Frankye Mehrle’s Cheesy Grits
Submitted by: FRANKYE MEHRLE
Their Food Story:
I grew up in Braggadocio, MO and was so fortunate to live within walking distance to both sets of grandparents, uncles, aunts and lots of cousins. Dinner was always at noon and supper was our light evening meal. Sunday dinner was always at my grandmother’s home with Chicken and dumplings. Mamaw was my mother’s mother and was considered one of the best cooks in Pemiscot county. Included in the Sunday dinner were mother’s two brothers and their families. Total 15.
Grits were for breakfast. Breakfast was every weekday at my uncle’s house and was cooked by my uncle and my daddy. They were farmers, up by 4 a.m. and served breakfast at 6 for the cousins who were up in time. The farms were from my ‘double cousin’ Kaye McKaskle’s and my great great grandfather. We were always told “Never ever sell the farms.”
Frankye Mehrle’s Cheesy Grits
Ingredients:
1 cup White Corn Grits (I recommend Braggadocio organic brand)
4-1/4 cups water
½ cup butter
¾ cup garlic Cheddar cheese, grated (Yancey’s brand is good)
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper
Instructions:
Cook grits in the salted water.
As grits begin to thicken, add butter and cheese.
Beat eggs and milk. Add to grits mixture.
Pour into baking dish.
Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Baked grits are delicious with shrimp sautéed in olive oil or butter, garlic and red pepper flakes. Serve the shrimp on the grits with a side of pan-roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic and corn.
For breakfast, rewarm any leftover grits and serve with crispy bacon and a fried egg on top.
Cathy Salter’s Grits Story
Frankye Mehrle introduced me to grits at her book club gathering where members were discussing Delia Owen’s novel, Where the Crawdads Sing. Grits play an important role in the book, so Frankye brought a bag of Braggadocio Organic White Corn Grits for each of us that morning. It’s one of the many organic products produced by her cousin Kaye McKaskle and Kaye’s husband Steve. As fifth generation farmers located near the Bootheel town of Braggadocio, they pioneered organic farming in Missouri. They started with cotton, and grew into popcorn, Basmati and Long Grain rice, soybeans, corn, cotton and oats. Shop online and they deliver directly to you!
I’ve since made shrimp and grits as well as breakfast grits with bacon and fried eggs using the McKaskle Family Farm’s white corn grits (above). Following Frankye’s advice, I add Yancey’s garlic Cheddar cheese available at Moser’s Grocery stores. After writing about “Grits and Polenta” in my newspaper column “Notes from Boomerang Creek,” Kaye and Steve sent me a bodacious gift box that included a sample of every one of their farm’s products, as well as a 1952 design Atom Popper to cook their organic popcorn!