Add Yankee-style grits to homemade sausage for a delightful breakfast

By Jim Bailey
theyankeechef.blogspot.com

Last week I gave you a recipe for homemade sausage that was both tasty and contained much less fat and calories than you can find in prepared pork sausages. This week, let’s put those sausages with a traditional southern dish, made my way!

With good ol’ cheddar cheese and apples, not to mention maple syrup, grits are complimented extremely well for those of you trying them for the first time. Normally bland, grits are made creamier using milk instead of water and the cheese shines through beautifully, although highly despised by true Southerners. And yes, I did say orange cheddar. Do you honestly think it is yellow? White is fine though, but orange gives it aesthetic appeal.

New England style quick grits with orange cheddar.

2 1/4 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup white Quick grits
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded orange Cheddar cheese
8 turkey sausage links
1 large apple, cored and cut into slices
3 tablespoons maple syrup

In a saucepan, add milk and grits. Bring to scalding over high heat, whisking almost constantly. Reduce heat to low before it boils and stir in salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 4 to 6 minutes, or until it has thickened, stirring occasionally. Add the cheese, stir and remove from heat, replacing lid. After a few minutes, remove lid to stir the cheese until melted.

While the grits are cooking, cook your sausage links over medium heat. When done, drain and add the apple slices. Continue cooking sausages and apples until apples are just barely done. Drizzle maple syrup over sausages and apples, stir to combine. Divide grits evenly among  four plates, adding equal amounts of apple slices and sausage links. It’s Just That Simple! See my article on corn in the article section of theyankeechef.com for more info on corn products, including grits.

Serves four.

Schiffer Books of Pennsylvania has released Jim Bailey’s new book The Yankee Chef: Feel Good Food for Every Kitchen. It contains more than 550 traditional New England comfort-food recipes tweaked for today’s palates with hundreds of kitchen tips and food facts. The hardback book is 312 pages and contains 200 color images. Its ISBN is 978-0-7643-4191-5 and the cost is $34.99. The book can be ordered through Misty Valley Books, 802-875-3400.