Skull Grits

make no bones about it, these grits with tomato gravy will haunt The breakfast table

As the end of summer approaches, I decided to give the remaining tomatoes in the garden one last hurrah. For this recipe, I went to my Granny Hall’s recipe book as a starting point. As much as Halloween is about spooks, it is also about remembering the departed. I have fond memories of eating sun-warmed cherry tomatoes off the vine in my Granny’s back yard and visiting her house before trick or treating to show off my Halloween costumes, so this recipe is dedicated to all the seasonal memories tied to my grandmother. I have included the original recipe as she wrote it below, but I converted it to a vegetarian version. I tried to keep it as close as possible to a simple, hearty Southern style breakfast without getting too fancy. Yes, I know it’s a lot of oil, but I didn’t write the rules on Southern cooking. The extra acid from the vinegar cuts through the richness and makes for a hearty companion to some basic grits.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

For the grits:

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1/2 cup coarse ground white grits

• pinch of salt

For the gravy:

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

• 1 cup diced tomatoes*

• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup water

• salt and pepper to taste

*I used cherry tomatoes from the garden for this recipe because I think they add a nice texture with the extra skins. Canned tomatoes will work, but the amount of water used to thin the gravy may need to be reduced.

For the grits:

Prepare a skull pan by oiling slightly. Bring water and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in the grits along with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring often. Grits will be thick. Remove from heat and transfer into skull molds. Let sit for 10 minutes to take shape before turning out. If cooled too much, the skulls can be reheated in the microwave while still retaining their shape.

For the gravy:

Add olive oil to a skillet on medium heat. Once shimmering, stir in all purpose flour and whisk for 1 minute until flour begins to take on color. Add in 1 cup diced tomatoes (caution: may splatter). Cook for 2-3 minutes until tomatoes start to soften and flour starts to stick to the pan. Use a fork to smash to tomatoes some to release juices. Add 1 Tablespoon vinegar and scrape up any bits on bottom of pan. Whisk in 1/4 cup water to thin and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes until thickened. Season with salt and black pepper. Plate the gravy and top with the grits shaped into skulls.

Granny Hall’s Tomato Gravy (see photo above for recipe in her handwriting):

Put 1/2 cup bacon grease in skillet. Add dash of black pepper and salt. Then add 2 Tbs flour and brown. Be sure to keep stirrring so it won’t burn. When browned, add about 1 1/2 or 2 cups canned tomatoes. If gravy is too thick, add water to make as thick as you want it to be.