Baby, it's cold outside!

My husband is crying, tears streaming down his face. Have I said something shrewish to bring on the waterworks?

No, he's just chopping onions for his semi-annual batch of Cajun Red Beans and Rice. It's snowing outside. Snowing like crazy!  Yesterday, the weather report predicted a total 3-5 inches of snow for our little Hudson River town, but there was at least that on the ground when we woke up this morning. Now, there are 8 inches on the ground and it's still falling fast. We've been living in NY for the past 10 years, but a big snowfall still seems a novelty to us, having grown up for the most part in southern regions. So, after the prerequisite shoveling the walkways and sledding at the local slope, he came in and wanted something warm and comforting for dinner tonight. 

I'd been dreaming of my Mom's beef stew-thick with lots of chunky carrots, potatoes and onions. But as we ran through our options-beef stew, pot roast, roast chicken, jambalaya- it looked as though my Hunky was in the cooking mood, so I'm happy that he's Kitchen Wizard today. Now you must know, when Hunky starts cooking, he does so in a big way. Just a moment ago, he walked in with two 1 pound bags of dried red beans and asked "Are two bags enough? Too much?" Me, "One bag will be plenty for the three of us, surely!" Hunky, "Well, we'll want to have some for the next week. I figure 8 servings per bag, someone might come over and want some. Sixteen servings will be our safety net." As if we were amidst some famine with hungry people roaming by waiting to beg some red beans and rice. Thankfully, our largest pot will only accommodate one pound of fully cooked beans.  

So, now the house is filled with the warm and biting aroma of onions, garlic, peppers and celery, sweating in some olive oil. Add to that the nearly biting smell of the blackening spice slowly seeping it's way into the vegetables and the gradually expanding small red beans. The Andouille sausage is thawing in the sink with the remainder of last summer's garden tomatoes. I'm not sure how many packages of Andouille are left in our chest freezer. We always buy quite a few when we can find a good brand as it's more exotic to the population of NY than Chinese chicken feet. As another adaptation to our northern location, in place of Tasso ham, Hunky's had to make do with a small Cook's ham steak-ordinary, but OK. 

So here goes---

Hunky's Red Beans and Rice

serves 8?

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 large cloves garlic, minced

3 ribs celery, diced

2 small onions, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 tablespoons Cajun spice blend

2 bay leaves

1 pound dry small red beans

8 cups chicken broth

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

4 tablespoon butter, cubed

1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced

1 pound Tasso ham, diced

8 cups cooked rice

In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add next five ingredients, all at once, and stir vigorously to coat with oil. Raise the heat to high and cook the vegetables, stirring, for about five minutes until fragrant. Add Cajun spice and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until aroma releases in a big way! Add bay leaves and dried beans, stir to coat evenly with spice and vegetables; then add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low; cook at a lively simmer for 2 1/2-3 hours* until the beans are very tender. Add water, if necessary, to keep beans covered with liquid. When beans are tender enough to crush against the roof of your mouth with your tongue, stir in the tomatoes. The concoction should be very thick. Next, add the cubed butter and stir slowly until melted and combined. The butter should not float to the top. When beans are almost done, saute sausage and ham in a little oil until nicely browned on all sides; stir into beans. Taste and add salt, if necessary, as salt content varies considerably in differing Cajun spice mixes, sausages and ham.  Serve over rice and top with a little garnish of your choice. 

Lagniappe-Garnish the red beans and rice with a spoonful of minced red onion, scallion, parsley, tomato, green pepper or all of the above. As Hunky says, "....but don't put any damn cheese on it. It's not refried beans!"

*Note-sometimes it might take longer to cook the beans until softened. One can never know how long dried beans have been sitting on the grocery shelf and they do become even drier over time. It's best to buy dried beans from a natural food store where they are offered in bulk bins. These stores tend to rotate through their stock more rapidly than conventional groceries. 

As Louis Armstrong always signed off his correspondence,

"Red beans and ricely yours,"

Hunky and Olive

Come on in! Step Into My Kitchen!

It's warm, fragrant and cozy in here. I'll put the kettle on and we'll have a nice cup of coffee, tea, or chocolate. Mmmmm.

Next, the Kitchen Sorceress will make something happy and delicious for you. I'll gather all the ingredients, get them ready to meet the heat, share some stories and memories of days in other kitchens, then work my magic and with a wink to my kitchen totem, conjure up a dish sure to bring happiness and cheer to all. As poet laureate Charles Simic replied when asked how to find happiness "For starters, learn to cook."

Here you'll find some of my favorite recipes, photos of my recent work, sources for information and ingredients, results of recipe development, kitchen myths and tales along with other interesting tidbits I stumble upon. 

To start off, the Kitchen Sorceress offers a recipe for one of my favorite desserts-Southern Buttermilk Pie. 

Many people who live outside the southern part of the U.S. seem mystified when hearing of this dessert. It's kind of like an English chess tart, only bigger, creamier and less sugary. Make no mistake, this is a very sweet dessert, as most genuinely southern desserts are. However, it's flavors are balanced with tanginess from the buttermilk and lemon, with a warm, spicy note of nutmeg. It's great topped with fresh berries or other fruit, nestled into a puddle of fruit coulis (or sauce) or all on it's own. Try to serve this pie at near to room temperature to allow all the subtle flavors to really sing!

SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK PIE

serves 8, maybe 10

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell (choose deep dish if buying a frozen shell)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (ground will do)

pinch of salt

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk*

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line the unbaked pie shell with foil and fill to the top with pie weights-dried beans, stale coffee beans, cheap rice or anything dry that's been hanging around the pantry a bit too long. Bake 15-18 minutes until the crust is set and crimping is very slightly browned. Remove foil and pie weights (save for another pie baking day). Set pie shell aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, lemon zest, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, combine beaten eggs with buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract. It's very important that the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter are at room temperature so that the liquid mixture is smooth and without lumps of cold butter. Next, add the sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Try not to beat air bubbles into the custard as this will result in a cracked top and curdled texture. 

Pour custard into prepared pie shell and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-50 minutes. The top should be light golden brown, very slightly puffed and the center should jiggle a little if you gently shake the pan. Of course, you can test doneness by inserting a knife or cake tester in the center to see if it comes out clean, but then you have a hole in the center of your pie! Cool completely on a wire rack, then chill for 20 minutes to firm up the custard. Serve with fresh berries, sectioned oranges or a fruit coulis.

Here's an easy way to make a lovely raspberry coulis:

Blend 1 cup fresh or thawed, frozen raspberries with 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves in a blender or food processor until smooth and glossy.

*Some recipes call for full-fat buttermilk. Does this really exist? The Kitchen Sorceress had never seen it anywhere; I've only been able to purchase cultured buttermilk at about 1 1/2% fat. Besides, real buttermilk is the whey that is leftover after straining the curds from heavy cream when making butter-the fat would be in the curds, not in the whey. Right? Please post any thoughts or sources you may have on this issue.