GRITS!

I don't know about ya'll but grits are one of my FAVORITE foods. I think I pretty much subsided off of grits and EZ mac my freshman year at Virginia Tech. I could literally eat them with every meal (and I did back then). I eat them with butter. I eat them with salt. I eat them with cheese. And I eat them with sugar.

Last year, I was at work in DC trying to obtain some land disturbance permits and I had like three hours to wait so I was killing time watching on the permit center's TV. Of course I was bored out of my mind when suddleny I saw my favorite lady ever, Mrs. Paula Dean, making a GRITS PIE on the TV! So naturally I started paying attention and got to work scribbling down all the steps and ingredients. Naturally, I stopped by the grocery store on my way back into Richmond and picked up all the ingredients because I just had to make it THAT night. I invited my friend Will over and we had dinner and the absolutely heavenly grits pie. Seriously if your a fan of grits this pie is to die for. It's def. not diet friendly (but really what Paula Dean recipe is...)

Usually I top mine with homemade whip cream (I can't stand cool whip) and fresh strawberries or rasberries. Last year I used some leaf cookie cutters I had and trimeed the edge of the pie with little crust leaves and brought it to out Thanksgiving feast. Everyone was a little skepitcal (I have been known to leave "key" ingredients out of whatever I am baking) but I think I made a fan out of everyone at the table. I plan to make 2 this year to share with everyone and I also plan on making one for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck party I am going to this weekend.

Seriously if you like grits at all I totally reccomend making this. After all its a Paula recipe...can't go wrong with that!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking grits
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9-inch) frozen pie shell, thawed
• Sweetened whipped cream and strawberries, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the grits and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the butter and cook for 1 additional minute. Set aside and cool slightly.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Slowly stir into the cooled grits. Pour into the pie shell and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream and strawberries as a garnish, if desired.