In Honor of Country Singer Birthdays This Week: Pinto Bean Cakes and Cheese Grits

It's a big week for country music celebrity birthdays!  On Oct 22, Shelby Lynne (remember her from Walk the Line movie?) turned 44.  If you haven't heard her music, and you need a good cry, check out her song Telephone.  On Oct 23, Dwight Yoakam turned 56.  On Oct 25 singer Jeanne Black turned 75 and Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown turned 54.  And today, Oct 26, Keith Urban turns 45. 

In honor of these musicians, I've offered up some southern recipes for you:  pinto bean cakes and cheese grits.

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Pinto Bean Cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pinto beans
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup celery
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup scallion, thinly sliced (whites only)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tabasco
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Flour for dredging

Instructions: 
Pick through the beans to remove damaged beans, clumps of dirt and pebbles. Soak dried beans in a large pot of water overnight. After the overnight soak, any beans that have floated to the top should also be discarded.

Drain and rinse beans. In a medium saucepan, cover them with water. Bring to
a boil and cook, over medium high heat until tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside 1/4 of the beans.

In a food processor, combine the rest of the beans with eggs, cheese, celery,
parsley, scallions, lemon zest. Pulse to make a rough paste. Remove to a medium
bowl.  Mix in bread crumbs, olive oil, Tabasco, salt, pepper and reserved whole
beans. Stir lightly to combine all ingredients.
 
Divide the mixture into 12 even patties.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, pat the
cakes with flour and brown the cakes in the pan, cooking until they are browned,
about 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining
patties.

Serve with sour cream or relish, if desired.

Cheese Grits

Ingredients:
4 T. butter
5 c. milk
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed1 1/2 cups uncooked stone-ground white grits 
1  (10-oz.) block sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions: 
 
Bring 2 Tbsp. butter, the next 4 ingredients, and 5 cups water to a boil in a medium-size Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter until melted. Serve immediately.