Published: August 21, 2008 08:58 am            

Grits and glory

Earlier this week while having dinner, my 7-year-old son said, “I wonder what our next family will look like.” I didn’t quite know what he was getting at, so I asked a couple of clarifying questions. “You mean the next family that lives in our house?” I asked.

“No,” he replied, “after we’re all dead, the next family.”

After a little more conversation he managed to explain that he was thinking about a future generation of Hutchesons — the great-great-grandchildren that he and his brother will have — my great-great-great grandchildren.

Without getting into too detailed an explanation, my wife and I explained that children are a mix of their two parents and their parent’s families. So the mothers of his and his brother’s future children will help determine what their kids will look like, and so on, and so on.

The last three generations of Hutcheson men have all stood at 5’6”, so if we ever want to produce some taller progeny my boys had better think about dating tall women — maybe future members of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Beach Volleyball Team.

Like all families, ours is influenced by the many generations that preceded it, and along with the biological DNA there is a cultural DNA at work as well. Nowhere is this more evident than in the kitchen. I may have grown up in the 1970s and ’80s in the Midwest, but my parents’ rural Arkansas upbringing during the Great Depression is a big part of my food heritage.

Although I can afford more for dinner than beans and cornbread, it is something my family eats on a semi-regular basis. When we eat this dish, I am instantly transported back to my childhood and I can recall my parents’ stories of the lean years of their own childhoods when some dried beans, cornmeal and a ham hock were about all they had.

Grits is another one of those foods that is laden with family heritage. We had grits on our table frequently, and I was never much of a fan as a child. Recently, however, I’ve become a convert. Made from milled corn, this humble dish is making a comeback and can be found in some not-so-humble-places. Some of the finest restaurants in the country are resurrecting and reinterpreting grits.

I recently acquired a few pounds of yellow grits from Sunny Slopes Farm in Lynn. Steve and Rosalie Deatline own a small gristmill and grow their own wheat to mill whole wheat flour and buy corn from neighboring farmers to make their grits.

If you are interested in getting some Indiana grits, the Deatlines sell their products year round on the farm. Their “side-porch sales room” is operated on the honor system when they are not around and they will also ship. Sunny Slopes is at 7773 S. 100 East in Lynn (Randolph County). They can be reached by phone at (765) 874-2170 and by e-mail at deatline@globalsite.com.

Grits are certainly a breakfast-table staple but I’ve been enjoying them for dinner as well. After returning from a trip to the Carolinas, I wanted to have shrimp and grits for dinner the other night. I had picked up a pound of smoked Cheddar cheese and decided to use this in my grits. The result was certainly not what I grew up with, but delicious nonetheless. Topped with some grilled shrimp, this dish was terrific.

I don’t know if all of the next generations of our family will be Hoosiers or not, but I do wonder if an appetite for any of our regional favorites will survive. Sixty years from now will Hutchesons eat sugar cream pie or even know what a fried tenderloin sandwich is? Time will tell, I suppose.

Smoked Cheddar Grits

2 cups milk

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup grits

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 ounces smoked Cheddar, shredded

Salt to taste (if needed)

Place the milk and stock in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Gradually add the grits, whisking continuously. Once all of the grits have been incorporated, reduce heat to low and cover. Every three or four minutes remove lid and whisk to prevent grits from sticking or forming lumps. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is creamy. Remove from heat and add the pepper and butter, whisking to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually whisk in the cheese a little at a time. Add salt if needed and serve immediately.

        

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