Pat-a-Cake, Pattycake

I’ve been scratching my head a lot in my soul food kitchen here in Tel Aviv, trying to figure out how to do one of my most favorite dishes (grits) in such a way that it doesn’t get all dried and yucky by the time it arrives on my guest’s dinner table. If you’re a southerner, you get the dilemma immediately, without explanation: grits have got to be served up a la minute. Otherwise, it’s a gelatinous mess. And if you’re not from the South, oh never mind.

The thing is, I’m pretty sure I was nursed on grits instead of baby formula. It’s part of my DNA. Grits slathered in butter and salt. Damn. Grits with cajun shrimp. Hot damn. Grits with flash toasted scallops. You get the idea. I feel like I am simply not doing my job properly by not having this on our menu. It sucks.

And then one insomniac night, I stumble up a recipe from Hugh Acheson, who’s A New Turn in the South and The Broad Fork are literally on my night table. Sure enough, he had a dish comprised of what he calls “grit discs.” OK, we’ll forgive him this sudden lapse of judgment in the naming category. But the idea is nothing short of brilliant: Let the grits harden of their own accord and boom, Pattycakes. The result is pretty fucking amazing. I paired it with a freshly-made tomato aspic (more on that elsewhere) and sent it out the door.

Or I at least tried to send it out the door.. I sent out a few feelers to some of my more adventurous guests, since most people here associate grits and polenta with their childhood porridge, a universally despised dish. No takers. No bigee. I ate them myself. They have no idea what they are missing.