HumidCity

I would like to share a really great recipe for Red Beans and Rice with our readers, the recipe Dave Cash has been using for years without number in his regular (and legendary) Monday evening gatherings. I can vouch for the fact that they are delicious. They also are an example of something I do not often see: vegan/vegetarian twists on New Orleans cooking that actually work!

Thanks to Dave for permission to share the recipe, and thanks to GBitch, my favorite vegan, for inspiring me to share it. Bon Apetit!

Red Beans, Dave Cash Style

* 3 lbs dried, soaked, red beans
* one farmers market onion, chopped
* one farmers market green bell pepper, chopped
* several good shakes of chili powder
* tiny islands of ground coriander, dissolving in the sea
* a nice bit of cumin
* enough Hungarian paprika to make its people proud
* small pile of black pepper

1. Soak the beans for at least three hours on Sunday, then change the water and start cooking Sunday night on low heat in a seven-quart crock pot.

2. On Monday morning, add the rest of the ingredients and mash them into the cooked beans with a potato masher. Continue to cook on low throughout the day.

3. About an hour or two before people come over, stir the beans and add some water to thin them, if desired.

Feeds about 15 hungry friends.

-Loki, HumidCity Founder

Gary Garitson, formerly of New Orleans and a member of The Krewe of Chartreuse send us the following drink recipe from the Wilds of Cinncinatti, OH. He, his lovely wife, and their son (my godson) have settled up there in the icy northern region from which he originally hailed. So, without further adieu allow me to present:

The Pirate Chef’s “Big Easy”

A SoCo Manhattan, extra bitters and bruised

• 2 oz. Southern Comfort
• 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 6 shakes Agnostura Bitters (only Agostura, no substitutions!)
• 1 ea. Marichino Cherry

Put everything in a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Shake. Bruise. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry. Repeat as needed.

Let him know what you think! (And congratulate him on the advent of his spawn while you at it!)