"Jazz Cooks - Portraits and Recipes of the Greats" - Harry Connick, Jr.'s Red Beans and Rice for Mardi Gras 2015

Date I made this recipe:  (Tuesday) February 17, 2015 – Fat Tuesday!

Jazz Cooks – Portraits and Recipes of the Greats by Bob Young and Al Stankus

Published by: Stewart Tabori & Chang

ISBN:  1-55670-192-6

Purchased at Strand (Bookstore), NYC

Recipe:  Harry Connick Jr.'s Red Beans and Rice – 186-187

People, I try normally to make a dish to commemorate a holiday or two during any given month but this month is insane!  First we had Valentine's Day, then two days later, President's Day, then the next day (today) is Fat Tuesday, kicking off Mardi Gras, then this coming Thursday the Chinese New Year gets underway.  And to cap off my cooking pain, on Sunday we have the Oscars.  Who planned this?!  So I'm telling you right now that if I am a tad behind on my dish of the day, you'll just have to live with it. 

So okay, today I have a lock and load on Mardi Gras and am using a newly-acquired but already-a-favorite cookbook, Jazz Cooks – Portraits and Recipes of the Greats.  I bought this at the Strand (Bookstore) in NYC last summer for all of $6.00 – sweet deal!  And sure, you get the recipes but you also get biographies and a brief discography of some of the greatest players/singers from the jazz world. What's not to love about this?

The book is separated into sections by instrument and since I am a woodwind player (clarinet and sax), I wanted to show respect by sticking to that section...except there were so many other greats in other instrument sections (brass, percussion, strings, keyboards) that I thought I would have to switch camps.  And then, just as I was approaching near-meltdown, I got to the vocals and people, there I stayed.

When it comes to music, as with other things in my life, I was a late bloomer. Piano lessons got underway when I was in 6^th grade.  I "learned" (if we can call it that) to play the clarinet and sax as an adult student of MacPhail Center for Music.  But voice – now there's something I had from the get-go.  I'll have you know I was a proud member of the Sacred Heart Catholic School Children's Chorus, participating in a community musical event in 6^th grade.  Prior to that though, I made my mark in various grade school productions and was even one of six students who sang at daily mass during the "guitar-mass" portion of our program in the late 60's.  "Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya..."

Anywho, I had a love and a (I'll just go ahead and say it) talent for singing at an early age and the more I listened to vocalists like Doris Day and Frank Sinatra on my parents albums, the more in love I fell.  And so what the heck - as long as I was taking clarinet and saxophone lessons at MacPhail, I signed up for some vocal lessons as well, performing in many studio recitals along with several other "jazz" vocal students.  Oh, the fun.

So I was especially enamored with the Vocals section of this cookbook and might have gone with a recipe by a female vocalist like Shirley Horn, Abbey Lincoln or even Nancy Wilson but then along came Harry Connick, Jr. and his Red Beans and Rice recipe and that was that.

First, how much more Mardi Gras/New Orleans can you get with that recipe and second, I love his voice.  In fact, hearing him sing It Had to be You on the When Harry Met Sally Soundtrack prompted me to instruct my wedding band to play that as the bridal party dance number at my 1991 wedding.  It almost took top honors for the bride and groom's first dance but we reserved "Embraceable You" for that spotlight moment.  My husband, bless his heart, means well when it comes to dancing but anything faster than a slow sway is asking for trouble.  Embraceable You is a slow sway; It Had to be You is not.

No doubt many of you only know Harry from his recent stint on American Idol but what you missed is that he was a child prodigy who was playing and singing in New Orleans' jazz halls from a very early age.  I mean for crying out loud, the guy "joined the musicians' union at nine!" What were you doing at age 9? (I tell you what I was doing:  singing The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music, that's what! Oh, if only there was an American Idol for kiddies back then.).

So.  Our Harry went out and did some really cool stuff and is now on American Idol and all is well with the world.  Oh, and he stared in a few movies to boot.  Honestly, I should hate him....

Before we get to this recipe, let me just whet your appetite for this cookbook and some jazz by listing some of the other jazz greats in this book:

Reeds: Pacquito D'Rivera (clarinet, saxophone); Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxophone)

Brass: Nat Adderly; Mario Bauza; Terence Blanchard; Mercer Ellington; Dizzy Gillespie; Wynton Marsalis; Doc Severinsen; Clark Terry

Percussion: Tito Puente

Strings: I must confess that I don't recognize any names which means I have homework!

Keyboards: Dave Brubeck; *Dave Frishberg; Marcus Roberts; George Shearing; McCoy Tyner (*I heard the late, great singer, Blossom Dearie, perform a bunch of Frishberg's compositions a few years before she died and my favorite song of his/hers is "My Attorney Bernie."  As an attorney, this amuses me to no end, especially this refrain "Bernie tells me what to do, Bernie lays it on the line, Bernie says we sue, we sue, Bernie says we sign...we sign.")

Vocals: Harry Connick, Jr.; Shirley Horn; Abbey Lincoln; Helen Merrill; Joe Williams; Nancy Wilson

And folks, these are just the ones I know and/or whose CDs!  So if you have a chance to score this book off the internet, start searching!

Okay then, as to the recipe, Red Beans and Rice is pretty damned easy and in fact, Harry Connick, Jr. says that you can either go by the instructions on the package of beans (his favorite brand is Carmellia) or you can customize it like he does.  I went with his version and really liked it.  I'm giving you both so you can choose but honestly, it's rather tough.  Just decide already, then sit back and listen to some Preservation Hall Jazz if you have it, or Harry Connick, Jr., if you have that or some other jazz that tickles your fancy.  New Orleans is all about good food, good music and, if you are so inclined, a good cocktail.  Have at it!

Red Beans and Rice – serves 4 to 6

1 pound red kidney beans, preferably Carmellia brand

½ pound ham

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

8 to 10 cups water

1 large bay leaf

Salt and pepper

The package version:

Soak the beans overnight in enough water to completely cover them.  In the morning, drain, rinse the beans, and discard any debris.  Render the ham in the skillet by cooking until the fat becomes liquid, and remove the meat and place to the side.  In the fat that remains, sauté the onion, garlic, celery and parsley. 

In a large pot, combine the beans, water, meat, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Bring to a slow boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender.  (If necessary, add more water).  Remove the bay leaf and serve over rice.

Harry's version:

Make a stock using ham bones.  Soak the beans in the cooled stock overnight.  "This gives the beans a really great flavor," Connick says.  (Ann's Note:  I didn't have a hambone so I didn't make a ham stock but I did have frozen leftover Easter ham and that added a lot of great flavor.)

"Also, I grate my onions – usually two – and don't usually sauté any of the ingredients.  I just put them into the pot uncooked with the beans.  I also allow my beans to cook until they begin to get creamy."

Ann's Note:  I hate grating onions – what a mess – so instead, I use a mini-food processor and pretty much puree the onions in small batches until I get the consistency I'm looking for.  

"Louisiana Real & Rustic" by Emeril Lagasse and Marcelle Bienvenu - Red Beans and Rice

Date I made this recipe: February 5, 2008 (Mardi Gras’ Fat Tuesday)

Louisiana Real & Rustic by Emeril Lagasse and Marcelle Bienvenu
Published by: William Morrow and Company
ISBN: 0-688-12721-5
Recipe: Red Beans and Rice – p. 226-227

“Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez, “ Mes Amis – Let the Good Times Roll, My Friends!

Today is Fat Tuesday for those cities, such as New Orleans, celebrating Mardi Gras (which means…Fat Tuesday!). Mardi Gras kicks off Lent and Fat Tuesday is a day of feasting and revelry before serious fasting (typically for members of the Catholic Church) begins. I’m all about feasting and am all about New Orleans, a city I visited a couple of times prior to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. It is a testament to the resiliency of New Orleans and a love of celebration amidst devastation that the residents continued to have their Mardi Gras celebration before the city could even grasp what exactly happened. Talk about being down but not out.

Although not a native of New Orleans, Emeril Lagasse has come to embody New Orleans cooking. I first saw him years ago on PBS with Julia Child. He did a crawfish boil that made my mouth water. Years passed and then Bam! There he was on the Food Network, cooking his way through several different TV shows and several different cuisines. For a while, I suffered from Emeril overkill (much the same as the current Food Network Queen, Rachel Ray), but eventually I grew to really like the guy, so much so that I spent over 3 hours in line several years ago waiting to meet him and have him sign my cookbooks. Emeril looked exhausted having likely come from who know what city, but he stayed until the last person came through. I have a lot of respect for a guy like that.

Although I have several New Orleans cookbooks, most of them featured fish and seafood (plus the elusive crawfish—like I’m gonna find that in this state in the winter!) and while I love that food, I opted for something simpler and something that is really the essence of Louisiana and New Orleans cooking – Red Beans and Rice. It is such a staple in that state that famed trumpet player, Louis Armstrong, used to sign his letters “Red Beans and Ricely Yours.”

And so although this dish was traditionally a Monday dish (Monday was wash day and “when the laundry was done, so were the beans), I couldn’t resist making this New Orleans treat for Fat Tuesday.

So put on some Louis Armstrong, or even Louis Prima (Jump Jive an’ Wail, Oh Marie and I’m Just a Gigolo) who is also from New Orleans, or even (more contemporary) Harry Connick, Jr. and Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Red Beans and Rice – 8 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped celery
1 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 bay leaves
1 pound boiled ham, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
6 ounces smoked sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup) (Note: I used up some leftover Kielbasa from the Beet Borscht recipe a few weeks ago)
1 pound dried beans, rinsed and sorted over, soaked overnight and drained
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (or “chawped gawlik” as Emeril would say)
8 to 10 cups water
Steamed rice

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, bell peppers, bell peppers, celery, salt, cayenne, black pepper and thyme for about 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, ham, and sausage and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beans, garlic, and enough water to cover the contents in the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. Add more water if the mixture becomes dry and thick.

Use a wooden spoon to mash about half of the mixture against the side of the pot. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 ½ hours, or until the mixture is creamy and the beans are soft. Add more water if it becomes too thick. The mixture should be soupy, but not watery.

Remove the bay leaves and serve over steamed rice.

"Green Bay Packers Family Cookbook, Vols. 1&2" & "The NFL Cookbook" & "Favre Family Cookbook" - Packer fan recipes

Oh, people, it’s challenging to be a Packer Fan but cooking up a bunch of Packer-related recipes was no challenge whatsoever.

Despite their woeful performance so far this year (2006), I have always been and will always be a Packer Backer. My hometown in Michigan’s U.P. (Upper Peninsula) is three hours away from Green Bay whereas Detroit is eight hours away. Suffice it to say, we felt more attached to Wisconsin, both spiritually and by land and so most of us from that area are Packer fans.

So it stands to reason, doesn’t it, that as a fan, I have no less than three Green Bay Packer-related cookbooks? One is the Green Bay Packers Family Cookbook, Volume 1, which is of course, followed by the Green Back Packers Family Cookbook, Volume 2, and the third is the Favre Family Cookbook (and if you say to yourself “Favre who?,” just quit reading now and go to the recipe. Please, I beg of you.)

I thought about telling you all the interesting connections I have to the Packers organization, coaches and assorted staff but then realized those stories could make up an entire blog all by themselves and so it’s off to the recipes we go.

One of my law school classmates and her husband are from Milwaukee, WI (now living in Hudson, WI, just across Minnesota border (and about 20 minutes from St. Paul, MN) and so I invited them over to watch the Packer-Viking game with us last year. And, course, I pulled a Packer cookbook, in this case, Packer Family Cookbook, Volume II, and found the perfect thing to accompany brats on the grill – Calico Beans.

Knowing of my deep love and affection for the team, Autumn and John bought me a Cheesehead as a hostess gift (and really, it’s just the gift that keeps on giving). (Note: a Cheesehead is a foam replica of a piece of cheese that Packer fans far and wide wear on game day. It’s the football version of a rally cap). When I told my mom about having them over and the Cheesehead gift, she got confused and said: “Well that’s nice that they got you a tea set.” (??!) to which I replied “No, mom. Cheesehead. They bought me a Cheesehead, not a tea set. Sheesh.”

Mind you, Autumn is Vietnamese so it’s entirely possible that she could have brought me a tea set…but she didn’t.

Green Bay Packers Family Cookbook, Vol. II – by the Green Bay Packers
Published by – Packers Women’s Association
© 2001
Recipe submitted by Betsy Mitchell, Psychological Consultant to the GB Packers

Recipe – Calico Beans – p. 174

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? How COOL would it be to be a Psychological Consultant to the Packers! I’m picturing Brett Favre (the Packer’s current quarterback) on the couch being counseled after a game: “So Brett, when you were being blitzed by the (Bears, Seahawks, Eagles..), how did it make you feel…..?”

I swear I’m always choosing the wrong profession.

Luckily, I chose a great dish to make on Packer game day. Thank you, Besty!!

Anybody who has ever been to a potluck has seen a dish like this: You take your basic canned beans (butter, kidney, pork and beans, etc), add browned ground beef, a few spices and after cooking for 40 minutes or so at 350, we have a kickoff! But just in case you need the actual ingredients and directions:

Calico Beans
1 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
1½ c. ketchup
¾ c. brown sugar
2 tsp vinegar (white or cider)
1½ tsp. salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 16 oz. can drained butter beans
1 can kidney beans
2 16 oz. cans pork and beans
*note, some people use garbanzo beans as well. I think you could substitute and still come out okay.

Brown the ground beef and onion. Drain well. Mix all ingredients together then bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 350 F.

Next we have.....Bart Starr's Favorite Salad...


Date I made this recipe: Sunday, September 22
The NFL Cookbook
A National Football League Publication – New American Library
© 1981

Recipe: Bart Starr’s Favorite Salad – p. 38

Before there was Brett, there was Bart. Starr, that is.

Bart Starr was, and still is, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all times. The fact that he played for Vince Lombardi (may he rest in peace) and took the Packers to the Super Bowl puts him on the left hand of God (Vince, naturally, is on the right) in the hearts of many Packer fans.

So seeing as how I was on this Packer recipe roll, I couldn’t resist making a recipe from The NFL Cookbook.

I scored (no pun intended) this cookbook at a bookstore in East Lansing, Michigan, last year (2005) while attending my cousin’s daughter’s wedding. I’ve been to this bookstore before and usually walk away with at least a bag full of fun finds. (Note: I should clarify that there are two bookstores blocks away from each other, owned by the same person. One is Curious Books – 307 E. Grand River Ave and the other is Archives Bookstore – 517 W. Grand River Ave. Both are just blocks away from Michigan State University’s campus)

This book, however, was not without its problems: You just try finding a recipe that was not submitted by an “enemy” team (which, these days, includes everyone). Lucky for me, Bart Starr’s Favorite Salad was there to save the day.

This salad is easy and quite refreshing, even for a fall day. But what to team it with was my next big question. (I swear, these sports analogies are just popping up all over the place). Chicken, steak, fish or….

And then, people, the freezer light bulb went on and voila! We would finish up that second frozen, pre-packed and highly salted pork tenderloin, previously mentioned in an earlier blog.

In my humble opinion, the “mesquite” rub (of potassium, potassium, potassium, and salt) was overkill and added nothing to the meat but at least this time it was edible.

So pork and salad it was. Pork and beans would have been better, but I covered the bean issue last week. So pork and salad it was.

The Packers, by the way, beat Detroit that day but we didn’t get to see it because of a TV blackout that goes like this: If those pathetic Vikings are playing at the same time as my brilliant, yet struggling, Packers, then (and for this, recall your 9th grade Algebra rules), FOX TV will show the Viking game, in its entirety, in Minnesota, with complete and utter disregard for the fact that the Wisconsin border is 15 minutes away from downtown St. Paul. Those interested in joining my amicus brief to the Supreme Court, see me afterwards (after the game that is. You know better than to interrupt a Packer game, right?!).

Bart Starr’s Favorite Salad
For the dressing (note: makes one quart)
3 c. salad oil
1 c. cider or wine vinegar
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce
¼ c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
For the salad
1 head iceberg or Romaine lettuce
½ unpeeled cucumber, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 stalk celery, diced
8 to 10 black olives - cut up
½ avocado, diced
½ c. Fontina or hard white cheese, grated
½ c. seasoned croutons

Combined salad oil (I used olive oil), vinegar (I used white), Worcestershire sauce (can we talk about how impossible it is to spell this?), Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper to taste in a container. Cover and let stand several hours, or overnight.

Combine lettuce (I used Romaine as I hate iceburg), cucumber, onion, tomatoes, celery, olives (I used a mix from an olive bar that I then had to slice myself which was a bother but then I like making things difficult for myself), avocado, cheese and croutons in salad bowl.

Add the desired amount of dressing and toss lightly. Makes six servings of salad.

And so back to you, Brett….

Brett Favre, the Packer’s current quarterback, is a man of many talents, one of them being cookbook publisher. Okay, technically, he did not publish the cookbook but he submitted recipes, so there.

Long before I purchased the Packer Family Cookbook Volume II, I snapped up the Favre Family Cookbook and naturally, I had to make a recipe submitted by Brett – Red Beans and Rice. (Note, I did not make the dish at the same time as Bart Starr’s dish, but I had Famous Packer Quarterbacks (“for 10 points, Alex”) on the brain so I had to include it for continuity’s sake. I think I made this dish about a year or so ago).

Favre Family Cookbook by the Favre Family
Published by Addax Publishing Group http://www.addaxpublishing.com/
ISBN: 1-886110-75-1
© 1999

Recipe: Red Beans and Rice – p. 135

This dish was relatively quick and easy but the thing I felt was missing was bit of spice and I’m not even a big fan of spice. My husband disagreed and he’s the spice king in our family. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I added a can of Rotele tomatoes (to add that little snap to the dish), as was called for in other recipes in this book, but I checked the list twice and I didn’t seem them so…there it is.

Red Beans and Rice
Water
1 pound dried kidney beans
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ stick butter
1 T. flour
1 pound smothered sausage, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 c. rice, cooked

Soak the beans in enough water to cover, overnight; drain and rinse. Saute’ onion and garlic in butter until tender. Sprinkle flour in with onion and garlic and mix well. Add sausage and beans with enough water to cover the beans then season with salt and pepper. Cook slowly on low heat for one hour or until beans are tender. Serve over rice. Serves 6-8.

Okay, as a note, the back of the book had definitions but “smothered sausage” was not one of them. I’m sure a southerner can enlighten me in about a minute flat as to what that term means and so I’d love to know if there was something I should have done to the sausage to smother it – get a pillow perhaps? (or better yet a blanket for smothered Pigs in a Blanket - pigs=sausage, get it?! Hahahaha....)

And last but not least....

Date I made this recipe: October 2, 2006

Packer Family Cookbook Volume I by the Packers Women’s Association
Published by – Packers Women’s Association
© 1998
Recipe submitted by Vaughn Booker, Defensive End #96

Recipe: Tuna Macaroni Casserole – p. 89

I swear, dear readers that this is the last recipe I have from any football-related cookbook. And I specifically chose a recipe that transcends all time, including football season: Tuna Casserole. Who doesn’t love tuna casserole (well, except people who don’t love tuna…or casseroles).

I selected this recipe because it seemed easy and appropriate for a fall football evening when the weather gets cooler…or so I thought. Of course, the weather people got it all wrong and on October 2, 2006, the temperature spiked to 80 degrees. I was not deterred. October 2nd was a Monday night game between the Packers and the Eagles (Philadelphia). Despite getting off to a good start, and despite my endless coaching, we were spanked: 31-9.

But people, do not despair because the recipe was a winner.

First things first: if you do not understand that the base of all casseroles is a can of cream of “something” soup, you have not been paying attention. Sure, purists will want to make it with a traditional white sauce (as I learned to do in Home Ec), but as I am known to say: “why do something yourself when you can pay others (in this case, a soup company) to do it for you?

This recipe called for Cream of Celery soup and I liked that over Cream of Mushroom but that could just be me. Cream of Mushroom has its place, you understand, but I like a lighter taste to my casserole. It also called for mayonnaise and I liked that, too. It did not call for peas, but I’m sorry, in my culinary world, tuna casserole = tuna + noodles + peas. Period. If you do not like peas, you can leave them out and still get great results. Add to that mixture some milk, grated cheese and dried mustard and you have a game winning result.

The ease of preparation got this recipe a gold (and Packer “green”) stars and here’s why: I simply had to take a walk after work it being unusual to have 80 degree weather in October (snow is more like it) plus I had numerous errands to run (the local library, Target, Barnes and Noble –I had an extra 15% off coupon that expired that day and if there’s one thing I love, it’s an additional discount – and the grocery store). By the time I got home, it was 6:45 and the game started at 7:30.

I put a pot of water on the stove to boil the macaroni, preheated the oven, raced upstairs to take a shower and came back down just past 7. I threw the pasta in the boiling water, started combining all ingredients (and a big shout out for not having to chop a damned thing) and at 7:28 the whole thing went into the oven. Piece.Of.Cake (or, in this case, Tuna.Casserole).

When the casserole was done, the Pack was making a good showing. By the time I finished eating, they were not. Seeing the Pack lose the game gave me heartburn but the tuna casserole gave me joy. And I really didn’t mind that it was hotter than Hades in my house with the oven on. Really. Okay, maybe just a little.

And so a couple of final words before I move on to a recipe that is not sports-related: I finally made it to “hallowed ground” on September 17th for the Packer/New Orleans game (what a thrill) and just yesterday, got a book signed (alas, not a cookbook) by former Packer great, Jerry Kramer, he of Instant Replay fame (one of the funniest football books ever) and one of Lombardi’s best players. It was a thrill to meet him, let me tell you. Believe it or not, I actually read something other than cookbooks and my brother and I pawed through Kramer’s book so often when we were younger, it’s amazing it is still in one piece.

Tuna Macaroni Casserole
4 oz. small shell macaroni
1 10 ¾ can condensed cream of celery soup
1/3 c. milk
¼ c. mayonnaise
½ tsp dry mustard
1 c. shredded American cheese
1 6 ½ or 7 oz. can tuna, drained
¼ c. fine dry bread crumbs (or crush some croutons for the same effect)
1 T. butter
½ tsp paprika

Cook macaroni according to directions then drain. In a bowl, blend together the soup, milk, mayonnaise, and mustard. Stir in cheese and tuna. Fold in cooked macaroni. Put mixture into 1 ½ quart casserole dish. Combine the bread crumbs, paprika and melted butter then sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 for approximately 45 minutes.

NOTE: I purchased the two Green Bay Packer Family Cookbooks from the Packers Pro Shop (once online and once in person) but I just checked the website today (12/4/06) and neither book showed up. (http://www.packerproshop.com/) I Googled the book titles, but no luck there, either. I hate to say this, but you might need to take a road trip to Green Bay to find the books. I'm just saying.... (and if you do go on a search and destroy for them, please let me know! I'd love to hear of your quest.)