Grits

Cornmeal Mush - Dee Almquist
Shrimp and Grits - Tommy Armstrong
Cheese Grits - Linda DeMars
Grillades and Grits - Bill Atkinson
Milling Grits - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Grits and Red-Eye Gravy - David Harwell
Dr. Maturin on Grits - Katherine T.
Polenta - Linnea
Grits for Breakfast - Dick McEachern
Maize and Millet - Betsy Packard
Polenta - Anna Ravano
Cooking Grits - Lynn Siprelle

Cornmeal Mush - Dee Almquist
Don't forget one of the classic corn meal uses...corn meal mush. basically it's like hominy grits, only it's always served with a sweetener of some kind. In our home, as a child, we had molasses and sorghum syrup to choose from for sweeteners and I liked it best with a handful of raisins thrown in.
I grew up in California and Colorado (USA) and never saw hominy grits served until I moved to the state of Virginia. All self-respecting eating establishments in the southern states serve grits if they serve breakfast. But whether they are eaten with a sweetener or just with salt and maybe some butter is a matter of individual taste.

Shrimp and Grits - Tommy Armstrong
Although I do not have my history of grits at hand, they are essentially corn that has been treated with lye to remove the germ and hull of the corn. They are then of course washed and dried yielding what is known as hominy. Grits are fine to medium ground hominy and some people call them hominy grits. People from both North and South Carolina just refer to them as grits. It was one of the first foods that the Indians taught the settlers about (early 1600's)--corn being completely foreign of course. The Native Americans derived their lye or sodium hydroxide from the cinders of their fires. It is the same material that is used to turn lard into soap.
They really are rather tasteless but make a good cheap filler or extender for everything from shrimp to bacon to sausage to cheese to just plain butter. We Southerners of the South Carolinian descent eat them for breakfast and supper. Most eat them only as a side dish for breakfast like some eat (yuck) cream of wheat or oatmeal (double yuck). I'll stick with good old American corn.
I personally think Quaker makes the best grits. Do not buy the instant - the quick ones will cook in about 7 minutes, and that is fast enough. If you follow their directions exactly you will get perfect grits.
Shrimp and grits has many different versions and ingredients. But for myself, I prefer to keep it pretty simple. I really like the taste of shrimp so do not like to mask its flavor with a lot of spices. The way I do it, and understand there are plenty of other ways, is to simply slightly boil, peel, and devein the shrimp. I use the smaller sizes as easier to eat (and a good deal cheaper as well). And I think fresh caught wild small shrimp has more taste than the big jumbos. I then lightly sauté in butter and finish cooking them, little lemon juice, little garlic, some onions and green peppers, and then just pour over the grits and mix them. Others add sausage and/or bacon. Or you can peel and devein the raw ones and just sauté and skip the boiling. Almost anyway you do it, as long as you do not cook the shrimp too much and cook perfect grits and use butter, you cannot go wrong. You can cook a meal for 8 in less than 30 minutes. Quick and easy and nice to look at with the shrimp and white grits and speckles of green or red pepper. If I am lazy, just grits, shrimp, butter - fresh ground pepper of course upon serving.

Cheese Grits - Linda DeMars
I very often add lots of garlic and grated Cheddar to grits. That peps them up. My favorite way to fix grits is to cook the yellow grits with lots of garlic. In a separate pan saute chopped Swiss Chard in oil with lots of garlic. Serve the Chard over grits mixed with Parmesan. (You can mix the grits with the Parmesan or the Chard with the Parmesan, or both). That is good eating. Also, try grits as a dinner starch instead of rice or potatoes. Something to put stuff on top of.

Grillades and Grits - Bill Atkinson
New Orleans-style Grillades and grits are even better [than shrimp].
Grillades and Grits from Wikipedia.
New Orleans Cuisine - Grillades and Grits

Milling Grits - Doug Essinger-Hileman
Corn Grits
Falls Mill mills locally grown whole white hybrid corn. The corn is dried to a 14% moisture content, then each kernel is cleaned with forced air. The kernels of grain are run through the mill stone where they are ground to a certain texture and then sifted through two wire mesh screens. The three products sorted are white corn meal, white corn grits and the bran that pops off. There is a fine bran still in the grits product. This bran will never soften up with cooking. Depending on personal preference, the bran can be left in or removed by rinsing the grits before cooking. Yummy!

Grits and Red-Eye Gravy - David Harwell
Water is all I have ever used to make grits, and when I can find it, I always buy the yellow grits as they seem to have a bit more taste. I've used them with cheese, garlic, shrimp, etc, but my favorite way is to pour red eye gravy over them. For those not familiar with red eye gravy, it's a thin gravy, (really more like a sauce) that is made by combining black coffee with the pan drippings generated from frying country ham. It's very thin, but is readily absorbed by the grits. Tastes great!

Dr. Maturin on Grits - Katherine T.
I cook grits with water and add butter and maybe cheese if having them for breakfast. Grits are bland enough to be used as a base for just about any kind of sauce or gravy. Grits and grillades are a brunch classic, and shrimp or crawfish in a spicy sauce are good over grits - as they would be over rice or pasta.
For a medical opinion on grits, we may consult Dr. Maturin:
"I am acquainted with the grits, a grateful pap that may be exhibited in cases of duodenal debility... "
Fortune of War, ch. 4.

Polenta - Linnea
Grits, yuck. I wouldn't mind them if they were really delicious, because unfortunately they add a lot of calories with all that butter but provide little pleasure. And no nutrition at all. Ron likes grits. But Ron doesn't have my aesthetic tastes, hor hor.
Now polenta is another story. I have a recipe for it which you make with cheese, allow to cool in a pan, cut into squares, sauté in butter, and pour tomato sauce over it - bliss. I can digest cheese again and wish I could make some, but now Ron is not allowed cheese and butter. Life isn't fair. But perhaps having that for supper without meat will even things out. (I can see where English confounds furriners: grit is that small gravel and grits is a mushy pap.)

Grits for Breakfast - Dick McEachern
Put 'em in a casserole with cheese or garlic, or both and you have a staple of brunches, or potluck suppers.
The other week in Nashville, the hotel breakfast buffet had biscuits, grits and gravy.
One of my barometers of the South is grits vs. potatoes at breakfast, and patty sausage vs. link, the Southwest begins when salsa or peppers of some form come along with the eggs.

Maize and Millet - Betsy Packard
A friend has introduced me to ugali, which is a thick, unseasoned maize dish that is a staple in the Kenyan diet (though I prefer it the same way I eat grits -- with vegan margarine and salt and pepper.)
This last trip she brought something else home, and I'm not sure what it is called, but it's a blend of maize and millet that has been ground quite finely. It is cooked at an 8 to 1 ratio (water to meal), and must be cooked for at least 10 minutes. She says the children at the orphanage eat it with milk and sugar, the way most Americans eat their oatmeal. (I'm weird about that too, liking mine with just a little salt. That might be my Scottish heritage.)
So, she gave me some of this maize and millet stuff, and I decided to make a bit of it for breakfast.
I think I'll go back to grits.
Perhaps this maize and millet thing is an "acquired taste." There is an odd bitterness to it. I could, however, see using it as a thickening agent in some of my vegan recipes. With enough herbs and spices, it might be acceptable for my western taste buds.
One thing I gave up when I went vegan was "cheese grits." This is a favorite for Derby Breakfasts, but is served at many other meals throughout the year here in Kentucky. You make the grits, and you want them fairly stiff (not real runny), and they actually taste best if you use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic (the only recipe I can say that about). Add butter, salt and pepper, and pour into a greased casserole dish. Then top with a yellow cheese (some folks like a Colby, I like a blend of Colby and a medium sharp cheddar.) Pop it in the oven, and when the cheese is all melted, take it out. Let it sit for about 10 min. before serving.
Whenever my daughter comes home from college, she requests Cheese Grits. It's her favorite comfort food.

Polenta - Anna Ravano
Polenta and pizza, the two Northern and Southern Italian staples! How did we Italians manage before the arrival of maize and tomatoes?
Here's a recipe for "polenta pasticciata alla lombarda" (literally, "Lombardy-style messy polenta"), copied from the Internet:
Ingredients (for 4):
A fairly firm polenta made with a pound of cornmeal, or two one-pound packages of polenta
1 cup melted unsalted butter
3/4 pound mild cheese that will melt, along the lines of Taleggio, Fontina, or Asiago -- in other words, what you like [AR: "fontina della Val d'Aosta" is really unbeatable here.]
Preparation:
Cut the cheese into strips after trimming away the rind. Make the polenta. Once the polenta is done, let it sit for a few minutes, then slice it. Butter an ovenproof serving dish about 14 inches in diameter and interlayer polenta and cheese, beginning with the polenta.
For left-over plain polenta: cut into slices 1/4-inch thick, deep-fry in oil and place on kitchen-paper to drain. Serve hot with soft savoury cheese, e.g. stracchino.

Cooking Grits - Lynn Siprelle
I make my grits in my rice cooker. Lotsa butter.