Stone Ground Cheese Grits:  

3 cups water

3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup stone-ground grits

½ pound white cheddar cheese, grated

Combine the water, milk, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon butter, in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits and cook, stirring frequently so the grits don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, for 1 ¼ hours to 1 ½ hours (depending on the size of the pan and the flame, the grits are sometimes creamy and done after 45 to 60 minutes. Still, the longer you cook them, arguably the creamier they become.) If the grits absorb all of the water and milk during this time, just add a little hot water as needed to thin out the grits until they reach the desired consistency. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the Cheddar. Serve the cheese grits immediately or set aside for a little while and reheat over very low heat.