GREAT PRESENTATION

The photo is of me in a friend's kitchen. My husband has his back to the camera. He is responsible for this recipe. He found it in a magazine and even though I thought it was too complicated, I cooked it for him. The original stuffing was not that good, but I tweaked it and changed a couple of ingredients and now it tastes great. The best thing about this recipe is it's spectacular appearance. It makes a magnificent presentation.

My husband grilled it and that is somewhat involved. He used a gas grill and I'll give instructions for that. I would cook it in my oven at about 350 until (with a meat thermometer) the meat thermometer reads 120.

This recipe is dedicated to EZ, another one of my blogging pals. His blog is always interesting and it is very popular. EZ always has double digit comments and he is on all the recommended blog lists. EZ, this one's for you!

STUFFED FLANK STEAK

1/4 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons drained capers

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

1 2 pound flank steak (placed in freezer for 30 minutes)

8 ounces prosciutto ham (thin slices)

8 ounces provolone cheese (thin slices)

In skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute red peppers and onions. When tender remove from skillet and drain. In a medium bowl mix bread brumbs red bell pepper/onion mixture, olive oil, capers, parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne.

Season steak with salt and pepper and position so that long side faces you. Butterfly steak. Layer ham, cheese and bread brumb mixture over steak. Starting with short side, roll and tie steak. Season with salt and pepper, brush with oilive oil and refrigerate for at leat an hour. (Stuffed steak can be wrapped and refrigerated overnight.)

Heat all burners of gas grill on high for 15 minutes. Grill steak until browned on all sides (about 12 minutes.) Leave primary burner on high and turn off all other burners. Move steak to cool side of grill and brush with more olive oil. Cover grill and cook until instant read thermometer inserted in center of steak read 120 degrees, about 30 minutes. Rotate and brush steak with olive oil every 10 minutes. When done, remove to cutting board, cover steak with foil and let "rest" 10 minutes. Remove twine and slice steak crosswise in 1 inch slices.

My Recipe Place

I have hundreds of recipes and I'm willing to share them with anyone who likes to cook. There won't be a lot of order here and probably no easy method of finding a category. I'm pretty technology-impaired (I could not get a photo into my profile, even though I followed the instructions and was quite successful in getting the photo into other spaces on the blog) but I'm a great cook. So, I'll do what I do best and that is share the best of the recipes that I have tweaked and refined.

All recipes come from somewhere else. Some recipes have been around for eons. It is what an individual does with that recipe; how one changes a recipe by adding or subtracting or innovating, that makes each recipe the signature piece of the cook. Even here, I expect that you may use a recipe as a springboard for your own creativity, so that the recipe becomes your own.

Grillades is an old-time New Orleans version of "smothered steak." Some of my friends in other parts of the U.S. call it "Swiss Steak." In New Orleans those titles are much too bland for the Creole mind set. All dishes in New Orleans have charming and sometimes amusing names. It is one of the many facets that make New Orleans so unlike any other city in our country. This is a very old recipe and while I've eaten it all my life, I first found the recipe in the very old "Times-Picayune Cookbook."

Originally this dish was made with veal round. When I was growing up in New Orleans, veal was plentiful and inexpensive. Today, however, veal is rare and extremely expensive. I use beef round, as do must folks in New Orleans. Grillades is traditionally served with Grits. In fact, in New Orleans the dish is always referred to as Grillades and Grits

This recipe is dedicated to Chip, a blogging friend. It was in copying this recipe for Chip that I got the idea for this blog!

GRILLADES AND GRITS

2 pound beef round

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 Tablespoon finely minced garlic

2 Tablespoons flour, more if needed

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 cup chopped onion

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup beef broth, more if needed

3 cups cooked grits

Cut meat into pieces about 3 or 4 inches square and pound with mallet to about 5 or 6 inch square. Rub salt, black pepper, cayenne and garlic into the squares of meat (both sides,) then rub in the flour. Cover well with flour. You may need to use more than 2 tablespoons.

In a large, cast iron skillet, melt the shortening over medium heat and brown the meat (grillades) well on both sides. Lower heat and add the onions, tomatoes, beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover loosely and cook over low heat for about 30-35 minutes, uncovering to turn the meat over ever 10 minutes. A rich gravy will form during cooking. If the gravy appears too thick, add more beef broth, a little at a time.

When the meat is tender, it is done. Remove meat and keep warm in oven. Prepare the grits according to package directions. Just before serving reheat the gravy. Arrange meat and grits on plates and cover with gravy.

Serves 4-6