Shhhhhh...It's Robin's Double Secret Black-Eyed Pea Dip Recipe

Just because I love all of you, this year I am going to share my double-secret recipe for delicious (no, really) and easy black-eyed pea dip. As someone who has swallowed many black-eyed peas over the years while holding her nose and chasing it immediately with a glass of water, when I say this is good, I mean it.

• 8 strips of bacon, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp. salt + 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tbs. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14.5 oz. can of original Rotel tomatoes (do not drain)
• Approximately 10 jarred jalepenos, roughly chopped (more or less, depending on your spiciness preferences)
• 1/4 cup of the juice from the jarred jalepenos
• juice of two limes
• 3 tbs. sugar
• 3 cans of plain black-eyed peas (don't get pre-seasoned), rinsed and drained
• 1 bottle of Shiner Bock (plus more for drinking while you cook, as desired)

Heat a stock pot on medium high heat. Add the bacon, and cook off the fat until it just starts to crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onions and 2 tsp. salt to the pan with the bacon grease. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onions until translucent, but not brown (5-10 minutes). Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, oregano and garlic to the onions and cook while stirring for two more minutes.

Add the bacon back to the onion mixture along with the Rotel, jalepenos and juice, lime juice and sugar and stir until well combined. Return to the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a bubble. Add the black-eyed peas, 2 tsp. salt and the bottle of Shiner, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for two hours or until the liquid is completely absorbed/reduced. You'll have to watch it fairly closely at the end to make sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pot. Trust me on this one :)

Once it has cooled a bit, start smashing the peas with a fork or a potato masher. You want the texture to be chunky (where you can still tell it's black-eyed peas) but creamy, like good bean dip. This is a bit of a personal choice, though, so it's your preference. Serve with tortilla chips.

Eat this after midnight, and you'll guarantee yourself a very happy and prosperous 2009 (and possibly stave off your hangover at least a little). Happy New Year's from DallasEats!

Rancho Gordo is Bean-tastic!

So, my Rancho Gordo Mexican/Latin Sampler Pack arrived last week, and I cooked up my first batch of heirloom beans this Monday night. Yay! There was much cheering and thunderous applause from the crowd (well, from me) and it was unanimously decided (by me) that these beans kick any canned legumes' scraggly little behinds.

Sweet Miss Margie sent me a message asking how the bean cookery went, and my two sentence reply quickly turned into a couple of paragraphs on the deliciousness of Vaquero Bean soup. Those little black-and-white speckled beauties were so tender, so mild and creamy, that I decided a blog post was most definitely in order. And, so, without further delay:

Vaquero Bean Soup

...good for City Slickers, too!

This is more of a method than a recipe, so I'm going with a narrative format.

1. Soak your beans. Rancho Gordo recommends picking through the beans for debris, rinsing with cool water and then covering with fresh water in a bowl for 4-6 hours.

I started with 16 oz. of adorable Vaquero beans (pictured above), by weight, but this recipe would also work with pintos and other mild-flavored beans. I followed the Rancho Gordo method for soaking.

2. Slice a couple of links of sausage (smoked, bratwurst, polish or other) into bite-sized chunks and brown thoroughly in olive oil in a soup pot.

And I mean brown, people. Not late-summer tan, but really freakin' brown. Don't skimp on this step, and don't worry if there's a lot of flotsam and jetsam left in the pot. That's what we're aiming for.

3. Remove the sausage chunks from the pot with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add to the pot one large yellow onion, two carrots and two ribs of celery, diced. Also add a few cloves of minced garlic, a generous sprinkling of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Saute until lightly browned.

Again, take your time, allowing the veggies to sweat out their liquids and become golden and delicious. The mirepoix will prevent your garlic from over browning.

4. As the veggies cook, add your spices to the pot.

For this recipe, I like a healthy dose of ancho or other mild chili powder - 1-2 tbsp. - and a pinch of red pepper flakes. They work together to generate warmth and heat. Also add 1 1/2 tsp. of oregano. (aside: I used the wonderful, fragrant Mexican Oregano from my sampler pack, which has a distinctive appearance that also brings to mind a certain other infamous herb(1)). Finally, I want you to add 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon. Don't fight me on this one, just go with the flow - a soupcon of cinnamon will add depth and character, filling in the nooks and crannies of your dish's flavor profile. I learned this trick from a famous chef(2), and I also use it when I make meat sauces and other slow-simmered delights.

5. When veggies are ready, add sausage and beans (drained of their soaking liquid) to the pot. Pour in stock to completely cover, and season once more with a little salt and pepper.

Match your stock to your sausage - mild sausage works well with chicken stock, but a more robust version may be a better match for beef stock.

6. Simmer 3 hours, adding more liquid (stock or water) if necessary. Check and adjust seasoning before service.

I ate this soup by itself, and it was stand-alone good. It would also be wonderful with corn bread (click here for a great recipe) or hot buttered rice. Before you begin considering side dishes, however, you'll need to zip over to Rancho Gordo's site and get yourself some of their amazing heirloom beans! Enjoy!

1. Which we won't talk about right now.

2. Actually, I learned this trick from Jimi Mistry in The Guru.

Eenie Meenie, Speckled Beanie

So maybe it was a case of Halloween Hangover, a post-treat trick my brain was playing on me, but while exploring the latest issue of O Magazine, I came across this tantalizing photo and was immediately captivated by what I (in my sugar-addled state) assumed to be brand-new flavors of Jelly Belly beans, freshly unveiled for the upcoming holiday season.  Is that a cookies-n-cream there on the right?, I wondered, mouth watering in anticipation.  And what about that caramel-colored swirly number?  Dulce de leche, perhaps?

Well, after delving into the accompanying text, I realized I was quite mistaken.  They are beans of the legume category, heirloom varieties, to be exact, with fanciful names that belie the generally mundane reputation of their often canned-for-convenience, mass-market cousins.  There are mayacobas and Rio Zapes and Christmas limas and more, and the tantalizing article went on to describe each variety's complex, unexpected flavors.  My curiosity remained piqued, but in a more grown-up sort of way.  The foodie in me was officially intrigued.

A company called Rancho Gordo in California's Napa Valley specializes in these rare little protein-packed beauties, and its owner, Steve Sando has just come out with a new cookbook, Heirloom Beans, co-written by Vanessa Barrington.  I took a few minutes to explore the company's awesome website, and now I want to be a bean freak, too!

Sando's philosophy takes root in his desire to preserve native American agricultural products and cuisine, and he goes to great lengths to ensure that his offerings are of the highest quality.  Rancho Gordo's site features chili powders, grains and spices in addition to heirloom beans, as well as recipes and this adorable tote bag for eco-friendly shopping.  It's great fun to explore, and now I'm quite curious about this subject.  So, a few questions for our culinarily-minded readers:  Has anyone cooked with these heirloom beans?  What did you think?  I'm wondering if their beautiful colors last through cooking and onto the plate?  Any other thoughts on the subject of heirloom produce/preservation that you'd like to share?  This inquiring newbie bean freak wants to know!