Grillades & Grits, March 19, 2015

My wife absolutely adores grits. I never have liked them---until, that is, we tasted Anson Mills grits when we were in Charleston, SC. Oh, my word! Those were great! My tastes are changing on a lot of things, so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that I now like grits. Anyway, when I made grillades and grits last night, with lima beans to accompany them, Jeannene was so thrilled with the grits and the lima beans, she said she could have made a meal of just those. Don't get me wrong. She liked the grillades and their accompanying sauce quite well. I did, too---although I can't imagine eating them for breakfast, as is the practice in New Orleans, where the dish originates.

Grillades

1/2 lb. round steak, cut 1/2" thick (veal is traditional, but I am not a veal guy)

2 tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne (more, if you like spicy)

1 tbsp. oil

14 oz. stewed tomatoes

10 oz. beef broth

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1-2 tsp. cornstarch

1-2 tbsp. water

Cut meat into 4 pieces. Mix flour with seasonings. Pound flour into meat as you flatten it to 1/4" thickness. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Brown meat in oil. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, broth, onion, and peppers. Cover and cook on low 45 minutes. Set meat aside and keep warm. Mix cornstarch and water, stirring until starch is dissolved. Stir in and cook, continuing to stir, until thickened and bubbly. You could also use a roux as thickener. Serve with meat over hot grits. Serves 2. I suspect you could make a similar sauce, using veggie broth instead of beef broth, and use baked tofu instead of meat, for a vegan version.