Saturday, November 6, 2010

Beans & Cornbread (had a fight ... but don't you worry, it worked out allright!)


Beans and Cornbread had a fight
Beans knocked Cornbread outta sight
Cornbread said,  "Now that’s alright, meet me on the corner tomorrow night"
I'll be ready, I'll be ready tomorrow night
I'll be ready, I'll be ready tomorrow night
I'll be ready, I'll be ready tomorrow night 
 --Louis Jordan, "Beans 'n Cornbread" 

In the famous Louis Jordan song I quote above, beans and cornbread start out fighting, but by the end of the song, they become best of friends and realize that they go together like "hot cakes and molasses," "strawberries and shortcake," and "sour cream and biscuits." Silly beans and cornbread! I knew it all along.
You see, as I've mentioned before, while it's true that I grew up with almost no proper culinary traditions to speak of, there are a couple exceptions (not counting frozen tuna noodle casserole and seven layer salad, which I freely admit to craving from time to time), and they both come from my great grandmother.  I only got to meet my tough West Virginia granny few times as a very young girl, but the dishes she made - buttermilk battered chicken fried in a cast iron skillet and bean soup and cornbread - have always stuck with me. Even my mom, who famously hated to cook, used to make this dish on occasion. In Grandma Daisy's version, smoky navy bean soup is poured over sweet cornbread, and eaten with thin slices of raw onion on top. And if this combo sounds weird to you - just trust me. Even Poppa Trix didn't believe me until I proved it to him, and now he is a firm believer. 

Of course granny and my mom always made this with a ham hock to get the smoky undertone.  Now I'm not going to lie - I have been eating some pork lately for work and school things, and I admit that it's been pretty tasty. But if I can make something taste right without it - then I'm going to leave it out. And that's what I did here, by substituting liquid smoke for pork. (Sorry, Granny!)

Like many of the best Southern dishes, this isn't so much a recipe as it is just feeling and tasting your way through. I started out by sauteing a large chopped yellow onion in a few tablespoons of butter over medium high heat in a stockpot until translucent.  I added a few cloves of chopped garlic and sauteed for a few more minutes. Next, I added 2 pounds of rinsed, fresh navy beans - but you could use dried beans. I added vegetable stock (you could use chicken stock) to just cover the beans by about an inch, then covered and simmered until they were tender, adding broth to the pot as needed. At this point I seasoned with salt and pepper, added a few small drops of liquid smoke, turned the heat down real low, and just let things come together. It sounds so simple, but those navy beans work some magic on that broth. 

I decided to make my cornbread in a cast iron skillet like granny would have done:



I used Homesick Texan's recipe (using butter, not lard), and while it was moist and corny and everything you want cornbread to be, there was just one problem: It wasn't quite sweet enough. For me, bean soup over cornbread depends on the play of sweet and savory, along with the bite from the sliced onions. So next time, I would definitely add some sugar or go with a recipe that's intended to be sweet. Nonetheless,  this dish really took me back. I hope granny would approve - and I know my mom would have loved it.

I feel like many people associate cornbread with summertime, but I promise you this dish is a comforting and belly-warming dish for the fall as well.  And if you don't believe me, then surely you'll listen to Louis Jordan!






28 comments:

  1. Wow not only are the pictures gorgeous, I love the beans and cornbread combo here....looks fabulous Trix so nice to see you posting again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband liked it with green onions on the side and buttermilk... It certainly is nice to see you posting, again... Come visit when you can...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yum! The cornbread is something that is on my list of to do. Shall remember to use butter and not lard!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've never heard of eating beans and cornbread together (or the song) but it sounds delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. looks great I live in NC so have had it here classic southern dish and they pair so well together yum, thanks for the encouragement with the app Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! I've been cooking quite a few beany dishes as the weather turns colder (finallY). My mom probably knew a thousand ways to make the humble bean into something extraordinary. But it was a former boyfriend who taught me the sage practice of raw onion on a steaming bowl of soup beans. It is transforming!

    My daughter and I had soup beans the other day in a little diner. They too served a thick slice of raw onion on the side. It's a natural!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I seem to remember there is a North/south thing about sugar in cornbread but I like mine sweet.. especially with smoky beans. Onions and beans are a natural... always sprinkle them on my chili! The pics are great, Trix... love the folds in the cloth.... more visual interest than flat!

    ReplyDelete
  8. oh my little sweetpea - this is of course my kind of eating... ya just can't meddle with a great combo like this - the two do go together so well, a marriage at best... nice pot of beans you cooked, maybe a hot pepper addition for me, but everything else is just right... as for the cornbread, only a little sugar for me, after all, the name is what it is... I've had some that taste as sweet as pound cake but that's just not the way we were taught to eat...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mmmmm, this is one of our fav dinners alond with balsamic sauteed Kale. I love your beans!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey Trix, this looks absolutely wonderful. I do like my corn bread a bit sweet too, as it adds so much to 'the situation' (smile). Oh, and have you seen the Beans & Cornbread guy on the Daniel Tosh show? It's too funny...
    p.s. I'm not vegan either-I just love my eggs and cheese so much. Plus, sometimes I cheat and eat shrimp. I love vegan food though...;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fun post, Trix! How wonderful to have a family recipe with such strong memories for you. Manny thanks to your great-grandmother for this tasty dish.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That looks soooooo good. There is a cold rain falling here in Sonoma...hard and fast. Mmmmm wish I had some of that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my god I thought my husband and I were the only "strange" people who loved to eat navy beans over sweet cornbread. I love your recipe and photos so beautiful and I think your Granny would be very proud of you:) If I could offer you a tip, I like to use honey in my cornbread recipe. It taste great this way too. Thanks for sharing your beautiful and delicious memories. Cute song too

    ReplyDelete
  14. yum, cornbread goes with everything! so awesome for you to share one of your Granny's recipes. the liquid smoke was a clever addition to mimic the pork flavor. great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ok - I'll admit it sounds a little strange to me, but I have faith in your taste and I've never been afraid of a little raw onion.....

    Love, love, love the photos!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Haha, had never heard that song! Lovely pics.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Haha, I hadn't heard about this fight before. It's a funny one to imagine - the beans are so many little projectiles but the bread has strength in size.

    Really interesting recipe for someone who has very very little experience in such dishes. Would really like to try it, and I'm sure your Granny would indeed approve :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Cutest post I've seen in a long time! I hope you listened to that song over and over while eating your beans and cornbread! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey Trix, I say bring on the carbs, especially when they look like this. I'm just imagining digging into this cornbread with such lovely beans:) I think they Granny knew what she was doing with a cast iron skillet and we should be happy to follow in her foot steps;)

    ReplyDelete
  20. wow, beautiful photos :) well done and thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  21. An iron skillet is the ONLY way to make corn bread as far as I'm concerned. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. not sure if i am loving the cornbread cooked in that beautiful skillet or the beans...I guess both!! congrats on making food buzz top 9!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh yes...a dish of my childhood! Perfect in every way...Love that you made this veggie friendly and with flavor!
    Love the intro, music and dish!!! Can I give more thumbs up than I have thumbs? Well I'll give it an all fingers up then...perfect 10!

    ReplyDelete
  24. A very interesting combination for sure, but I bet it is fantastic! I do need to try it! I think my daughter would really like it too. Gorgeous photos!

    ReplyDelete
  25. This does look really good! I always wanted to try corn bread so might give this ago! Surprise to hear you come from a family line of non cooks! How come you're so brilliant at it lol

    ReplyDelete
  26. I discovered cornbread in Texas and it has been love ever since! Love it so much could eat it daily; with this dish of beans, why, would anything else be necessary?

    ReplyDelete
  27. I've never been a huge cornbread fan, but i must say this looks pretty tasty. Glad you're enjoying the bit of pork too! =)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Yum! I love cornbread!! Never seen it being eaten with just beans, but your recipe with onion, bit of butter and kiss of liquid smoke sounds good. I promise to make up a batch of beans and cornbread this weekend.

    ReplyDelete