Puttin’ On the Gritz…An Unexpected Candlelight Dinner

Monday was my last day of Thanksgiving vacation, so Ben and I planned a dinner that takes a long time to make, but is really pretty easy (if you can start at 2:00 in the afternoon.) We made beef braised in red wine, cheesy grits, and Caesar salad. All afternoon, the house smelled incredible from the braising beef. About 5:00 we started the other dishes. The cheesy grits were in the spirit of polenta, to go with the beef. We had just started the water boiling and had gotten out all the ingredients when the lights flickered and went out. Way out. 

If you haven’t lived through a power outage with Ben, you are missing out on an experience you can’t replicate any other way. For starters, he is unapologetically afraid of the dark. He also has an encyclopedic memory of all other times PP&L has failed him personally. This is what leads to his recitation of how the last power outages were spent. “Well, that’s it. Let’s go to TGI Fridays.” (We did that maybe 10 years ago.) “Better call Mr. Radspinner. He’ll know what to do.” (Apparently Phil consulted Facebook one year and found that Mr. Radspinner’s neighborhood was out too.) “Are we going to the movie theater? Remember Dru and Gru?” (A movie is a great way to fritter away the time.) “Let’s get the sleeping porch ready.” (Without AC, it is the best place to sleep in the summer – unless you’re bunking with Ben, then nowhere is a good place to sleep.) I can’t even remember what Ben’s power outage connection is to Chris, but every time he sees him, he says, “Oh, the power is out!”

First, Ben and I located and deployed a flashlight and many, many candles. Our gas stove kept working, so we kept going with grits. Our solution for the beef was to not open the oven and hope that residual heat would finish out the last half hour of braising. Caesar salad? We could make that blindfolded. By the time Phil finally got home from work, we had a beautiful dinner ready to rip in a candlelit dining room. Everything was, quite honestly, perfect!

We have been making the beef for many years: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/beef-braised-in-red-wine-236986

Cheesy Grits

1 quart water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup grits

3 tablespoons butter

1/2-1 cup milk (I couldn’t tell how much – the kitchen was dark)

3 to 4 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1 (4 oz.) can green chili

Bring water to boil with salt. Gradually stir in grits. Cover and stir occasionally, according to package directions (5-7 minutes for “quick cooking grits” – 15-20 for regular.)

Put butter in pot with grits, stirring to melt. Add some of the milk, all of the cheese, and green chili. When it is all incorporated, add more milk if you like a looser mix. Pass it off as polenta if serving with an Italian dish.

Here’s what I know. The next time there is a power outage, Ben will call for beef and grips. We will listen to him recount the litany of his previous power company disappointments, and we will nod, as if he is a persecuted zealot enumerating the many ways he has been wronged, and not just a dude afraid of the dark. Like it or not, this meal has worked its way into our family power outage lore.