Maque choux with cheesy grits
Cajun smothered corn with peppers, onion and a little cream, spooned over rich cheddar grits for a sweet, smoky, stick-to-your-ribs bowl.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.34 a serving
- 640 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup quick grits
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar
- 3 cups frozen corn
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 3 green onions, sliced
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
Each serving has about 640 calories, 23 g protein, 69 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $2.34 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring the water, milk and 1 teaspoon salt in a over medium-high heat. Slowly in the grits.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Milk boils over fast. Stay close and turn the heat down the moment it starts to rise.Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until thick and creamy, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and the cheddar, cover and keep warm.
Low heatTimer: 6 min
the remaining butter in a large over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring only now and then, until some kernels turn , about 5 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Add the onion, pepper and celery and until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and Cajun seasoning for 1 minute.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Add the tomatoes and the last ¼ teaspoon salt and cook 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and until it coats the corn, 2 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Spoon the grits into bowls, top with the maque choux and scatter the green onions over.
Dolly’s tip: Grits thicken as they sit. Loosen them with a splash of hot water or milk if needed.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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