Travels in the South

Hello sweet friends to the first Travels in the South for 2017!  Today I want to show you something that comes from the kitchen of the Hotel Thompson.  You are going to love this!

When my pet rock was visiting Miss Harper Lee and Tallulah Bee in New Orleans, Louisiana, Bashful got hooked on a specialty there named Red Beans and Rice.  If you look here, you will find the recipe and pictures from that trip.

Well when Bashful came home, there were some of those amazing Camellia beans in his package.  So you know mom had to try them.  So this past Monday, mom put on a huge pot just like Miss Harper Lee’s mom does on Mondays.

When it was ready to serve, mom whipped up some rice and of course her homemade cornbread to go with dinner.  And let me tell you, it is an awesome recipe.  Dad had two bowls!  Does that tell you anything?

So friends – there you go.  A dish from mom’s kitchen!  Thanks Miss Harper for the recipe and wonderful beans.  This just might be our weekly dinner on Monday’s now.  ❤

 

Oh Dear – Mom Was in the Kitchen This Weekend

Yes folks, you read that right.  Mom was in the kitchen this past weekend.  That’s one of the scariest things that I’ve written all month – snorts with piggy laughter.

Mom/dad were talking Friday night and mom was determined to master the perfect popover roll or Yorkshire Pudding.  I have to say this about mom.  When she is determined about something, she gets head strong and focused driven.  This can be good and bad.  Good because if things don’t come out ‘exactly’ right, me and dad get them.  Sometimes what mom thinks are accidents can really be good to us.  But as mom says, practice makes perfection.  But mom saying she wanted to perfect these over the weekend even had our closet skeletons laughing.  They knew too that this would be a fun if not bumpy ride.

Let me preface this by saying that earlier in the week, mom made this popover rolls / Yorkshire Pudding perfectly.  Mom didn’t take a picture because (A) her and dad couldn’t get out of them long enough to take a picture and (B) mom was so shocked they came out wonderfully that she had to eat them.  So there we were Saturday for experiment 2.  This picture with two ‘popover rolls’ is not perfect.  They look wonderful but for some reason they didn’t ‘pop’.  They were dense and heavy.  Think Ellie Mae from the Beverly Hillbillies.  Mom says she could have hurt someone if she threw one of these at them.  Me and dad however thought they were awesome.  To us they were a little heavier than a biscuit but better than a roll.  See what I was saying about mom’s mistakes sometimes being our blessings?

 But mom doesn’t give up.  If anything, mom is not a quitter.  Sunday was experiment 3.  Now, mom followed a recipe that she got from our great friend Bill , you know Shoko and Kali’s dad from Canadian Cats. (Thanks Bill – you rock!)  While mom waited, she fixed the rest of dinner which might I add was simply delicious!  Then the timer went off for the popovers.  She took the pan out holding her breath.  That’s when it happened.  The fat lady sung.  Birds started singing.  These were perfection.  Now the tin in the picture is deep so you can’t really see it but these ‘popped’.  They were nice and moist in the inside – empty and hollow like they are suppose to be.

Dad couldn’t wait to try one.  He grabbed our fine china and a hot popover right from the tin.  He pulled it apart and do you see that??  Awesomeness all bundled up together as one.  They were that good.

So has mom perfected these?  We won’t know until she tries again.  This could have just been an accident.  Do your humans do this in the kitchen?  I’m off now – I think one of these bad boys are calling my name.  I’m going to see if dad will share with this oinker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogger Action Day – Year of the Bean

Today my friends at WhattheDucks is celebrating Blogger Action Day in Celebration of Year of the Bean!  This is what their blog said on 1/27/2016:

“To join in, all you have to do is post something about beans, legumes or pulses on your own blog that day .  Share a recipe, upload a photo, write an ode to a chickpea!  Beans are good & blogging is good fun.  Hope to hear from as many bloggers as possible.  Even if some folks don’t know beans about beans, maybe you do!  Happy Year of the Bean, peeps!”

With that being said and being from the South – you just know that my mom is going to celebrate The Black-Eyed Pea.  Black-eyed peas are a staple here in the south.  On the first day of the new year, you have to serve them and collard greens for dinner.  It’s a tradition.  It’s thought by doing so, it brings prosperity to the new year.  And between you and me, mom makes sure they are on the table… you know just in case.

Now dad is not a huge fan of the black-eyed pea.  Therefore mom has to ‘doctor’ them up and give them such a flavor that dad eats an entire dish and then says that was wonderful without knowing what he ate… snorts – sounds like my mom huh?  Well, I’m going to head out because mom says that I don’t need to know how these are cooked.  She has a glint in her eye and I’m thinking it involves pig.  So here you go my friends – mom’s recipe.

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Now, I wasn’t able to make these before today – I know – I know.  There’s been so much going on here at the Hotel Thompson that it’s been unreal.  But I wanted to share with you my recipe for these wonderful understated beans.  Now this picture to the right is off of the internet under a google search of images.  Doesn’t it look amazing?!   They really are – if you’ve never tried them, you *must* at least once.  Now, I’ve asked Bacon to leave the blog because it does involve P.O.R.K. products which we don’t use here unless Bacon is out for the day.  Here’s the recipe to my Spicy Black-Eyed Peas:

UPDATE:  Lori brought it to my attention a very important step that my fast fingers left out – LOL.  The day before you make this recipe, you want to soak your package of black-eyed peas.  Shaking my head – how could I leave this step out?  What I do is the night before, before I go to bed I take a pot and fill it with water and add some salt.  I pour the package of black-eyed beans in the water – enough to cover – and then put the lid on the pan.  I leave this pan on the counter over night while we sleep.  The next day, I will drain them dry for cooking them at brunch/lunch.  The beans absorb the water softening them for cooking this recipe.t

Take 4 slices of any type of bacon that you like.  We prefer the thick cut or pancetta – which ever you have on hand.  I find it easier to go ahead and cut the bacon into small pieces and fry up in your iron skillet – we all have one here in the south 🙂  Once the bacon is done, scoop it out of your skillet and put on a napkin to drain the excess fat.  Put this aside for later.

Take one 16 ounce package of dried black-eyed peas that you have washed and add them to iron skillet that still has your bacon drippings.  Add fresh or a 12 ounce can of diced chilies and stir the two together. Add fresh or a 12 ounce can of diced tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add 3 cups of water and combine everything together.  Cover the skillet and cook for approximately 1 hour.   Now some people also add a diced onion to the party – we don’t here because Jim doesn’t care for them.  It’s a personal preference what you put in your beans.  While they are cooking, I will usually make some cracklin’ cornbread.

When the beans are done, scoop them out into a bowl and top them with some of your crumbled bacon.  Enjoy.