We had red beans and rice last night in honor of Mardi Gras and all the wonderful doin's going on in New Orleans at the moment. It's certainly a tasty and trouble free dinner because you just put it on the stove and forget about it.
Couldn't be a better solution let me tell ya' because at the moment I've got my nose buried in a book (The Help by Kathryn Stockett) and I'm having a really hard time putting it down to take care of mundane tasks like cleaning, ironing and cooking. That'll give you an idea about how good the book is when it has taken away my desire to cook.
The glorious pot of soul food starts with sauteed onion, celery and garlic before the soaked red beans enter the picture and just gets better after that. Joined in the pot by meaty ham hocks and smoked Andouille sausage, it simmered darn near unattended for the better part of the afternoon. Served with a scoop of fluffy long grain rice, it's a warm comforting somewhat spicy bowl of Southern bliss, especially with a hunk of hot cornbread, crunchy on the outside and moist inside studded with flecks of jalapeno, corn and cheddar cheese. Ah yum!
Gotta run. I'm on the last 50 pages and if I want to get anything at all accomplished today, I'm going to have to finish that book. I wish there were another 400 pages in it though because quite frankly I'm just not ready for it to be over yet.
I'm sending you directly to foodnetwork.com for this fabulous Emeril recipe because I'm just in too much of a hurry, plus the only thing I changed was to double the amount of Andouille in the recipe just because we love the darn stuff.
A year ago - Broccoli Gratin
I LOVED the book, myself!
Now on to one of the things I now love - red beans - yum! I would definitely eat those and then eat some more!!! Also, when you serve, you need to fine dice some onion and bell pepper (reserve a bit from the cooking) and sprinkle those on the top right before you eat the beans - the contrast between the cool crunch and the warm gooey goodness is to die for!!!!!! Classic garnish is NOLA!
I KNOW you and the BIG GUY made the Andouille - yum!!!!!!! No wonder you doubled the quantity!
Posted by: Lea | 02/21/2012 at 07:59 AM
Lea - Unfortunately the andouille was purchased because we lacked 1 ingredient for our homemade version before we could smoke it (safely) so the filling's in the freezer waiting for our "instacure" to arrive so we can finish our sausage. Big Guy's getting lots of practice filling casings. LOL As for the garnishes, sounds wonderful and a must do for our leftovers. Thanks my friend. You're the best!
Posted by: June | 02/21/2012 at 08:16 AM
I know..that book was wonderful! You shouldn't be expected to try and carry on daily life while reading it.
Posted by: pam | 02/21/2012 at 09:04 AM
Pam - I knew you'd understand! It is amazing isn't it and even more so that it's the author's first novel.
Posted by: June | 02/21/2012 at 09:32 AM
Nothing more comforting than a big bowl of red beans and rice. I am just starting "The Help"...glad I waited for a weekend!
Posted by: Lorraine | 02/23/2012 at 08:33 AM
Lorraine - I have a feeling you are so going to love the book & you were plum smart to save it for a weekend read! Enjoy!
Posted by: June | 02/23/2012 at 10:24 AM