Jim Connor's Grits/Polenta

Courtesy of Jim Connor, Solana Beach CA. I can personally attest to its yumminess -- Thanks, Jim!:

Get the grits/polenta from some kind of ‘ farm stores ‘, if possible, out of the bin or grains section so that you can see the size of the cracked corn ‘grains’. Should be coarse or medium, not small or meal-like, or it will be mush….Some stores now have packaged ‘polenta’ which is clean and coarse. The quality is important; just like rice for risotto, it has to be able to absorb lots of liquid and swell….I always use yellow and not white, the corn taste is much richer, I think. One can order on line but quality then is not secure unless you know the mill, and the price is always higher…do not use the un-winnowed kind of stone ground grits for it has to be sifted in water several times to rid it of un-separated chaff of the shell. Any large upscale grocery should have what you need. [I personally never have tried quick grits…or the like].

1 cup of grits/polenta to 3-4 cups of liquid is the rule of thumb… I use boiling liquid to start it off in a non-sticking high sided pot with a ‘cold handle’. Pour in the boiling water from the tea pot, stirring gently to prevent clumping of the grains, adding all of the liquid up to the 3:1 ratio. Keep it gently boiling and stirring gently almost constantly. When it is thickening, add more liquid and keep stirring. When that liquid is gone, add more and keep stirring [ just like for risotto ]. You will ultimately [probably] use at least 4:1 ratio of liquid to solid, by measure, or more….

Now when you first think it is ready…..it is not…..you want to keep heat on it until it looks creamy. I taste a bit in a spoon from time to time to find out if it is soft and ‘creamy’. If it is still gritty, it is not quality food….! Keep it on moderate heat and keep turning it over and over in the pot with a large spoon until the grittiness is gone and it is soft and ‘creamy’.

Then it is done. May be kept on warmer top of stove and continue to turn it over once in a while until served. If you want to serve it nest day, then pour it into a flat glass pan, even up the top and put it away to cool and then refrigerate overnite. Next day heat it up in the oven, but do not cook it again…..May freeze it and fry it later in butter….Yum….

Now then, that is basic for a good dish…!

Other ingredients as follows for flavors:

Use half strength or full strength chicken broth for the liquid. I use dried chicken stock in water. Add pepper and garlic powder to taste. I also add some Tony Chacere’s Creole Seasoning also, to hit it up….then at last stage into the mature, or maturing dish on the stove, I add finely….chopped – by hand or by blender – a quarter of a round of Polish Kielbasa medium sausage and let it cook up into the dish….many Southern recipes use milk or cream, it can be very good, I do not use it unless I am making this dish for the fabled Shrimp and Grits….

"The Best things in Life Are Right Here in Cleveland" Lyrics

I know this isn't a recipe but everyone on the internet had these wrong so I need to write them down:

The best things in life are right here in Cleveland,

there are friendly people here.

Getting around is easy here,

we're a town where great things happen all year.

You can live in the country and be minutes from town -

catch a show, catch a night club, or just shop around.

The best things in life are right here in Cleveland,

from the Flats to the Cleveland Zoo.

From the Playhouse to Karamu --

We're a big league city, we're little league too.

University Circle, Blossom and the parks,

make it clear, very clear, that

Cleveland's a great place to live, 'cause the best things in life are here,

yes, the best things in life are here.

Now, does anyone know both verses to the Lawson's "Roll on, Big O" Song?

Omphoy Cocktail

1 part freshly-squeezed lime juice

2 parts St. Germain

2 parts Hendricks gin

3 parts club soda

shake and serve on the rocks with a wedge of lime.