Good Old Grits Cookbook

Southerners know that grits are a cornerstone of Southern cooking. For the rest of us, who suspect that grits are wallpaper paste that mistakenly wound up on our plates, Neal and Perry have written a vindication of the food and provided an interesting, quirky new point of entry to regional cooking lore. Humble grits have been around for roughly 5000 years and were a staple in the diets of early American settlers. But, the authors believe, grits are misunderstood outside of the South because they are usually eaten alone. Instead, they should be scooped up with sausage and swirled in runny egg yolk, mixed with rich gravy, or topped with molasses for dessert. These recipes put grits on the table at breakfast, lunch and dinner in the form of shrimp and grits, cheese grits and blueberry and grits muffins. Recipes are safe for the inexperienced. No allowance is made, however, for substituting frozen foods for out-of-season items--a drawback. Readers should also be aware that some recipes will require a fair amount of time, though the result will be dishes with ``stick-to-it-iveness.'' Neal and Perry also share a recipe for preparing stoneground grits, which they claim have true Southern flavor--but packaged grits from the local supermarket should do just fine. (June)