Everyone has been turning up their noses when I tell them I’m making pumpkin grits for Thanksgiving dinner.  They hate when I try to introduce something new to my traditional holiday menus.

I made the pumpkin grits today. And listen, they are delicious.  I tweaked the recipe I posted earlier, and baked them into timbales (in a muffin pan over a water bath.) Brenda gagged when I told her what I was making – I’m taking this plate over to her to prove I’m not so deluded after all.

In case you’re looking for a special side for your Thanksgiving dinner – here’s how I made them. I think I’ll send this recipe to Paula Deen. I’ll probably be invited to be a guest on her show.

I also took some to Yvonne – my neighbor on the other side.  She loved them – or at least she said she did. Wants the recipe for her Christmas wing ding.  We decided that adding a little garlic powder and hot sauce would be a good thing.

I’m getting a little bored with the timbale thing, so I will probably bake up the rest of the pumpkin grits in a casserole for tomorrow.

Theresa Tiffin and her mother from West Point just stopped by and we polished off a few more.  They want the recipe too.  Or maybe they were just being polite.  Here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin Grits Timbales

6 cups water

1-1/2 cups uncooked grits

2 tsp salt

1-1/s cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 eggs beaten

2 T. parmesan cheese

Cook grits.  Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese, salt and pepper and pumpkin.  Mix eggs and sour cream and stir into grits.  Spoon into 12 4-ounce muffin cups.  (There will still be gobs of grits left so you can just bake them in a casserole.) Pour hot water to depth of one inch in a pan.  Place filled muffin pan over the water.  (Cover the muffin pan with aluminum foil first.)  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (I cooked another 7-8 minutes because my oven cooks slow.)  Cool completely.  Invert muffin pan over greased baking sheet.  They come out, they really do, but  did run a knife around them before the big dump. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and broil until browned.

The timbale idea came to me in a dream.  The original recipe just calls for serving them after adding the cheddar cheese (no parm).  I like my way better, but after doing two batches, and eating half of them, I may just serve the  remaining grits in a casserole for tomorrow…..

If you’re from the South and love grits like I do, this is a winner.