Real Food Has Curves

For the third week of our pre-tour of Bruce's and my new book, HAM: AN OBSESSION WITH THE HINDQUARTER, published in only two weeks, we're gonna do a real comfort-food classic, made with crazy-good, down-home, wet-cured ham (aka, deli ham--the stuff you get on sandwiches). You're in for a real scoop on the book with this post, because this luscious bit of comfort food is a great meal with a vinegary salad on the side--or as I had it this morning, a plate of "leftover" casserole, nuked in the microwave until hot. Which fortified me to go out and get rid of the seven (frickin') inches of snow we got yesterday.

So without much more ado, here's how to do the magic:

First, set the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F. Dab a little butter on a crumpled paper towel and grease the inside of a 9-inch square or 6-cup oval baking dish.

Then prepare the grits. For you Yankees and other grits-challenged pagans, these are made from ground, dried corn. If the hulls have been left on the kernels, you've got yellow grits; if not, white grits. So bring 3 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan set over high heat, then stir in 3/4 cup quick-cooking grits.

You might think I grew up eating a lot of grits, the Southerner that I am. I remember this one locavore in Manhattan, bending over me with her pointy finger, smiling thinly, saying, "Oh, how you must have relished those regional foods down there!" She started into a long lecture about eating locally. I'm sure I fell asleep.

Um, no. I grew up in a family trying to forget its dirty roots. My father wore a white shirt and a tie; he worked in insurance. Yes, both my parents grew up in family farms. But we lived in Dallas. We drove sedans. And we ate grits about the way she does: as a bit of veiled irony in a diner when on vacation, a little breakfast among the hicks (from which we were only one generation removed).

Not anymore. I love grits. But yes, quick-cooking for this recipe. Because, listen, there's enough to do. Would it be better with the kind of grits you have to stir for ten hours on the stove? Of course. But convenience shouldn't be discounted, just examined. That's the whole essence of REAL FOOD HAS CURVES. Is it real? You bet. So go for it.

Anyway, reduce the heat to low and simmer the grits until thick and mushy, about 5 minutes, stirring once in a while. You don't want them to dry out. After all, they're going to bake in a casserole. So a little wet is better than not.

Next, the ham. Deli ham. I went to the store and bought a chunk. No slicing needed--or even wanted. I wanted to dice the thing into chunks about the size of the apple and scallions. And listen: real ham. Please. No part of a pig looks like a football. None of that extruded stuff. Blech.

Melt a tablespoon (or so!) of unsalted butter in a skillet set over medium heat. Add 8 ounces, chopped, wet-cured, smoked, deli ham; 4 chopped, medium scallions; and 1 peeled, cored, and chopped tart apple, like a Granny Smith. Stir this over the heat just until the scallions start to soften, a couple minutes. Add 2 teaspoons minced marjoram leaves and a few dashes hot red pepper sauce, like Tabasco sauce. Then scrape the entire contents of the skillet into the saucepan with the grits.

Now for the cheese. Take 6 ounces Brie out of the fridge. It has to be cold because you're going to cut the rind off. Use a sharp knife to get under there. It won't be perfect--there'll be bits of gooey cheese stuck to the rind. Scrape off what you can, then slice the cold cheese into bits. Scrape it into the grits mixture and stir well.

Separate two eggs. Stir the yolks into the grits. And don't skimp here. You can't overstir the thing. Make sure everything's mixed together. The cheese should be getting good and melty. Leave no bit of yellow egg floating in the mixture.

Now for the fussy step: beat the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until you can form droopy peaks off the stopped beaters by dipping them into the beaten whites. Two tricks here: 1) room-temperature eggs (longer protein chains make for higher egg whites) and 2) not a drop of water in the bowl.

Once beaten, use a rubber spatula to fold them into the grits mixture. Work gently, efficiently, and quickly. You don't want to loose any of that trapped air--or much of it. Those beaten egg whites are the leavening, as it were. Just fold them until you can't really see any more of the whites--then pour and scrape the entire contents of that saucepan into the prepared baking dish.

Bake until puffed, lightly browned, and somewhat set (the casserole may jiggle a bit when tapped but should not move like liquid), about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping it up--and then save back the leftovers for the best breakfast the next morning, even if you don't have any (frickin') snow to shovel.