If I haven’t made it known by now, I love cajun and creole cuisine. I’ve been trying out gumbo recipes, and red beans and rice recipes. My husband makes a really nice jambalaya, non-tomato based (creole). Ah, comfort food.  So far, here is the recipe for red beans and rice that has worked out the best for us.  It’s similar to Tom Fitzmorris’s recipe in his cookbook.

Serves 4-6. Cook time: 3 hours

1 lb. dried red beans

**Rinse, sort through beans. Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain in the morning and add new water. Drain when you’re ready to cook.**

1 lb. bacon (used smoked rib bacon from a local deli), cut into small pieces

6 cloves of garlic, minced (practically 1/2 a med-lg. garlic head)

3 ribs of celery, chopped

1 small-medium pepper (red, yellow, green – your choice), chopped

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried savory

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. Frank’s hot sauce

1 or 2 small smoked pork hocks

Optional: smoked sausage (kielbasa)

Fry the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven (I love our red Le Creuset, except I didn’t use it here) until crisp. Save for later. In the rendered fat, saute garlic, celery, pepper, and onion until it begins to caramelize. Add the drained red beans and 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer. Add savory, pepper, bay leaf and hot sauce. Add smoked pork hocks. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stir occasionally.

After 2 hours, ladle out some beans and mash them up, then return the beans to the pot. Stir around, and I let the beans cook for one more hour. If you want the dish to be more creamy, spoon out more. Add more water if the beans get too thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the red beans over cooked white rice (not sticky Asian rice, but firm “piece-y” long grain). Garnish with the crisp bacon and a little parsley if you have some. We like to also serve smoked sausage along with the red beans and rice.