I was born and raised in a northern State, and eventually moved to the Pacific Northwest. But I love southern food. Cajun, tex-mex ... I love just about all of it (except for the peppers that are grown strictly for bar bets). I've read many times that grits are delicious, and quite praise-worthy. And my wife and I both like corn, corncakes, and cornbread, so it seems like grits oughts be a slam-dunk.
Finally, I figured I'd denied myself long enough, and bought a package of Quaker Grits. Kinda like a very short and skinny version of a Quaker Oats package. Not having any personal experience with grits, I make two servings based on the printed instructions on the package (stired into boiling salted water). What resulted was a white paste much like the paste that I'd used for school projects in first grade. A bit more texture, for sure, but close. And quite tasteless.
Surely Quaker knows how to make grits, but apparently they don't know jack about preparing them. Who would ever buy a second package? I think I've heard of fried grits, but it's just a fleeting memory. If it's for real, how does one make them? Start with boiled grits, and then fry them like pancakes? I noticed that the cooled grits left in the pan after breakfast had a lot more integrity than those we ate.
Any particular seasonings? Onions? Garlic? Hot sauce comes to mind right away. That improves most food, in my opinion, and I assume it would likewise improve grits. If you actually like grits, how do you recommend preparing them?