re: TD Recipe Collection Version 7 (with links)

Cajunate’s Red Beans

I don’t usually measure these things so bear with me and if you feel like adding more or less you can.

1 Pound dried red beans
11/2 - 2 pounds good smoked sausage sliced ¼ inch (I like a lot of meat in my beans)
1 med. to lg onion diced
½ med/lg. bell pepper diced
3-4 ribs of celery sliced
3 toes REAL minced garlic
2-3 bay leaves
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp ground savory
½ tsp black pepper
3 tbsp. chicken base
2/3 stick of butter

Soak one pound of Red beans for at least two or three hours if not overnight.
Slice sausage first and while chopping seasoning brown the sausage. I do this because it gets rid of the water in sausage as well as renders off excess fat. When done but not overcooked remove and set aside. Depending on how much fat renders I remove leaving only enough to deglaze the bottom of the pot and cook down the seasoning. Add the onions, celery and bell pepper and cook down till almost softened then add the garlic, chicken base, thyme, savory, bay leaves and black pepper. Keep stirring to keep it from sticking and burning. When seasonings are soft add about 2 cups of water and bring to a light boil and stir to mix the base well. Add the drained beans and mix thoroughly. Then add enough water or chicken stock to cover the beans by about ¾ to an inch over. Bring to light boil and reduce to low and cover. Dried beans can take different times to cook depending on how old they are. Check often to make sure they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. Stir, cover and continue cooking until they begin to soften which should be about halfway through the cook. Then add the cooked sausage to the pot and stir well. I like to add the sausage halfway through the cook to keep some of the flavor in them and yet still season the beans enough. Keeps it from falling apart too. Continue cooking until the beans are tender. Here’s where it depends on how you like your beans. Whole yet tender or creamy with some texture. I like creamy with a thick gravy. For creamy take a whisk and stir the beans to break up really softened beans. If they are done to your liking add about 2/3 stick of butter and whisk emulsifying it into the beans.
You might notice I didn’t add salt. The chicken base has salt as well as the sausage and may well be enough like that. You can adjust the taste toward the end of the cook adding extra salt and pepper.
That’s it! They’re ready to serve over fresh hot rice.
Enjoy!


Easier than Drop Biscuits!

Butter Dip Biscuits
Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) uns alted butter (see notes below)
2 1/2 cups allpurpose
flour
4 tsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk (see notes below)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
Spray an 8inch
square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a microwavesafe
bowl (or you can use the baking dish that you'll be baking these in), melt stick of
butter in the microwave.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Pour in the buttermilk. Stir until a loose dough forms. Dough will be sticky.
Press biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter).
It is easiest to spread it out with your hands.
Take a sharp knife and cut the biscuit dough into 9 squares before baking.
Bake for about 2025
minutes, rotating once during baking.
If you notice that some of the butter that is coming up to the top is getting brown, just take a paper
towel and dab around the edges a bit.
Oven times do vary since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be
golden brown on top and spring back to the touch.
Cook’s Note : I really recommend only using buttermilk with these but if all you have on hand is
regular milk then you can use that (just not skim milk, that stuff is far too watery). Keep in mind
though that when you use regular milk, you'll have to cut back on the amount you use because regular
milk is much thinner than buttermilk. You may need to use about 1 1/4 cups 1
1/2 cups (start with
less, you can always add more in).
The buttermilk adds such great flavor to these biscuits so if you can get your hands on some,
definitely give it a try. Also, if you use salted butter, make sure you leave out the additional salt that is
added to the dough.
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