A Bayou Classic

Took a little trip down to the Bayou today. . . no, not really because that would pretty much be impossible. But as with most types of food, I really enjoy eating Cajun food, though I often find the preparation to be tedious. Anything that requires me to make a roux requires me to be in a special frame of mind. . . or stomach. Yet those roux containing classics, like gumbo, are so worth the work, effort, and waiting. Today was not gumbo day though. (We'll save that for another day) Today was grillades & grits! Yummy! I know what you're thinking. . . what the heck?!?! Well it's hard to explain the dish really, but grillades (pronounced GREE-ahds) is basically like a cajun meat stew. . . sort of. It's chunks of meat (I used pork cause, well cause I like pork) basically slow cooked in a roux based gravy. But what makes it delicious in addition to the simmering of the meat in the sauce/gravy/stew is full of all sorts of yummy flavors like beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, basil, hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, and a can of Ro'tel. That's right, a can of Ro'tel. And when it was all cooked, I served it over a nice bowl of smooth, creamy, hot grits. And for those of you not from the south, grits is basically like cream of wheat except it's made with corn. So it's like cream of corn. The picture does not do it justice to just how good this dish is or how savory it smells. . . especially on a cold dreary day. Just warms ya to the bones! It's traditionally eaten for brunch, but like all good foods, I say that you can eat this anytime of the day.