A few weeks ago I got a wild hair and decided to do a small order from Anson Mills.

I like their products, but they’re both expensive and can be a bit pretentious, at times. Now, of course, I am never pretentious, myself, but, it’s all for a good cause – or dinner, as the case may be.

When it comes to corn, I am generally a yellow corn person. I think it has a much better flavor than white corn, and blue corn – as in tortilla chips – are just slightly lost on me. That didn’t stop me from paying $7.00 for a 12 oz package of Native Coarse Blue Corn Grits. Their website states  they come from ” … the Cherokee Nation in the mountains of the Carolinas. Slow-cooked grits made from this fresh new crop blue corn have the fragrance and taste of mountain terroir and sweet corn, with intriguing background notes of chestnuts.” I was intrigued…

I am a huge fan of polenta, grits, hominy, even good ol’ cornmeal mush. And now I can say I’m also a fan of Blue Corn Grits. The texture was great – smooth and creamy with just enough bite – and the flavor was really good. I didn’t pick up on the chestnuts, but my aging palate usually doesn’t find those semi-obscure background notes. Overly-expensive wines with1001 nuances are lost on me, as well.

The only real downside to them is the cooking time. They really do need to be soaked overnight, and then it’s a really low-and-slow cooking process. I think it’s worth it, but one does need to plan ahead and be ready to dedicate an hour to cooking them.

I decided on a bit of a non-traditional main to go with them – a quick stir-fry of chicken, Mexican chorizo, bell pepper, spring onion, a bit of cumin, and a squirt of hot taco sauce from Trader Joe’s. It was pretty good and both complimented one another.

I don’t see me buying these often, but they’ll be nice for the occasional special dinner. I think next time might be a lowcountry shrimp and grits!

In the meantime, I have a package of Pencil Cob Grits that will need to find a meal…

Stay tuned.