Grillades

Are you looking for an interesting party meal that gets people involved? I always am! It's fun to have friends over for dinner and really nice when you don't have to do all of the work right before everyone is ready to eat. In the past, I've done sandwich parties and pizza parties. Each guest makes two sandwiches or two individual pizzas; one for now and one to take home. As I pack the "doggy bags" I make sure that no one gets the sandwich they made. This let's them taste a little something different than their dinner when enjoying a midnight snack. A grits party seemed like a fun twist on a "make your own dinner event."

My mom recommended a grits bar after she had a small dinner party with friends. People were talking about the meal for weeks and seemed to get pretty involved in decorating their grits. It was quite a hit, so I tried it during the holidays.

My mother-in-law made 5 servings of her super-fabulous grillades, over 20lbs of meat. Though I know she did all of the work, I have to give my father-in-law credit for making a huge mess. He was in charge of tenderizing the meat, but refused to follow direction. I highly recommend covering the meat with freezer paper or saran wrap as you flatten it, this will prevent bits from splashing all over your kitchen. Needless to say, he had a blast but my mother-in-law had to clean it up when he was done.

I guess moms do know best because we ran out of grillades and grits bar fixins about an hour into the party!

Here are some grits bar suggestions-
Cracklins
Smoked Sausage
Ham
Bacon
Creole Maque Choux
Assorted cheeses- smoked gouda, cheddar, and pepper jack
Green Onions
Sauteed Mushrooms
Grillades
Anything else you want!

To make the serving interesting, use martini glasses and add a sophisticated touch to this down home meal. Enjoy!

Janet's Grillades

4lbs top round sliced ¼ inch thick, cut in bite size pieces, pounded flat if necessary
½ cup bacon drippings
½ cup flour- seasoned to taste with garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, black pepper, salt, thyme, oregano and paprika
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cups green onions, chopped
¾ cup celery, chopped
1 ½ cups green peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans petite diced tomatoes, about 2 cups
2/3 teaspoon thyme
1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper, black
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon Louisiana Red Hot
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tablespoons parsley, chopped

Heat 4 Tablespoons bacon grease in a Dutch oven. Dust each piece of meat with seasoned flour and brown well. More grease may be needed as you add meat to the pot. As the meat browns, remove to a warm plate. To Dutch oven add 4 more Tablespoons bacon grease and flour. Stir and cook to make a dark brown roux. Add onions, green onions, celery, green pepper, garlic and sauté all together until limp. Add tomatoes, and thyme and cook for 3 minutes. Add water and wine. Stir well for several minutes; add browned meat, salt, pepper, bay leaves, Red hot and Worcestershire. Lower heat, stir and continue cooking. If veal rounds are used, simmer covered approximately 2 hours. Remove bay leaves. Stir in parley and cool. Let Grillades sit several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. More liquid may be added. Grillades should be very tender. Sever over grits or rice.