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BLOGtober: Thanksgiving and Carolina on My Mind (with Recipe for Hoppin’ John)

October 17, 2012 by arfoodie

Hoppin’ John will probably make an appearance at our Charleston Thanksgiving.

Ever since the monumental Thanksgiving disaster of 2009, I haven’t planned a lot for the holiday.

Usually, we get together for a largely non-traditional dinner of chili and fixings (along with some ham, dressing and green beans for a degree of normalcy) at my niece’s house. I bring one thing, sometimes just the fixings for the chili.

A few months back, we decided at a family gathering that we’d do Thanksgiving in Charleston this year. We have extended family there, and we’d make an epic family-fest trip of it. I’d plan a simple-but-fab menu, go to the year-round farmers’ market, pull out all the stops. All the moms were on board.

Then, my mom bailed, then my mother-in-law.

My mom insists she can hang with friends this year, which seems silly, but whatever. We’re still going, at her insistence.

The menu in Charleston will probably include this, which I test-ran tonight: Hoppin’ John.

This traditional South Carolina dish is made with cowpeas there, which are similar to blackeyed peas but smaller. Tonight, I had some dry blackeyes in the pantry and some bacon in the freezer, so it made a delicious and inexpensive dinner. The hubs said at least three times, “Wow, this is really good!”

*******************

Hoppin’ John
Serves 6-8.

  • 2 cups dry blackeye peas
  • 6 rashers of bacon, diced
  • One half yellow onion, small dice
  • Three cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 quarts chicken stock (guessing here)
  • Two bay leaves
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Hot sauce of your choice
  • 2 T. fresh rosemary, minced

For the rice:

  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 3 cups water or chicken stock
  • 1 T. oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 T. fresh parsley, minced, plus extra for garnish

Soak the beans in cold water overnight, then rinse thoroughly in a colander.

In a heavy pot over medium-high heat, render the bacon until it is about halfway done, then add the onion. Reduce the heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, then add the garlic. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the soaked beans, stir everything together, and cover the whole thing with chicken stock. I’m really not sure how much I used, since it was homemade stock in a big pot, but I’m guessing 2 quarts. Just use enough to cover the beans by about an inch. Add your bay leaves.

Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours. (Check your beans before this point; mine were a little soft.) I covered the pot slightly, but I’m not sure it really matters.

About 30 minutes into cooking the beans, combine the brown rice, stock or water, oil and salt in a small saucepan, bring to a low simmer and cover. This will take about 45 minutes to cook.

When the beans are done to your liking, remove most of the liquid. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, hot sauce (if you want) and rosemary. Crush some of the beans with your spoon (or whatever) to thicken the remaining liquid and stir.

When the rice is done, mix in the parsley, then spoon about a 1/4 cup into the bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle the bean mixture over the top, and garnish with some more parsley. (Confession: my rosemary is still alive, but my parsley is not; today, I used the dreaded dry kind that I usually hate.)

I hope my Hoppin’ John comes out as well at my Charleston Thanksgiving this year!

Posts this week will be part of Arkansas Women Blogger’s BLOGtober Fest challenge. I usually don’t blog daily unless there are a lot of events going on, so don’t freak out if you get posts by email! Click the pumpkin badge on the right side of the page for related (or not) posts from bloggers across Arkansas.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Main Course, Side Dishes Tagged With: BLOGtober, Charleston, fall, Hoppin' John, Thanksgiving, traditions

A Foodie in Charleston, Part 1

July 14, 2011 by arfoodie

Our tour guide from Culinary Tours of Charleston/Bulldog Tours, Hoon Calhoun, kept us in line on the meandering cobblestone streets of downtown Charleston.

My family and I recently returned from a vacation in Charleston, South Carolina. Let me summarize: This is a foodie town.

Of course, there’s plenty else to do (we went to three different beaches, and I still managed to get home whiter than when I left). But if you love food, especially the history, technique, local ingredients and passion behind it, Charleston is your kind of town.

I was only there just short of a week and didn’t experience all it had to offer, but I wanted to share some highlights, especially from a behind-the-scenes kitchen tour I took. The “chef’s kitchen” tour is presented by Culinary Tours of Charleston, a division of Bulldog Tours. Tasting tours are available daily, but this specialty tour is only given once a week, on Friday mornings.

I had to go alone, as we had no childcare options that day. This was fine with our two kids; they were happy with Daddy’s arrangements to wear swimsuits and frolic in a couple public fountains made for such enjoyment while I completed my 2 1/2 hour tour.

Our tour began with coffee, cheese grits (yom) and a light, orange-zest laced cinnamon roll at Barbara Jean’s, while our tour guide, Hoon Calhoun, regaled us with the historical basis for Charleston food culture.

Of course, much of this culture revolves around its origins as an early British colony (read: [King] Charles’ Town) and its subsequent agriculture-based, slave-fueled plantation lifestyle. During these times, elaborate meals showcased the region’s bountiful resources of vegetables, rice, and seafood in concert not seen elsewhere in the world.

These meals were often made by talented slave cooks, who were frequently traded from household to household in order to learn new skills. “We should not forget,” Calhoun said, “that the food culture here rests squarely on the shoulders of the slaves who worked here.”

Upon the official end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation, Charleston’s food landscape changed. Busy working women, former slaves and owners alike, now found themselves in the fields all day rather than cooking. This was the beginning of modern Southern high-fat, quick-cooking methods, as well as peasant-style stews and other items that could cook all day.

Calhoun noted that today’s Charleston marks a return to the earlier form of cookery: fresh, refined and celebratory of all the region has to offer.

An interesting note: Why does Charleston no longer wear its former crown as rice capital of the region? Calhoun said that ships from China would come to Charleston for its coveted rice. The answer also lies in the end of slavery. Heavy machinery replaced slave labor, and the silty soil of the region could not support the equipment. Rice production moved to states with sturdier soils, including Arkansas.

With this knowledge in hand, our group moved on to tour the kitchens, taste the food, and visit with the chefs who are keeping Charleston’s food culture one of the most dynamic in the world.

Keep reading!

Filed Under: Destinations, learning Tagged With: Charleston, Chef, food, history, kitchen, restaurants, rice, slavery, tour

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