Carla Hall's Eggs in Heaven and my Heavenly Eggs in Hell 11.8.11

Miss Carla... I have a confession... I am falling in love.

If you check my stats on the side bar, I have made more of your recipes by double than any of the other hosts on The Chew.  You post accessible ingredients, often with an eye towards budget consciousness and you always make that leap from ordinary to just a shade better.

Except today.

Hey Carla, don't get me wrong, today's recipe is just fine.  Grits, and you showed lots of tips on the episode for making great grits (click HERE to see the video of Carla posted on The Chew website making this recipe), with baked eggs (love those beautiful light creamy whites with that perfect cooked soft yolk).

My only justification for the obvious (to me) changes that should have been made, you were doing a riff on Mario Batali' Eggs in Hell, which I made way back... well, 2 weeks ago.  Mario's eggs were baked in a delicious spicy tomato sauce, taking him back to his Italian specialty.

So you adapted to a more southern flare, using grits as your base.  So, for the sake of the show symmetry, you produced "Eggs in Heaven" to contrast his spicy delicious Hellish eggs.  I am sure, still delicious, but I just could not resist adding two of my favorite ingredients to add to grits...

Sweet Potatoes and a TBS of pureed Chipotle Pepper in Adobe Sauce.

First, look at that beautiful deep rich orange color.  Sure, your cheddar cheese added a little color, but oh my, that orange is a delight to plate.

But the addition of sweet potatoes (I steamed them for about 30 minutes until soft, then ran them through the food processor to get them creamed) made my grits... extra creamy and delicious.  But, I guess deep down I am not a heavenly guy at all.  The spoonful of hellish spice really made these the cat's whisker and the cat's meow.  Unique in their texture, color and deliciously wicked taste.

Carla, I love ya, You are my most copied chef host, but today... My Hellish Heavenly Eggs are better than yours.

Here's what I did...

2 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled, chopped, steamed and pureed
1 TBS pureed Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce
1 cup Stone Ground Hominy Grits
1 1/2 cups Water
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 tsp Salt
4 TBS Butter
6 Eggs
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Ham Steak and Black Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350
Bring water, milk and salt to boil, gradually add grits, simmer for 20 minutes or until thick.  Continue whisking throughout to prevent lumps
Add the butter and cheese  and also the Chipotle Pepper Puree and the pureed sweet potatoes and stir to combine... move to a baking dish...
Note, I have individual dishes that nicely hold about 1 1/2 cups of grits that fit 2 eggs perfectly.  Carla made this in one large serving dish.
Make an impression in the grits to hold an egg and carefully break the eggs and add into the iompression.
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the eggs reach their desired doneness!

Garnish with a ham steak and pepper!

Oh My...

These are HEAVENLY!