Well damn, that was a mouthful. And indeed, this was a heavier breakfast than the oatmeal and bagels I’d accustomed myself to. But it was not in vain, for my adventures exploring Paula Deen’s wondrous perspective on breakfast were bountifully hearty (pun?). A lot of people shun me for referring to myself as a southerner despite being from northern Kentucky. Ironically, the same has happened when I refer to myself as a northerner. It’s never fun to discuss my origins. Nonetheless, because I now live in Florida, and have for several years, I felt it justified to consider myself well-acquainted with the Southern lifestyle, at least regarding food. Such was tested on July 25, 2016, when I put together a diverse breakfast feast akin to those you might find in family-owned breakfast cafes from the 80s. Paula Deen had a lovely inspiring twist to offer the Southern culinary style, however, as she took all the things associated with Southern breakfast and meshed them into a single baked dish. Let’s talk about what that meant: imagine diced potatoes and grits topped with intact sunny-side-up eggs baked to a crisp, served with a side of corn porridge and, at least for me, a cup of good quality single-origin coffee. That’s basically how my morning went. But there were certainly options available. For example, most traditionalists might consider adding ham, while others would scoff at the lack of hot sauce or ketchup inclusions. Some may say that biscuits and gravy are a necessity! Others may yell at me because I was too lazy to prepare everything separately. Regardless of which box you fall into, the great thing about Southern food is how diverse it is. For example, go to New Orleans and you’ll find the Cajun influence in everything, including breakfast. I’d like to talk about my corn porridge for a moment, because this may seem like a rather odd choice for breakfast to many folks (not to my Southern comrades). At the time, I didn’t have cornmeal, which was initially what the recipe called for. What did I do? The one thing I’ve so far learned from cooking: improvisation. Grits were my alternative since that is corn, so I cooked those the same way I would traditional grits (or, I don’t know, oatmeal). Contrasting with the savory elements of my Southern baked jambalaya, I added cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar to the grits, making for a sweeter addition to the breakfast menu. Once the grits reached a smooth consistency, I was able to comfortably mash them into a porridge – you’d never even know I used grits instead of cornmeal. I served the full breakfast with plain bagels (yeah, I didn’t make those) to some family members, who are all from the North. To them, this dish made their choices easier – why choose a single Southern breakfast when you can have them all in one? Well, you could argue that I did skip out on the biscuits and gravy, but hey – there’s a time and place for everything. Besides, I was in a time crunch the day I made this. You might say this was another motivator in my choices – it’s a quick and easy dish that limits the number of pots and pans you must use. And for us Southerners, quick and easy is attractive. What was I in a time crunch for, you ask? Well since you asked, I’ll tell you. Recently, I discussed a writing project I worked on regarding Common Core State Standards and the current state of the education system, specifically arguing the reasons I dislike it and think it is an atrocity to our youth. I finished that project after my Southern breakfast feast – you could say it was a celebratory breakfast. Here, I’ll show you the general consensus of the persuasive paper I wrote (subtext: buy into my philosophy): Agree or disagree? Here is the US on the Global Competitiveness Index pillar of education: I’m open for a collaborative discussion on this topic. As someone who dealt with the effects of Common Core back in high school, I’m shocked at how little I learned in school compared to what I learned after graduating. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
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June 2018
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