I began this morning soaking 2 cups of red beans. I decided on a recipe I found on Food TV. It was one of Emril's. Now... I have never been a real fan of Emril, but I figured the man made his name in cooking in New Orleans, so I figured he might know a thing about Red Beans & Rice - and he did.
Before I go further, let me explain WHY I made this particular dish. See, we live near Costco. Like, too close to Costco. We run in for juice for the kids, and leave with things we didn't plan on getting. I really love Costco. They have good food. I was getting clementines from there which were absolutely to die for. The kids and I were going through a 5lb bag a week. I'll admit it too... I like to go to Costco for the samples too. There, I admitted it. I am frugal and I like to graze there sometimes. It can be a decent lunch if it's a good day. So, why all the fuss about Costco? Last weekend they had sausages as samples (surprise!). The were from Bobek's out of Chicago. Now, my son is a vegetarian, but my daughter is not. If given a chance she'd have bacon in one hand and sausage in the other. We did exactly what Costco wanted us to do and bought the sausage after sampling it. It was good!! So, I had 2lbs of Hot & Spicy sausage (that was only $6.49, BTW) and I didn't have a clue what to do with. That's when it it me! Red Beans & Rice!
So, that's where the idea came from. Back to the recipe. As I mentioned, I used Emril's Receipe on Food TV. The beans weren't vegetarian, but I made it them that way. I left out the bacon grease, didn't include the ham hocks and used vegetable broth and finally... brown the sausage separate from the beans. I am DETERMINED to get my vegetarian to eat beans!
Anyway, it came out incredible. It was delicious. I even added a little dash of Tobasco to "kick it up a notch" (sorry, I couldn't resist!).
That sounds great. I love beans and rice. Wait a sec... you've never soaked beans before? I know that The Boy doesn't like beans, but you've been cooking for long enough now to soak some beans! I love that you seem to add 'a little' Tabasco to everything. =)
ReplyDeleteWeird, huh? Nope, never done the bean thing before. It wasn't that hard - duh! I seriously want to go to Avery Island (where Tabasco is made) sometime. We use it frequently around here. Since we have to make things somewhat mild for the kinder, it's the easiest way to make things SPICY!
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