My father, being born and raised in New Orleans, continued to enjoy grits all his life. Even after many years of living in Los Angeles, he would often come home from his office at midday and make himself a bowl of grits for lunch.

In my early New Orleans childhood years, I ate tons of grits – grits with scrambled eggs, grits with Vienna sausages, grits with Velveeta cheese, grits with sliced wieners, grits with chili. By the time I was an adolescent, I’d had my fill of grits!

But now, grits has grown up. They’re cooked with lots of cream, with all kinds of fancy cheeses – like Mascarpone – and herbs added. They’re sometimes served with downright sophisticated items – shrimp, crawfish etoufée – one of my favorite brunch spots here even serves aged Cheddar cheesy sage-herbed grits with shredded short ribs topped by a fried egg.

Another of my favorite lunch spots, Zea’s Rotisserie offers Roasted Corn Grits as a side dish on their meat focused menu. I like to have them with my baby back barbecued ribs. Fortunately for us, Zea’s has shared their simple, but decadent, recipe.

Roasted Corn Grits

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• ¼ stick butter
• 1 cup golden corn
• 1 cup yellow grits (not instant)
• Green onions for garnish

1. Lightly butter or oil a corn cob and grill over charcoal or open fire until slightly blackened, or sauté in olive oil quickly in a hot pan.
2. Cool corn and cut kernels from cob with sharp knife.
3. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add heavy cream and return to boil.
4. Slowly whisk in the grits and then the corn.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 5 to 6 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, and add more chicken broth and/or cream if you’d like to loosen the grits up a bit more.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions.

Yield: 4 servings