Mrs. Ralph Izard's "Awendaw"

 miss emma gaillard witsell, this must feed a very very hungry 6-8 people!

Last week I decided to explore the chapter titled: Hominy & Rice, Cheese & Eggs. I loved the quote at the beginning that said- "Never call it 'Hominy Grits'/Or you will give Charlestonians fits!'

   I made this to accompany chicken saltimbocca  (by Virginia Willis from Bon Appetit Ya'll) with a blue cheese salad and parmesean cheese twists. It was a perfect mix of salty goodness and sweet salad. Nothing beats the combo of country ham and grits!

This was a dish I will definitely make again. It was really easy. It was super super filling and the 2 hungry boys I fed could not even go back for seconds, which was great because I ate it for breakfast the whole week. It keeps well for leftovers. It is thicker than a usual grits casserole due to the addition of cornmeal and eggs. I added some cheddar on top of mine (because I can never ever resist!). As usual, the receipt did not specify how long to cook the hominy, but I compared it to the baked hominy receipt, and decided about an hour should be good.

seriously, this is how much I had leftover after 3 people.

Ok, ya'll will have to endure my inner history dork for this receipt. When I saw the namesake for this receipt, Mrs. Ralph Izard, it had me thinking about if this was the Mrs. Ralph Izard I have seen frequently in portraits. One of my favorite coffee table books is In Pursuit of Refinement, Charlestonians Abroad, 1740-1860. I have a small obsession with portraits and this book has all the 18th century heavy hitter portrait artists. The cover of the book is this beautiful portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Izard by John Singleton Copley. I plan to have my portrait  like this in my living room one day. ha. Can you imagine?

Did this pretty lady invent this delish hominy recipe? hmmm

And here is another beautiful portrait of Mrs. Ralph Izard by Gainsborough that is at the Met.

  However, this Mrs. Ralph Izard (Alice Delancey) is from New York. Did a Yankee create our awendaw hominy? We do have other Mrs. Ralph Izards in the history books. Besides this senator's wife, we have his son. The other Mrs. Ralph Izard, (maiden name Eliza Lucas Middleton Pinckney) might be the creator of yummy dish. This is a mystery for the ages....
  Stay tuned, next week I think I am going to attempt Chicken Country Captain, or maybe even risk some grease burns and fry me up some chicken!

-christine