Red Beans and Ricely Yours

A hearty pot of red beans bubbling away on my stove.

Today we're going to talk about making that Monday-night-in-New Orleans standard: red beans and rice. Why do Monday and red beans go hand in hand? Well, it's leftover from a time when families had ham for dinner on Sunday night and focused on doing their wash on Monday. A pot of beans -- all full of spice and leftover pork from the night before -- could sit on the stove all day and simmer while someone was out washing the clothes.

It's an inexpensive dish to make, but when it's done well it is worth its weight in gold. Little wonder then that jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong signed all his letters and autographs with the phrase "Red Beans and Ricely Yours."

So let's get started, because the sooner you get this on the stove, the better off you'll be.

Here's your shopping list:
1 package of kidney beans
1 package of smoked ham, diced
1 package of andouille sausage if you can find it; otherwise use a well-seasoned or smoked pork sausage. Whatever type sausage you use, just be sure to cut it into bite-sized pieces.
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, diced
2-3 celery stalks, diced
diced garlic (I firmly believe that one uses his or her judgement on this; me, I'm heavy-handed with it)
2 bay leaves
salt, cayenne, black pepper and white pepper to taste and a pinch or two of paprika (Note: You can take the easy route and opt for prepackaged Cajun seasoning instead. Again, the amount you use depends on your spice preference. I go for middle-of-the-road heat, assuming that people who require more will head for the Tabasco.)
2-3 teaspoons of oregano (for smokiness)
a pinch of thyme
about a tablespoon of parsley (for freshness)
steamed long grain rice


Here's what you do with all this:
Soak the beans in a pot of water overnight. The next day, rinse the beans in a colander, put them back in the pot and cover them with about two parts water to the amount of beans you have. Toss the diced onion, diced bell pepper, diced celery, garlic, bay leaves, spices, herbs, ham and andouille into the pot and jack the heat up to high, bringing everything to a boil. Stir the pot of red beans, then turn the heat down so that the pot of beans simmers for 4-5 hours. Always, always, always be sure to stir your beans (not to mention, adjust your cooktop heat and spices if it's necessary) about every half-hour. If you don't, they will stick and it will suck to clean up that mess.

You know the beans are ready when the sauce is like a thick, rich gravy. Serve the beans over steamed long grain rice and wash it all down with an ice cold beer. I'd drink Abita Golden if I could find it up here, but because I can't, a Sweetwater 420 works just fine too.

Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya

I learned something about myself recently. It’s that I haven’t really done a good job of telling my friends (or AJC food writer John Kessler, for that matter) how to make jambalaya. I described my method for one friend on three scribbled steno pad pages, never going into any specifics about the spices involved because I honestly don’t season the dish the same way each time I make it. I described my method for another friend two different ways and, because she has a mind like a steel trap, she actually called me out about the transgression. I posted one recipe on Food Buzz that I thought described the step-by-step well, only to remove it once I realized it did not. And I emailed Kessler after he wrote a story about recovering from burnt jambalaya, urging him to try it my way, only realizing after I hit send that I wasn't quite clear about what my way actually was.

Though I don't advocate being a slave to recipes, I am now advocating at least being able to give someone a reliable recipe from which they can work. This is my new New Year's Resolution.

So Saturday night I sat down with my ingredients, my 12-inch cast iron skillet and a notepad and endeavored to capture a faithful rendering of the chicken and andouille jambalaya I create on a pretty regular basis in my home. It’s a recipe I learned from watching my mom (who just seems to make the dish as if it’s an involuntary function, like breathing), begging a championship jambalaya cook for his recipe and tinkering a bit on my own. What I present to you below is something with a good and zesty base flavor that’s smoky, but not overly spicy. If you’re big on heat, all you need are a few dashes of Tabasco to take this dish from fais-do-do to zydeco.

Before I proceed, here are a few notes on what will make this a memorable jambalaya:

1. A well-flavored andouille sausage, preferably something like Savoie’s (which I’ve found in my local supermarket) which is made in Louisiana. The sausage is smoky and fairly spicy; because of that you shouldn’t have to do much to season the dish. If you can’t find a good Louisiana andouille, I suppose you could use a brand like Aidell’s, which is made in California. Just don’t tell me about it if you do. If you can’t find andouille at all, a smoked sausage will do.


But here's a pile of what you really want, the good stuff:

2. You also want well-browned (that does not mean burned) long-grain rice. The browned rice adds a depth of nutty flavor to this dish that really makes it great. Expect to spend about 15 minutes stirring and stirring your rice until it looks about like this:

Not to be hyper-regional, but I’d call that color café au lait. No?

3. You could sprinkle any garden variety Cajun seasoning into your jambalaya, but I find that they all have different balances of spices. You could also mix your own Cajun seasoning, for a little more control over the taste. Here’s the mix I used for the following recipe: 1 tsp. salt, 1 pinch cayenne, 1 pinch white pepper, 1 tsp. black pepper, 2 tsp. parsley, 1-2 tsp. oregano, 1 pinch thyme, 1/8 tsp smoked paprika, 1/8 tsp onion salt. I find it's near perfect, when you consider the flavors that are already coming at you from the well-toasted rice and nicely-flavored sausage.

So with that in mind, here’s your list of ingredients:
1 diced medium onion
1 package of diced andouille
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups rice
3 cups water
1 ½ - 2 TBS garlic
Cajun seasoning mix (either as directed above or to your own taste)

Method:
1. Coat the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet with a thin layer of olive oil and brown the diced andouille. When the andouille is browned, remove it from the skillet, put it on a towel-lined plate and set it aside.
2. Brown the boneless skinless chicken breasts in the same skillet, remove them from the skillet and set them aside on a different plate.
3. Pour the rice and onion into the leftover oil remaining in the skillet and cook until light- or medium-brown in hue. This will take about 15 minutes of your effort. Be sure to stir frequently so that the rice does not stick. When the rice is about 13 minutes along in this toasting process, add the diced garlic to the mixture. Don’t add it too soon, or else the garlic will get overcooked and taste bitter. Me, I have a no bitterness policy in 2008.
4. When the rice is well-browned, add the andouille and chicken to it, along with any leftover juices there may be and mix it all together. Then add the water and spices, and stir until well incorporated.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cover the skillet for about ten minutes.
6. After ten minutes, uncover the jambalaya and stir it well, bringing the cooked rice to the top and pushing the less-cooked rice closer to the heat . Cover the skillet again for five to seven minutes.
7. When five to seven minutes have elapsed, uncover the jambalaya and stir it again, taking extra care to gently scrape up anything that is stuck to the skillet. Serve it with cold beer (I say Abita, of course) and a simple green salad with a tangy Creole Mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows).

Creole Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ cup coarse brown grainy mustard, or Creole mustard if you can find it
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup of vegetable oil

Method:
Whisk ingredients together and serve over romaine lettuce.

Here are the jambalaya and the salad plated: