups milk and 2 cups stock (we used homemade turkey stock) to a boil. Watch this carefully because it will boil over. Add 1 cup grits and a teaspoon of salt, turn to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes. The recipe said to stir constantly but I missed that part so I only stirred now and again as I got the rest of the recipe ready.
Once the grits were tender, I added an entire stick of butter and about 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.
The garlic was still in the oven when I plated my grits for a picture. I had eaten over half of it when I finally had an opportunity to add the garlic. The roasted sweetness of the garlic was the perfect accompaniment to the grits. It was so good that I wish I could have invited everyone I knew over to try it.
I love the cooking the grits in milk and stock. The stock added an amazing flavor while the milk added a creaminess. I will admit we used powdered milk for this recipe (any recipe that uses more than a cup of milk gets powdered milk in our house right now) and cheap margarine. This is perfect for stretching a budget without feeling like you are being cheated.
If you’ve never had grits, this is the recipe I recommend. I will say that I seemed to have added more liquid than grits because my grits remained on the wet and soupy side, even the next morning. Not sure where I went wrong but everything in our kitchen slants a little so measuring liquids is hard. If your grits turn into a brick, add a little liquid and reheat (you can heat in the microwave without ruining the dish).
Cheesy Garlic Grits (my version)
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 cup grits
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 bulb roasted garlic
Bring milk and stock to a boil. Add grits and salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Once grits are tender, remove from heat. Add butter and cheese. Stir well. Serve with garlic.
Seeking Sanctuary At World's End 
I love garlic. Filipino breakfast rice, called ‘sinangag’ is chock full of garlic. That, and some scrambled eggs and sweet sausage (longganiza) or sweet cured pork/fatback (tocino) is one hell of a breakfast.
That sounds so good. I’ll have to look that recipe up (or you could share your version on your blog).