I'm on an officially sanctioned break from the kitchen where Mr. Big Food / Mr. Big Food & I have been cookin' & bakin'. We have just pulled a plum coffee cake thing from the oven, have assembled the dish of fried eggplant, hard boiled eggs, cheese, and tomato soup, and are now working on the green bean, potato, and bacon dish. It's called "Old Fashioned Country Green Beans."
We're listening to The Redneck Collection as we cook & bake.
Back in my younger days when cocktail parties were de rigeur, I brought raw veggies and a mayonaise/garlic/sugar dip. One of the gals was Southern bred, and we'd been talking about the differences between cultures. I asked her about the veggie/dip thing...it was probably the first time in her life she'd eaten raw green beans.... She said "Not bad! Nothing 2-3 hours wouldn't take care of!"
ReplyDeleteWhich set me up for arriving at my baby sitter's house one afternoon to the wonderful smell of bacon cooking. "What's cooking?" I asked. "Green beans", she answered. "How do you cook them?" asked I. Well. It turns out that after canning them (45 minutes under pressure, as we all know), she just puts them in a pan with some chopped up bacon and cooks them for another 3 hours or so.
Heh.
Me...I just pour them out of a bag of frozen beans into about 1/2 inch of water, boil for about 5 minutes and we're good to go.
And I like the raw beans with the dip...and no 2-3 hours later add on!
I like beans one of three ways.
Delete1) Eaten raw <10 seconds after having been picked.
2) Flash cooked / steamed; anything less than 5 minutes.
3) Cooked to death with bacon and onions and potatoes. It's especially good if there's cornbread to soak up the pot licker.
I should add...
ReplyDeleteSomewhere in the last few days, I read a sentence that was something like " 'Well', she said. She was from the Midwest, and everything she said started with 'Well' "
I spent a lot of time in the Midwest. I never noticed this particular habit. But I _do_ use it a lot.
Hmmmm.
You add the potatoes towards the end, right? Otherwise, I think they'd cook into mush.
ReplyDeleteBut the bacon goes all the way, I'll bet. Bacon with almost anything is yummy.
We have a family recipe called "American Chop Suey". Hamburger plus bacon, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and macaroni, topped with American cheese. The bacon gives it that additional oomph that usually has people asking for seconds. And it's usually better on the second- or third - day. Also great as a budget stretcher, since you can add more or less elbow macaroni.
Actually, I _thought_ it was a family recipe. Then I heard something about "American Chop Suey" on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and it turns out that it's a regional dish! And apparently there are _many_ versions. Which figures - our's is unique...but then I guess everybody's is!