We’re obsessed.


At the end of March, A and I spent a few days in New Orleans to celebrate our second anniversary. It was an fantastic time. New Orleans is so full of spirit. Between the food, the cocktails, the music, the history and the amazing energy of the people, it is truly one of the most remarkable places I’ve been.


We left trying to figure out how soon we could come back.



And, we started thinking of ways to put a little New Orleans in our Austin lives. Though not the same as sipping on a Sazerac at the Carousel Bar, A perfected his Sazerac recipe complete with the traditional Herbsaint. Though not the same as listening to a live band in the Hermes, we can tune into our Pandora New Orleans station for the music. And, though it wasn’t the same as touring the city in person, we both spent a few days glued to Wikipedia researching the history when we returned. But, the food was not so simple.

For starters, we don’t have a super fantastic cajun restaurant here in Austin. I know, right? You would think that our being so close to NOLA and having such amazing food in this town, we’d have some fantastic options. Strangely, we don’t. Aside from a strip mall cafe that’s okay, an overpriced downtown location that gets meh reviews and a hole in the wall down the street that is more Southern than cajun, we really have nothing.


Plus, cajun food is not terribly simple to make. I’m talking about real cajun food. Not just blackened chicken with some cachere’s sprinkled on top. I’m talking gumbo made with 7 different kinds of meat and 29 different spices. I’m talking red beans & rice that requires debris from the roast beef you cooked the day before. I’m talking jambalaya that took you at least half a day to prepare. It’s no easy task.


But, we’ve been missing the food so much and another trip is at least a few months down the road. So, we decided it was time to attempt New Orleans cuisine on our own. I decided to start small with red beans & rice. Sounds simple right? Cook some beans, cook some rice. Yeah, no.


I started cooking the roast for the debris at about 6 in the evening. Realizing it would take at least 4 hours for the roast to cook plus another 2 for the red beans, we decided to grab some take-out and look forward to tomorrow night’s meal. If we had tried to do it all in one night, we would have eaten by midnight at the earliest.


I must admit I thought my first attempt would be a complete flop. Considering there was so much involved and that I’m not very schooled in the art of cajun cooking, I felt my first attempt would at least need tweaking if not be a complete failure. To my surprise and utter delight, my first attempt at red beans & rice was AMAZING (aside from my timing issues, of course). Paired with melt in your mouth biscuits and steamed green beans, it took us both back to NOLA. For an hour anyway…

Red Beans & Rice

To really make this right, you need to first make a roast for the debris. I used this recipe pretty much to the tee. Make this the night before to have the debris on hand.
This recipe for red beans is a combination of one from Mother’s Restaurant in New Orleans and one from Emeril.
1 pound red beans
4 links smoked sausage
1/2 pound ham, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 T thyme
1 t salt
1 T black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
1 quart Debris Gravy
Preparation:
Soak red beans overnight or quick soak.
In a large pot, heat 2 T vegetable oil. Add ham and cook until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add sausage. Add onions, bell pepper and green onions. Stir until onions begin to turn translucent. Add garlic and spices. Add the beans, stock and debris. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, about 2 hours until beans are creamy. Using the back of a spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans. Serve over rice.