[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.”

Buy eat, eat it, freeze the leftovers.
Photo courtesy iGourmet.com.

But you definitely can freeze cheese. If the choice is spoilage versus freezing, there’s no contest.

Whether or not the cheese has its original wrapper, wrap it tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and then in a freezer storage bag with the air removed. If the cheese has been sliced, separate the slices with wax paper.

It’s best to use frozen cheese within three months (six months for semi-hard and hard cheeses), so label the bag with the type of cheese and a “Use By” date.

• Fresh, soft cheeses—cream cheese, goat cheese and mascarpone, for example—may experience some separation when defrosted. Simply stir any liquid back into the cheese. High-water-content cheeses, such as cottage cheese and ricotta, don’t freeze well because of too much crystallization.

• Soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert can be frozen: We’ve been doing it for decades. Recently, Maxx Sherman of The Marin French Cheese Factory—who had never frozen his own cheeses—tried it and wrote that the defrosted cheeses “were all as perfect as the day that I froze them.” So go ahead: Save money and buy that huge wheel of Brie at Costco. (See the difference between Brie and Camembert.)
• Shredded cheeses. You can also freeze pre-shredded “pizza cheese.” Given how expensive the supermarket bags are, we bought a bulk bag at Costco to experiment and were pleased with the results.
• Semi-soft cheeses, like Monterey Jack, Munster, Havarti and Gorgonzola, tend to become crumbly after defrosting. They may not go back onto the cheese board; but are delicious in soups, salads, omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches and other recipes
• Hard, aged cheeses—Asiago, Cheddar, Colby, Emmenthaler, Gruyère, Manchego and Parmesan, for example—fare the best when defrosted. And you can grate the cheeses while they’re still frozen. We keep a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano in the freezer and grate what we need, returning the wedge to the freezer.

Thaw frozen cheese in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you don’t like the texture, use it in cooking (grilled cheese, omelets, salads, crumbled toppings) or baking (muffins, cheese bread, casseroles), where it won’t make a difference.

This video shows just how easy it is to make a delicious cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. The recipe uses fat-free cream cheese and sour cream, but you can use the regular versions for an even creamier—if higher fat and calorie—version, which is the way we like it. (What’s the food analogy to “Go big or go home?”)

Typically, cheesecake is served with fresh fruit. Blueberries, mango, raspberries and strawberries are fan favorites.

But since it’s President’s Day, let’s use a top-quality can of cherry pie filling as the topping (or make your own topping from frozen cherries). Our favorite cherry pie filling is made by cherry specialist Chukar Cherries. If there’s a better cherry pie filling out there, we haven’t discovered it.* Chukar Cherries products are also certified kosher.

*When we have to use a lesser cherry pie filling, we add a tablespoon of Kirsch (cherry brandy) to cut the sweetness.

So fat-free or full test, bake a cherry cheesecake.

In the early 20th century, the company promoted the first cream cheese cake recipe, and an icon was born.

Pier 1 Imports will sell you Brushing Beauties in blonde, brunette and redhead versions.

Think of the scrub brushes as gal pals who are available to help with cleanup.

At $6.95 each, the dishwasher-safe scrub brushes are inexpensive house gifts and “just because” gifts. Buy hair colors that match your friends’ hair.

Back in your own kitchen, you’re likely to get less resistance from family or housemates when you ask them to “grab the redhead and scrub some pots.”

Fun gals help scrub pots. From Pier 1 imports.

[2] Already have baked brownies? Press soaked dried cherries into the top or whip up a light film of icing to hold the cherries (photo © Alison’s Gourmet).

The legend of George Washington and the cherry tree was an invention of book agent Mason Locke Weems, in his 1800 biography, “The Life of Washington.” The cherry tree has been associated with Washington ever since.

Washington’s Birthday was declared a federal holiday by Congress in 1880,* the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen.

Cherry pie, typically made with canned tart cherries, became a popular way to celebrate the day. Over the years, many other cherry recipes followed.

Alas for those who like fresh ingredients, cherry season is in summer. But quality canned cherries (we like Chukar Cherries), frozen cherries and dried cherries enable cooks and bakers to express their patriotism—or at least, use the occasion to make something different.

For the President’s Day weekend, a batch of cherry brownies will hit the spot with your family and friends:

 
Prefer a chocolate chip cookie? Here’s our recipe for yummy cherry chocolate chip cookies.
 
 
> Check out the history of brownies.

*Initially the holiday was for government offices in the District of Columbia. In 1885 it was expanded to include all federal offices. State government offices, including schools, followed suit, followed by banks and other businesses. The holiday was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, February 22nd, until 1971, when it was shifted to the third Monday in February and combined with the Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12th) celebration to allow federal employees a three-day weekend.