White Cheddar Herb Grits

      Grits aren't something you normally think of as food for Thanksgiving, but being a southern girl I can't help but having them as part of the menu.  There are lots of different kind of grits out there.  You can find quick grits, which personally I feel like don't have much texture, then there are all different kinds of stone ground grits.  You can get yellow or white varieties.  There are fine ground and coarse ground, each cook a bit differently and have a different texture.
      When I was living in Oregon the hotel that I worked at had some grits that, ironically, they ordered from a company in South Carolina: Anson Mills  These are grits milled from heirloom corn on a stone mill.  This company does a wonderful job of having a very high quality product where you can really taste the difference.  I used their Antebellum coarse white grits, but this recipe will work with any stone ground (not instant) grits.
      You are going to cook this in two phases, first the actual grits, then you will season and enrich it with your dairy product.  In a crock pot add
4 cups stock
1 cup grits
let this cook, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours.  You can do this the day of if you'd like, or you can make it a couple days in advance and refrigerate it.  Either way when you are almost ready to serve get a pan warming and melt
1/4 cup butter, add
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS herb de provence, and sautee until the onion in transluscent and the herbs are fragrant.  deglaze the pan with
1/4 cup white wine, then add
1 cup cream and your cooked grits- if you have cooled them down they will probably need a bit more liquid, add some water about 1/4 cup at a time until they have loosened up but are not watery.  Then whisk in
1/2 cup shredded aged white cheddar
4 oz cream cheese
1 TBS salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
I promise these grits will be a delicious and welcome addition to your Thanksgiving table.