[1] Enjoy cheesy grits or plain grits for breakfast, lunch or dinner (photo © Anson Mills).

[2] Grits are made from both white and yellow corn (photo © Anson Mills).

If your only exposure to hot cereal is instant packages of oatmeal, you’re depriving yourself of a real treat. For us, Cream Of Wheat, Cream Of Rice, grits, polenta and cornmeal mush are some of life’s great comfort foods.

Today’s shout-out is to grits (hominy grits), a versatile hot cereal or side dish to other breakfast, lunch or dinner foods. With toppings, grits become a main dish (Shrimp and Grits is a dish made in heaven).

Grits can be served as plain or dressed-up as you like.
 
 
THE BEST GRITS: FROM ANSON MILLS

If you don’t like grits, you’ve never had the real deal. Anson Mills’ honest-to-the-core organic-certified antebellum sweet Carolina corn grits have no relation to the gluey, pallid, tasteless grits served up at so many diners.

They’re cold-milled grits, handmade from certified organic whole heirloom seed corn. To our knowledge, they’re the best grits that money can buy. They’re not instant, but they’re terrific: true grits, indeed.

Try them and fall in love with the full-flavor taste of these organic heirloom grains: fresh corn flavor, texture, nutrients and richness with the additional floral flavors from fresh corn germ.

This style of grits was popular before the Civil War and was still available until World War II, fresh-ground every Saturday morning in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

Fresh-milled hominy grits, right out of the mill, is a food lover’s delight.

Here’s a basic grits recipe from Anson Mills. Add 1 tablespoon of grated cheese (we use Parmesan) to make cheesy grits/cheese grits.

You can purchase grits at your local supermarket, too. They’re fine—we use them all the time. But for a special treat, get the artisan version from AnsonMills.com.
 
 
> The Difference Between Grits & Polenta

> Read our review of Anson Mills grits, including a “grits vocabulary.”