Extra Cheesy Grits from a New Season of 'Cook's Country'

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Season 17 of Cook's Country premieres on WTTW Saturday, September 21 at 12:00 pm and will be available to stream via the PBS app.

It's a big fall for America's Test Kitchen: a special just celebrated 25 years on public television, while new seasons of both America's Test Kitchen and its sister show Cook's Country premiere on Saturday, September 21. Soon after that, Cook's Country editor in chief Toni Tipton-Martin and editor and TV personality Morgan Bolling release a cookbook called When Southern Women Cook. It's just the latest cookbook from Tipton-Martin that digs into little-known and undersung culinary histories; she has explored African American foodways in The Jemima Code, Jubilee, and Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, & Juice. 

This recipe for extra cheesy grits from the new season of Cook's Country fits well into that lineage of Southern, Black cooking. Try it now, especially as the weather cools off.

Extra Cheesy Grits

We developed this recipe with widely available Quaker Old Fashioned Grits. If you use our winning grits (Anson Mills Pencil Cob Grits), or other more coarsely ground grits, you will need to increase the simmering time in step 1 to about 50 minutes.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups whole milk
2 cups water, plus extra for thinning
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup grits
6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons hot sauce, plus extra for seasoning
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Bring milk, water, salt, and pepper to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, whisking often, until grits are thick and creamy, about 25 minutes. (Add extra water, 2 tablespoons at a time, if grits become too stiff while cooking.)

2. Whisk cheddar, Parmesan, butter, mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire into grits until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Off heat, season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Serve.