the key players tonight: hydrated pintos and Casa Nueva

Ok, so Saturday I treated the fam to real deal red beans and rice which I haven’t made since before the 6 yo was eating table foods… And I am doing it the way my Pops would, aka soaking them in red wine… We had every intention of submitting this for Joelen’s Fall Foods/Red Wine Challenge as it is THE staple fall food we had growing up, nearly once a week. (And as a quirky side note: I almost my this an Eat to the Beat with Red, Red Wine just because I got the whiny UB40 song stuck in my head while open it and wanted to pass it on and get it stuck in someone else’s since I’m wicked like that… but alas, it’s not really got anything to do with the song beyond the obvious, so I won’t… but you can still have the song in your head free of charge… no need to thank me…) and Jo’s wrap up…

Now briefly, if you are wanting to salvage the most beans a gentle slower soak from cold or tepid water is ideal but I rarely plan in advance so well, so hot tap it is and it is gentler than a quick soak (boil). But as always there is a better method than I exemplify… So you can negotiate less if you want, now on to it…

Round two: Wine soak...

Papa-style Red Beans and Rice
1 lb red beans (I had only pinto and turtles in the pantry, so the pintos won for obvious reasons)
1 bottle red wine (I used a Cab Sav)
about half a dozen cloves garlic, peeled and split
half a yellow onion cut in wedges
1 T ea: salt and bacon grease
1/2 T ea (or more to taste): blk pep, oregano, and sage (and I do garlic and onion powder but that’s me, most people don’t do both dried and fresh together but I do)
some fresh parsley if you’ve got it, completely optional so no biggie if you don’t (please don’t use dried parsley and invite me to dinner though)
1/2 tsp cayenne (this will not make it spicy so if you seek that use more–I would but the kids would let me–for me this is just to round and balance the pepper flavor but normal people aren’t so anal so feel free to drop it too if you are hesitant)
bay leaves (1 do 4-6 but you don’t really have to use that many)

Rinse and sort the beans of stones and obvious bad beans. Cover the beans in 1.5-2 qts hot tap water and scoop off any floaters and set aside to soak. When doubled, I drain, rinse and resort the beans… Put the beans that pass muster back in the pot cover with the bottle of wine, throw in the veg and seasonings and soak until 3 times the starting volume (you can use the handle of a wooden spoon to gauge this)… Then bring to boil and reduce to simmer until tender, about an hr I guess… I’m a ’til it’s done kinda girl if you haven’t noticed by now… Serve this over rice which you of course will cook in some chicken or fish stock (and feel free to throw some fresh parsley or some dried cilantro into this for a big more color and flavor, I usually do but it is fine without it too of course)… And no this doesn’t contain the secret seasoning blend, not because I’m holding out on you but because both me and daddy just tinker and sprinkle until it smells right so you’ll have to adapt this to taste and I probably even added some other seasonings but all the ones in larger amts are accounted for and I have seasoned beans precisely like this when on vacation without my spice rack before so they’ll be fine this way, just not quite like at my table at home… I often need hubby to serve as notetaker to keep me on top of these kinds of things as I don’t pay attention too much…

and YES I said put in the salt before the beans are cooked, and yes every other recipe will tell you after, and yes they turn out fine and are better seasoned with less salt when you do it before… we honestly made beans every week, sometimes a few times a week, I swear you can cook them with the salt nothing bad will happen and you’ll probably like them better that way anyway… but you can of course salt them afterward if you wish, nothing bad will happen that way either really (outside of likely consuming more salt to get the same flavor)… so feel free to do with that what you will…

over rice

PS. and since I was gonna make Daddy’s Cornbread until we realized we had no cornmeal I also threw in the 1lb of browned pork sausage designated for that… but growing up this would usually either be meatless or have slices of kilbalsa in it… and while I’m sure if you asked my father would tell you he’d put a whole package in but I can vouch that it is not remotely close to true as I was a horrid, horrid food theif and occassionally would recruit my little brother in the snatching process as the Pops would grow too suspicious of me hanging around too much around sliced kilbalsa (or sliced cheese for the mac and cheese or cheese dip) and shoo me away… LOL So if you want meat I’d suggest using the kilbalsa insted of the ground sausage, it is better that way…

told you, not cute... but they are not long for this world so no one shall care or remember this...

These are the rolls my grandma is always ask to make, and I am always asked for the recipe when I make them (which is much, much more rare I can assure you)… so when I posted them on the menu from the holiday/hurricane weekend, someone I have made them for before asked for the recipe… I thought I’d try to get a good picture of them (though it’s not that good) and I even made them in cloverleaf since that is how my grandmother does it… Her’s are infintely more cute than mine turned out, as yours probably will be if you make them, but I really am too impatient for yeast breads and it’s that impatience that you see… The title is not my claim, or hers, but rather the name they published them under in the 2 local cookbooks… While it has times, what we do rise them overnight, then shape them first thing before breakfast, let the rise again while we head off about the day (usually to church as this was often a Sunday staple at her house) and make them for lunchtime (bakes around 15-20 mins)…

Only make these for others if you think you can bear the clamour, otherwise you shall slave at this huge batch and be lucky to get 2 or 3 for yourself… They seem so humble and basic, they are the only non-store bought rolls I grew up on so I just assumed that was there charm…

But as a lady would bakes incessantly once enthusiastically asked me for the recipe I guess they could be different somehow, but they are and always have been the only homemade rolls I ever remember eating as everyone always used her recipe… and everyone always wants more of them so here, enjoy the much desired secret as I can assure you I won’t be easily cajoled into making them for anyone… I make them only once a year at either christmas or thanksgiving, the rest of the year I buy my bread… (And I usually eat them spread with jellied cranberry sauce instead of butter… and they are really good that way, one of my holiday favorites really…) I occassionally dip the balls in melted butter to shortcut having to grease the pans and the tops of the rolls (making the cloverleaf is painfully simple, put three balls of dough in the muffin cup) so it just gets recovered with a towel dampened with warm water and is ready for the oven… That is my only secret (and I didn’t do it this time, nor did I remember to butter the tops, but oh well), so go enjoy them if you’d like…

now this is not at all a necessary step, but I always flip them and let them cool upside down in the muffin pan... this lets the steam escape, no getting out the racks, and the tops rise out enough that you do not need to worry about them sinking back in the pan anyway... this is one of those helpful lazy times, you know the mother of invention type...

Best Rolls Ever – (my g-ma, Tylertown’s “Cooking With Friends” 1998, p 94)**
1/2 c sugar
1/2 oil
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1.25 c warm water
1 pkg dry yeast, dissolved in water
4 c all-purpose flour or 2 c white and 2 c whole-wheat flour

Mix sugar and oil. Add beaten eggs and salt. Dissolve yeast in water. Add to mixture. Then add flour until dough leaves the side of the pan. Let rise 4 hrs or overnight [with a wet towel over them--this is not a part of the printed version but a key part in how she taught me to do it so you don't get a dried skin on top]. Roll out in desired shapes. Place on greased cookies sheet or muffin pans. Let rise 4 more hrs or until double in bulk. Bake at 350 until brown as desired. Makes 2.5-3 dozen rolls.

** This is of course in the Tylertown UMW’s “A Book of Favorite Recipes” as well—and probably any T-town cookbook since she started making them–but I don’t have the page number…

Yep, it’s Eat to the Beat time and I did “I Want You” by Savage Garden at the beheadst of my little brother… I hestiated a bit a first, but decided I felt I could do fun things with this song and food… (The reason for my pause is this song and I have a soap opera story past, riddled with unforseen drama… and was once the source behind me being nicknamed Chicka Cherry Cola among other things…)

So on to the eats… I bet you could have guessed that I used chicken, cherries and coke, huh? I started with leg quarters because I saw them and thought of Amber and how I was telling her they were perfect for something sticky sweet and/or with something carb-y (so I also put this over mixed whole grains) and thus my first attempt at an Eat to the Beat was born…

Chicka Cherry Cola
4 chicken leg quarters (cut in thighs and drumsticks, and haphazardly skinned and trimmed of excessive fat)
flour for dusting chicken (maybe 1/2-3/4 c, no idea though since I never made note of it)
1/2 yellow onion
1 lg carrot
2 c cherries (I’d use 4 c next time)
1 T herbes de provence (I might sub something else never time–a little muddled with this pairing IMO)
2 tsp ea: garlic and onion pwd
1 tsp ea: thyme, salt, blk pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 c cachaca (or rum if you are normal)
2 cans coke
2 c hot water
1 T vanilla ext (next time I’ll plan on a bean I think)
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c creme de cassis/rasp reserve (leftover from PMG, but a cherry liqueur would work and might be better)
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c chopped fresh chives

Season the meat as you wish with s/p and garlic (not included in the amts listed above for the sauce) or however you season basic chicken before flouring… dry in flour and quickly pan fry in 2T of your preferred fat (I merely redendered some the chunks I cut off the chicken to have enough for the meat and veg, but oil works too) until browned on all sides… set chicken to the side and add the diced carrots and onions, with the alcohol (or a splash of vinegar in some water) to deglaze the pan and simmer until veg is soft and liquid is absorbed… add hot water and pour into blender to puree and add back to pan with seasonings and coke and bring to a simmer and pour over chicken and cherries in an oven safe dish andcover with foil… Baked 1 hr @ 375 and then drained off the reduced liquid to taste and adjust… decided to strain out the dried herbs (they’d done their job and I didn’t need that much mouth feel), and added vanilla, sugar and creme de cassis (I really wanted more cherry flavor but had used them all and had this tucked in the fridge and figured the berriness was a similar vibe to what I wanted), parsley, and chives before reluctantly–becuase I really wanted to add more cherry oomph but couldn’t–returning to the chicken for another 30 hr or so of cooking until the meat was to temp….

final oven stages... sorry, I neglectfully forgot to get a dished out pic over it's bed of grains...

All in all, it worked out alright as a stand alone dish with another name but I think I could make this rock the name better with more tweaking… so it didn’t submit because it fell short in a confusing way, and I really couldn’t decide what it needed (except obviously the cherry hit)… Hubs and the kids really liked it, and I think part of my disappointment rested in the Cherry Cola-ness not being more oomphy…ever so technical I know. LOL) But my best guesses where I’d start: I think I would pull the extra thyme and replace it with rosemary and perhaps pull all the herbs and use just rosemary as a stand out kick instead… yeah I really think that could help, and I’d like to double the cherries and puree half of them to lift the sauce… I guess in the end it is a brand new dish I invented on the fly and I just want to tinker some more (however we’ve been to 3 stores since then–I was gonna doctor up the leftovers some more to see if I could get it where I wanted it–and can’t find any cherries… *sighs* so I may just have to wait until next year, as I really don’t think I’d want to bake frozen cherries that long… but maybe I’ll try it, who knows…)

PS. Oh and despite my vows to try the bobbypin tip the next time I pitted cherries I of course did not, as I hadn’t bought any (there’s always next year, right?)…
PPS. I made this at the beginning of the month but still may find time to do another before the deadline, which hopefully I’ll deem submittable…

This was an auditioned dish for the french food GTG… it didn’t pass because I wasn’t thrilled with the texture… but it’s still worth a try if the pureed tomatoes and cream pie idea isn’t off-putting to you.

I used a store bought roll out crust, and dropped the sugar (as the tomatoes were good and they mentioned not when or why to add them anyway) and drained of most of the bacon grease reserving a bit to cook the onions in… but more or less stuck with the recipe and since it’d be very hard to get ahold of anyway I’m including the original version…enjoy!

Well, when all is said and done you have a pie...

Tarte a la Tomate (by Mr & Mrs. Duwat from the St Anne Catholic Church Tribute to 9/11/01 cookbook, p 56)
1 c plus 1 T flour
1/3 c water
1/4 c oil
pinch of salt
1/2 lb bacon
pepper to taste
1 T herbes de provence** or italian seasoning
2 onions
.9 lb can crushed tomatoes
14 oz tomato purèe
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream or créme fraiche
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

...my one remorse is that this gorgeous red gets lost to the sour cream (and you will have more of a penne a la vodka pinkness throughout).

In a bowl, mix flour and salt. Add oil and knead. Add and incorporate water slowly until it forms a ball. Place the dough in refridgerator for 2 hours. During this time, chop the onions and brown in a little canola oil in a pot. Add the diced bacon and cook over meat heat for a few minutes. THen add the puree of tomatoes. Add the salt. pepper, ginger, nutmeg, and herbes de provence. Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. While the tomato mixture is simmering, prepare pie shell. Roll out dough, then place in a greased and floured pie pan. Prick the dough with a fork and place a few dried beans on top before placing it in the oven. This will prevent it from rising and bubbling. Cook in a preheated oven (350) for 10 minutes. Add the sour cream and then the eggs, one at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon. Let the tomato mixture cook on medium heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove beans from pie shell and fill with tomato filling. Cook in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or until done. Serve warm.

** herbes de provence is essentially a blend of rosemary, marjoram, thyme and summer savory or basil in seats of dominance with a few other herbs and some lavendar thrown in so barring a great affinity for the lavender back note… you can likely make do with things in your pantry, mixing as you will, if you don’t have them on hand…

Ok, so I found this recipe claimed it was a Caribbean Pork Roast…I know nothing about carribean food so I dunno if it actually is or if it is even very Caribbean inspired but that’s ok (my beloved Joy of cooking had pretty much just soups so what can you do if you don’t want soup?). I was trying to make something for Joelen’s Caribbean Challenge and really don’t know caribbean food. I’m sure there’s a decent chance that after I read the round-up posted I will learn I knew more than I thought about Caribbean food without realizing it but that’s ok. Oh and for the record, the challenge is long over am I didn’t make the deadline, but I was planning to make this:

And this recipe wasn’t originally in the crockpot, it’s just hot out. And as always when I put a pork roast in the slow cooker I do it in two steps to drain off the superfluous grease (and perhaps that could also be why I always avoid the mystical ‘cat pee smell’ a certain someone finds). But it required little tweaking to do so, however, I think next time I will bypass both oven and crock and do it on the stovetop with pork steaks or chops because of the citrus…

“Carribean” Crockpot Roast
5 lb pork roast
2 c orange juice
1/2 c ea: sweet dark rum, key lime juice (you can juice your own, I just think key limes are such a pain)
1 T ea: cumin, hot pepper sauce [after trying it I would cut the cumin back or out as it was overpowering and a bit too peacockish for a dish with so many flavors...]
1/2 T ea: allspice, blk pepper, salt
1 yellow onion
1/2 head of garlic, cloves halved and peeled
1 green bell pepper
1.5-2 in hunk ginger, cut into sixths
[in theory, I believe this called for finishing off with: 1/4 c dry white rum and 1/2 c lime juice--and I even had 6 limes ready to juice to be sure I could do it... but I decided last minute to nix it, Little Hawk was here and doesn't like rum and I figured the kids didn't need it either... but feel free to add it as I think it would work well especially the additional lime...]

Season the meat with s/p and sear the roast on all sides. Put in crockpot on HIGH 2-3 hrs, remove and drain off fat and juices, and refrigerate. Put sliced onions in bottom of crock, followed by roast, pour over oj, key lime juice and seasonings along with garlic and ginger reduce to LOW. When starting rice add chopped bell pepper… [I used the chilled pork juices, minus the fat layer, to cook the rice but you could just use water and a bit of salt]

2-3 hrs into things: the pork has reached temp and getting ready to drain the runoff so the fat can be removed...

Served over the rice... dishing up it is really not visually striking so maybe using more colorful peppers could be... *shrugs*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of this dinner was sort of attempting to be in keeping with the theme so feel free to check out the Pineapple Sweet Potatoes and Chili Fried Bananas (sorry but since we’d already eaten the broccoli slaw anyway I didn’t bother with the Mojo).

The fruit and crust arranged before the glaze is added...

Peach Berry Pie
3 peaches, pitted and sliced
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 lb strawberries
1/4 c sugar
1 T ea: lime juice, grenadine
1/4 c cornstarch
1 pie crust (I just buy the dough, but you can make it)
{2 egg whites, optional–made a fast meringue since I’d only one crust left and extra whites}

Sliced strawberries and let sit with sugar, lime juice and grenadine to release its juices, drained off the berries. Mixed cornstarch into strawberry juice and heated until thickened. Roll out crust and lay in pie pan. Lay sliced peaches in bottom of pie, added blueberries. Poured glaze over fruit and baked 30 min in 400 preheated oven. Add meringue and baked another 10-15 min.

The glaze multiplied under the peach juices and overfloweth... but I sort of recovered it.

NB: this got kinda runny so next time I’d either flour the peaches. Or I was thinking I’d split up the sugar and acid…putting half of each on the peaches and strawberries and cook the juices from both (maybe even reducing them some first) with more cornstarch so there wouldn’t be run off. But I did salvage free-reign juices and spoon it over the meringue decoratively so as not to get called out on it and it passed (though perhaps by mercy more so than merit).

I was considering submitting this for Joelen’s pie challenge, but decided not to since it was sort of a flop at the moment but… I’m looking forward to the wrap up for some fun ideas (and I’m making a savory pie next week, testing a potential candiate for the book club GTG).