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My husband BDK and I are completely obsessed with Scott Cochran. If you’ve ever been to an Alabama game, you’ve seen this fellow on the sidelines yelling and bouncing, or up on the jumbotron with his famous “yeah yeah yeah yeah!” Last night, we spent a good hour watching YouTube videos of him and his motivational speeches. Seriously, this guy wakes up on fire and never stops! Y’all, I promise I’m going somewhere with this…
Like college football and saying yes and no ma’am, FOOD is crazy important in the South! So much so that it inspired us to begin a new Southern Weddings mini series: Southern Delicacy. Beginning today, we’ll all learn a little more about the yummiest (and yes, sometimes the wackiest!) grub in the country!
Image credit: Luster Studios
What better Southern food to start with than grits? Originating from the American Indian culture, grits are now most commonly found in the Southern United States. They are mainly eaten at breakfast, and made from coarsely ground corn. Grits are often seasoned with salt or sugar, but true Southerners serve them with cheese, butter, country ham red-eye gravy, or – my personal favorite – shrimp! Grits are one of those foods that you either love or hate – there really isn’t an in-between. A cousin of mine thinks they taste like “dirt”! I tend to disagree with her. I do agree that the texture is a bit grainy, and plain they can be a bit bland, but with the right amount of butter and cheese mixed in, they’re rather yummy. Think more ground popcorn than dirt!
Image credit: First two images from Martha Stewart Weddings (here + here); grits sign photo by Melissa Schollaert via Southern Weddings; next two images by Veil & Bow via Style Me Pretty (bag design by Sarah Jane Winter); grits favors by Calder Clark (photo by A Bryan Photo)
Grits make a great Southern addition to any wedding menu, but don’t stop there! We love the idea of a mix your own grits bar, and a shrimp and grits appetizer station would be perfect to start your reception off on a Southern note. I also adore the idea of adding a personal touch to favors by tucking a bag of grits and a copy of your grandmama’s best recipe into some pretty packaging for guests to enjoy at home.
What’s your favorite Southern food? Let me know in the comments below, and you might see your name and favorite food up in lights! (Okay, in my next feature. Who needs lights anyway?)
Melissa Schollaert is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!
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Perryn, January 12, 2012 10:44 am reply LOVE It! We had a Grits Bar at our wedding and it was amazing! (of course some of our northern friends weren't fans...) But it is such a wonderful Southern touch..and Very yummy! P
Liz, January 12, 2012 10:48 am reply I have been on the hunt for small bags of grits for wedding favors--- any suggestions???
Marissa, January 12, 2012 10:53 am reply Hi Liz! Any small muslin bags with a drawstring will be great, but I'm a BIG fan of these adorable muslin bags with mason jar thank you's printed on them. http://www.etsy.com/listing/76709425/muslin-favor-bags-muslin-3x5-set-of-25 Good luck! xo, Marissa
Annie, January 12, 2012 11:47 am reply Grits are so good! My husband and I got married in VA, and we had grits at our rehearsal dinner (a fun Southern-style dinner) and at the brunch the next day.
Marissa, January 12, 2012 12:14 pm reply Yum! I bet they were delicious!
Katie, January 12, 2012 11:59 am reply One of the best memories of my wedding has to do with grits! Seeing this post, I have to share. There is a grist mill in my hometown that still makes grits the old fashioned way - fresh ground with a stone and no preservatives. I was going to do them as favors in little muslim bags with our new initials handstamped on them. I picked up my order of freshly ground grits 2 days before the wedding and stayed up all night with my dad bagging away. The next morning, over breakfast no less, my mom and I noticed weevals in the grits! We both started crying, with a little laughter mixed in! I was terrified to send my guests home with bugs in their grits! (especially my in-laws to be from New England!)Turns out the mill had ground the grits a week to early! We fixed it though with a trip to the grocery store to pick up store-bought stone ground grits with perservatives!!
Marissa, January 12, 2012 12:14 pm reply Oh, Katie! That is horrible, but I do see why y'all laughed! I'm glad to hear that it ended up working out in the end! Thanks for sharing your story! xo, Marissa
Madelynne Miller, January 12, 2012 1:36 pm reply I ABSOLUTELY must agree that grits are amahzing. Gouda grits? yes! Cheddar grits? yes! Mixing bacon and eggs into your grits? yes! stone ground grits? more please! Shrimp and grits is the BEST.
Sierra, January 12, 2012 6:02 pm reply We are definitely on the same page... I don't eat grits unless I mix bacon, eggs and cheese in there (sort of like how I prefer a loaded baked potato)!
Kelly, January 12, 2012 1:48 pm reply I love love love my Granny's cheese grits! Favorite food ever. I do have an addition to your perfect-accompaniments-to-grits list, though: bacon! As much as I'm not one of those people who likes to put bacon on EVERYTHING, the salty crunch of bacon goes perfectly with stone-ground grits! Yum! :)
Marissa, January 12, 2012 2:18 pm reply Yes, how could I forget bacon?! Such a great addition!
Laura, January 12, 2012 2:02 pm reply Although I'm a born and raised Southerner, I never was much of a fan of grits, fortunately when I started dating my boyfriend, he opened my eyes to their wonders :) But I have to say that my favorite, quintessential, southern food has to be corn bread! I'm going to insist that corn bread and biscuits be served at my southern spread reception (family style of course!) with lots of fresh butter and preserves at the ready.
Marissa, January 12, 2012 3:20 pm reply Ooh, Laura! Cornbread is one of my favorites, but biscuits are my very very favorite! I think I could eat them everyday!
Sierra, January 12, 2012 6:10 pm reply My grandpa and brother like to eat cornbread mashed up in a bowl of milk.
BrittanyElizabeth, January 12, 2012 2:53 pm reply hmmm, I think by far one of my favorite southern foods is the Barbeque! :] It's just so good! And no other place does it better than the south! :] But grits are pretty good too! My fiance likes his with syrup! :]
Marissa, January 12, 2012 3:19 pm reply BBQ definitely ranks high up on the list! I've never heard of grits with syrup! That is crazy!
AmandaR, January 12, 2012 4:45 pm reply FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!!! Man alive, they're good and fancy people even eat em and add special "coulis" and what-not to em. We are having them as an appetizer during the cocktail hour at our wedding in June. Oh ya, mac n' cheese too! I love food.
Sierra, January 12, 2012 6:13 pm reply How fun! Sometimes when my mom gets a hankering for some, she will order just fried green tomatoes for her dinner.
Vanessa, January 12, 2012 5:18 pm reply I love this idea! I'm from PA but my father is from the south so I've grown up eating grits and obviously love them! :)
Jackie Briggs, February 2, 2013 8:11 am reply My daughter is planning a Charlston wedding within the next year. Since we are true "grits lovers," we'd love to send guests home with a favor of grits. Any suggestions on where to purchase, how to package, etc. small samples of grits? Thank you!