‘Blobbing’ in Burgundy

My 82 year old mother, who lives in Georgia, called the other day and said, “Well Hon, how’s your new Blob going?” I hope it turns out a little better than that, but if you’re just tuning in to what is the first weekly post, preceded by a couple of posts to tell the story of the Château de Balleure, then welcome to my Blob.

By the way, this is the same geography-challenged mother who tells her friends, “My daughter lives in the south of France, near Switzerland”. That’s kind of hard to do. We do live in the southern part of Burgundy, and Geneva is two hours to the east, but no, Mom, we’re not in Provence but in eastern central France, an hour above Lyon.

Most folks are familiar with the pale palette of Provence, with its colors of soft sage green and gray and sand, its low trees and long vistas. But what is it like in our little corner of France? Our coin is first of all a riot of garish colors: grass so green it doesn’t look real, maples of all hues, fruit trees with showy blooms, silvery, swaying poplars. Fields of neon yellow colza, red poppies, golden sunflowers. The hills dip and roll, just short of being called mountains; and everywhere there are pastures, alive with violet and yellow wildflowers at this time of year. The pastures are divided with hedgerows,the cows are mostly the pure white Charolais variety, and there are sheep, too. Our views are valley views of pastures, fields, and vineyards, with woods rolling along the tops of the long hills; and everywhere little villages, well polished by time with their gold or gray stone and red tile roofs, windows shuttered in French blue or willow green. Villages are punctuated by the steeples of Romanesque churches. As a visiting American who saw the area for the first time said, wistfully, “It’s so beautiful it almost hurts.”

RECIPE: Mickey’s Grits with a French Twist

In honor of my mother Mickey, who taught me to make this dish, I’m going to kick this ‘Blob’ off with a recipe for—what else? Grits. Not just any grits, but Baked Cheese and Garlic Grits, frenchified up with some good gruyere (cheddar is the southern choice, but they don’t do cheddar here, in spite of having 500 kinds of cheese). I’ve already started feeding grits to the French, and they’re coming around; Pierre has been known to ask for seconds. And if you’d like to keep up with life at the château and swap a few recipes, please be sure to subscribe and get your weekly email update.

Serves 8. These are great for a brunch, or as a fancy side dish with dinner.

3 cups water, 1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup quick cooking grits (NOT instant). Or use stone-ground.
2 cups gruyere (or sharp cheddar), grated or cup up small
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
crushed crackers

Bring milk and water just to a boil in large saucepan, stir in grits slowly, and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Follow package directions; quick grits cook in about 5 minutes, stone-ground will take longer. Cook until fairly thick, stirring OFTEN to prevent lumps.

Meanwhile, put about 1T butter in a small pan over med-low heat to melt. Cook garlic in butter for a couple of minutes. Add remaining butter to melt and set aside (You can dial the butter back if you’re dieting).

When grits are done remove from heat and add melted butter and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Add some pepper, taste, add more salt if needed. Mix a bit of grits into eggs to warm them, then mix eggs into grits. Pour into lightly greased 2 qt. casserole and top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes, or until top is set when you shake pan gently. It will take longer if your pan is smaller. Serve hot.