"George Shirley" > wrote in message
...
> On 2/12/2011 5:14 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> Tara mentioned them.
>> I'm not all that familiar with the dish‹educate me.
>> Is that the main course? What's a typical side?
>> What are the critical components?
>
> Loosyanna red beans and rice are typically made with the trinity, celery,
> onion, bell pepper; and sausage, or tasso, or andouille, or one of the
> other speciality meats used for such things. Generally served over rice
> and eaten as a main dish. Possible sides I have seen are cornbread; potato
> salad; or a green salad. At least that's the way it's made in this part of
> Loosyanna.
>
> Many restaurants in this area serve red beans and rice on Wednesday for
> the noon meal and those restaurants mostly have all the business they can
> handle on that day.


Used to be a Monday (wash day) meal. Barb could just buy a box of
Zatarain's and add some smoked sausage But I've posted Paul Prudhomme's
recipe in the past... let me Google for it. Posted in 2002. Here it is.

From Paul Prudhomme's 'Louisiana Kitchen':

1/2 lb. dry red kidney beans
water to cover the beans
About 10 cups water in all
3 lbs. small ham hocks
1-1/4 c. finely chopped celery
1 c. finely chopped onions
1 c. finely chopped green bell peppers
3 bay leaves
1-1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cover the beans with water 2 inches above and soak overnight (or use the
quick soak method on the bag). Drain and set aside. Place 8 cups of water
and remaining ingredients in a 5-1/2 quart saucepan or large dutch oven (I
use a small stock pot) and stir well. Cover and bring to a boil over high
heat. Remove cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Raise the heat and boil until the meat falls off the bones, about 15 to 20
minutes. Remove the meat and the bones from the pan and discard the bones.
Set the meat aside. Add the drained beans and the remaining 2 cups of water
to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer,
and cook until the beans are tender and starting to break up, about 1 hour,
stirring occasionally. Add the diced ham back to the pot and simmer about
10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Makes about 7 cups.

Jill