HUNGRY GERALD

The New Mexico skies are very blue and the sunshine glistens. However, a north wind is blowing and there’s a chill in the air this morning. BSK meets the challenge of unseasonable low temperatures by cooking HG’s favorite breakfast: Cheese grits and poached eggs. The grits are the Geechie Boy brand, down home, stone ground, with true corn flavor. The Geechie Boy grits are a gift from SJ, the Brooklyn gourmand, reggae impresario, barbecue chef, urban poet. Geechie Boy grits are not the instant variety. They take a lot of patient stirring (a quality they share with true Italian polenta). BSK’s poached eggs are state of the art. When the yolk is pierced and the lush yellow mingles with the grits, HG”s appetite scales the heights. It is all reminiscent of a time (many, many decades ago) when little HG (for a brief time) lived in an Athens, Georgia boarding house. A motherly, large African-American woman presided over the kitchen. Her grits, biscuits and red eye gravy with fried ham gave little HG much morning joy. A very happy memory. Well, BSK is not African-American. BSK is Anglo-Irish-Welsh-Canadian. BSK is not a chubby lady. BSK maintains a very svelte form. However, BSK’s cool weather breakfasts have a touch of African-American soul.

Christmas.Day began with warmed Panettone, marmalade and coffee. Rain ceased. Sun appeared. Lovely meandering walk around the Riverside, RI, shore following the excitement of present opening. Imaginative gifts. Mexican good luck amulets from Gifted Daughter Lesley R. A large collection of mini photo cards (created by Exquisite Maiko) depicting the family and little ones. SJ gave HG Geechie Boy grits and some other culinary wonders including a bottle of handcrafted rye whiskey. Gorgeous Granddaughter Sofia displayed one of her distinctive talents by fashioning a book cover for HG which satirized hilariously one of HG’s traditional and well-worn Christmas jokes. The traditional gifts of books, carefully curated, from Lesley and Massimo R: A winter’s worth of stimulating reading. A beautiful sweater and a colorful watch from BSK. Colorful socks from Lesley R. (HG receives them with joy every Christmas). This just skims the surface. Lots of generosity, originality. And, love. Dinner was a replay of the Seven Fishes with a happy addition. SJ, The Latkes King, made a big batch of crisp potato pancakes (a bow to our collective Jewish heritage). HG covered five raw Dutch herring filets with chopped onion. Gave them a squeeze of lemon and a shower of ground pepper. Flanked them with SJ’s latkes and sour cream. Drank cold half-and-half. Also managed to knock off some smoked yellowfin tuna gilded with very good, fruity olive oil. Happy jingles, one and all.

Cold winds and thunderstorms racing through Prince Edward Island this morning. Time for a comforting breakfast. And, what could be better than grits topped by softly scrambled eggs and Frank’s Thick Hot Sauce? Because of thoughtful and generous SJ, a bag of Geechie Boy Mills stone ground white grits was at hand. From Edisto Island, South Carolina, these grits are the real deal, infinitely superior than the bland stuff available at supermarkets. Geechie Mills is a farm-stand and traditional mill house and their grits have a sublime texture and the stone grinding (as opposed the industrial methods of milling which “cook” the corn through heat friction) preserves all the natural robust corn flavor. Eating this goodness from Geechie Boy made HG recall the time he spent on Edisto Island almost 70 years ago. Edisto is a barrier beach (very similar to HG/BSK’s beloved Fire Island) a short drive from Charleston. HG stayed in an oceanfront dune house (owned by HG’s late brother Bernard’s friend). HG retains some very pleasant culinary memories from that visit. A large African-American woman fried succulent fish in a spicy batter. This was served with grits and bacon gravy plus a side of collard greens enriched by smoky ham hocks. Young HG ate this savory food and drank sweet iced tea while watching whitecaps on the Atlantic Ocean. A fortunate fellow.