RED BEANS & RICE
TOMATO, CUCUMBER & ONION
SALAD
OLD-FASHIONED CORN BREAD
NEW ORLEAN’S STYLE PRALINES
Tomato, Cucumber and Onion
Salad
3 large tomatoes or 6 small,
chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 large cucumber, diced
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup vinegar
3 T sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together
and refrigerate at least 2 hours. The
longer it sits, the better.
RED BEANS & RICE WITH SMOKED SAUSAGE & HAM
1 (16-ounce) bag dry light or dark red kidney beans
1 (16-ounce) package smoked turkey or beef sausage, sliced
or quartered (I use Conecuh)
1 ham steak, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion
powder (taste and add more if needed)
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (add more if needed)
Water
Hot cooked rice
Pour red beans into a large pot and cover with water. Place the lid on the pot and let them soak
overnight or at least 8 hours. Pour the
soaked beans out into a colander and rinse and drain well, picking any bad
beans out. Set to the side. In the large pot, heat olive oil and butter
and add sausage and ham. Sauté over
medium heat or until sausage is browned.
Watch closely J
Remove the sausage and ham with a slotted spoon and set aside. Sauté the veggies in the leftover oil from
the sausage and ham until they are very brown and soft. Next, add the sausage, ham and beans to the
veggie mix. Add enough water just to
cover the beans-about 3 to 4 cups. Add
all seasonings and bring to a boil. Once
it comes to a boil, turn the heat to very low or simmer mode and cover. Cook for 1 ½ hours or until beans are
soft. It’s very important that you taste
this as you make it so you can add more seasonings if you desire J The Friday Fam likes
it spicy! If you prefer a thicker sauce,
add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to ½ cup cold water. Stir well and stir into the bean
mixture. Serve over hot rice and a slice
of cornbread. Pepper sauce sprinkled
over the beans and rice is oh, so delicious, too!
OLD-FASHIONED CORNBREAD
A black skillet is a must for this recipe J
2 cups self rising cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable oil + 1 ½ tablespoons more
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ cups whole milk or buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
Place the 1-½ tablespoons vegetable oil in a black skillet
and heat on a burner for 2 to 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix cornmeal, 2 tablespoons of oil and the remaining
ingredients together well. Turn the heat
off the skillet and carefully pour the cornmeal mixture over the hot oil. Place in a 425 oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
PRALINES
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons real butter
1-½ cup pecans, rough chopped
Lay out wax paper and a tablespoon on your countertop before
getting started on the pralines. Next,
combine all the ingredients in a 4-quart saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring often until
butter is melted and sugars are dissolved.
Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to medium high –letting the
mixture continue to boil for exactly 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a
wooden spoon. It will bubble up pretty
high, so never leave it even just for a second.
After 3 minutes of boiling and stirring, remove the pot from the heat
and stir constantly for 2 minutes. It
will start to thicken. Now (using a
tablespoon that you would eat soup with) drop onto the wax paper, working
quickly. Let them sit for 10 to 15
minutes. Store in an airtight
container. This recipe makes 12-14
pralines. These are delicious by
themselves or broken over vanilla ice cream J Caution: Be very careful when making these as the candy
mixture becomes scalding hot and be mindful of the weather. Really humid days can make these difficult
to set.
