And no Jazz Fest dish has more history than the red beans. In 1970, legendary French Quarter restaurateur Buster Holmes, the undisputed “King of Red Beans,” sold his beans from a truck at the very first Jazz Fest. A few years later, Judy Burks took up the torch and became the festival’s beloved “Red Bean Queen,” cooking for over 50 years and going through 1,200 pounds every single festival.

Whether you’re heading to the track this year or catching the live stream at home with a few good friends, the food is half the fun. We pulled together eight of our favorite bean recipes that capture the spirit of festival season: dishes that feed a crowd, fill a porch, and taste like New Orleans in spring.

Buster Holmes’ Red Beans & Rice

The original Jazz Fest red beans, adapted from the New York Times and the Buster Holmes Restaurant Cookbook. Our Red Kidney Beans simmer with a smoked ham hock, the trinity, garlic, and a half stick of butter. Holmes was famously light on the spices, preferring to let his diners season their beans to taste.

Devin’s “Feed the Krewe” Red Beans

From Devin Meyers, who leads the Red Beans Parade in New Orleans, this is red beans built for a crowd. Two pounds of our Red Kidney Beans cooked down with smoked ham, smoked sausage, bacon, and a generous hit of cayenne. The name says it all: this one feeds the krewe.

Red Beans and Rice Boudin Balls with Dipping Sauce

A handheld festival classic, made for sharing. Ground pork, smoked sausage, cooked rice, and our Red Kidney Beans get rolled into bites, breaded in corn flour, and fried golden.

Easy Crawfish & Red Bean Dip

From Chef Jayda Atkinson, this creamy, smoky baked dip blends our red beans and Red Bean Flavor Infusion with crawfish tails, a melty mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar, and a Creole-spiced kick.

Zydeco Chop Chop Red Beans & Rice

A streamlined take on the classic, using Zydeco Chop Chop, a dried blend of Cajun cooking vegetables, in place of fresh trinity. Our Red Kidney Beans simmer with butter and smoked sausage, then get finished with a final hit of Zydeco Chop Chop sautéed with the meat.

Camellia’s Shrimp, Andouille and White Bean Cassoulet

A New Orleans take on a French classic, made for festival season. Our Navy Beans get cozy with andouille and Gulf shrimp in a Creole-spiced base, then finished under the broiler with a Parmesan-Panko crust. Serve it bubbling hot from the Dutch oven with French bread for sopping. Pure Louisiana, top to bottom.

Stovetop Cajun White Beans

A no-fuss white bean classic. Our Great Northern Beans simmer with our White Bean Flavor Infusion, a tried-and-true blend of Cajun spices and vegetables. Add smoked sausage or ham if you want to make it meaty, serve over rice with French bread, and you’ve got dinner.

Cajun Caviar

A chilled, scoopable bean salad that earns its place at any festival spread. Green Baby Lima Beans, Crowder Peas, and Lady Cream Peas toss with poblano, corn, red onion, cilantro, and a Cajun-spiced lime dressing. Served cold with tortilla chips, it’s bright, fresh, and built for porch weather.

However festival season finds you this year, on the grass at the Fair Grounds or on the porch with the speakers up, the best part is always the same: good food, good music, and the people you love crowded around the table.

Packed with protein, fiber, and flavor, beans are a pantry staple that stretch your dollar without sacrificing taste or nutrition. Here are five easy, hearty meals featuring our Camellia Brand beans that are perfect for the busy back-to-school hustle.

Vegetarian Pinto Bean Chili

A cozy chili is always a win when the week feels long. This Vegetarian Pinto Bean Chili is a meatless marvel that’s hearty enough to satisfy everyone at the table. Made with pantry staples and plenty of spices, it’s a great make-ahead meal that reheats beautifully—perfect for lunchboxes, busy weeknights, or freezing in portions for later.

Budget Tip: Bulk it up with frozen corn, extra beans, or chopped zucchini for even more servings.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans with Ham Hocks

If you’ve got an Instant Pot, this one’s a no-brainer. Pinto Beans with Ham Hocks come together quickly in the pressure cooker and deliver deep, smoky flavor with minimal effort. Serve over rice, scoop into a thermos for a hot lunch, or use leftovers in tacos or burritos.

Budget Tip: Ham hocks are affordable and flavor-packed. Can’t find them? Try smoked turkey necks or a splash of liquid smoke.

Simple Southern Lima Beans

This recipe is the definition of Southern comfort food. Simple Southern Lima Beans are simmered low and slow with just a few ingredients, but they’re anything but plain. Creamy, filling, and soul-warming, these beans are great as a main dish or as a side.

Budget Tip: Serve over rice or cornbread to stretch this meal even further. Add a green veggie and you’ve got a complete dinner.

Beans & Greens Soup

When you’re craving something nourishing and light, this Beans & Greens Soup hits the spot. It’s packed with leafy greens, creamy beans, and comforting broth—perfect for thermos lunches or after-school pick-me-ups. It’s also endlessly customizable based on what’s in your fridge.

Budget Tip: Use frozen greens instead of fresh, and toss in leftover veggies from the week to avoid waste.

Pantry Red Beans & Rice

No time for a grocery run? No problem. This Pantry Red Beans & Rice recipe uses shelf-stable ingredients to bring you all the flavor of the classic dish in a super budget-conscious way. It’s quick, easy, and the ultimate meal prep hero.

Budget Tip: Double the batch and freeze portions for future meals. Serve with hot sauce and pickled veggies for a quick flavor boost.

Make Beans a Back-to-School Staple

From chili to soups to Southern classics, beans are a smart way to fuel your family through the school year. They’re nutritious, filling, and incredibly versatile—plus, they’re easy on your wallet when grocery bills start to pile up.

So stock up your pantry, pull out your favorite pot, and get cooking. Your future self (and your back-to-school budget) will thank you.

Let’s explore four distinctive southern pea varieties that deserve a place in your pantry and on your table.

Lady Cream Peas: The Delicate Jewel

Lady Cream peas stand out for their delicate appearance and elegant flavor. These small, pale legumes cook to a creamy consistency while yielding a clear pot liquor, prized in southern households for their subtle sweetness and refined texture. The key to perfect Lady Cream peas lies in gentle simmering and careful seasoning – they absorb flavor beautifully without requiring heavy spicing.

Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas

This treasured family recipe enhances the peas’ natural creaminess with seasoning meat (or butter), aromatics, and herbs. After gentle simmering, they develop a tender texture perfect alongside cornbread or as a base for grilled fish.

Crowder Peas: Bold and Beautiful

Named for the way they crowd themselves within their pods, Crowder peas deliver robust flavor and hearty texture that stands up to bold seasonings. These hardy peas thrive in the southern climate, creating a deep, dark broth when cooked. Crowder peas offer a perfect foundation for building complex flavors with smoky pork, onions, garlic, and herbs.

Clayton’s Crowder Peas

This family recipe honors the peas’ natural earthiness with classic southern cooking methods – simmering with seasoning meat before adding sautéed aromatics and herbs, resulting in a rich pot liquor perfect for sopping up with bread or serving over rice.

Field Peas: The Soul Food Staple

Field peas are similar in flavor and texture to blackeye peas but with their own distinctive character. Part of the cowpea family brought to America from Africa, these adaptable, heat-tolerant legumes have become a cornerstone of soul food cooking. When prepared traditionally with smoked pork, sautéed aromatics, and herbs, they develop a flavorful pot liquor that carries their unique earthy essence.

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas

This heritage recipe showcases the peas’ distinctive flavor, while the Field Peas & Snap Beans variation adds fresh green beans, salt pork, and dried red chili pepper for color, texture, and a gentle heat that complements their natural earthiness.

Blackeye Peas: The Good Luck Charm

Perhaps the most widely recognized of all southern peas, blackeye peas have earned their place as both a cultural icon and a culinary staple. No southern pea holds more cultural significance than the blackeye pea on New Year’s Day. Served with greens and pork in Hoppin’ John, they’re believed to bring prosperity, with the peas symbolizing coins and the greens representing paper money.

Bessie’s Best New Year Blackeyes

This cherished recipe enhances the peas with seasoning meat, aromatics, and a touch of herbs like thyme and sage. For a classic Hoppin’ John, simply add rice, tomatoes, and green onions – served alongside collard greens for both flavor and fortune.

The Southern Pea Heritage

From humble beginnings, southern peas have evolved into beloved ingredients that carry cultural significance and family memories. Each variety offers its own personality and cooking properties, but all share the adaptability, nutritional benefits, and rich history that make southern peas truly special.

As you experiment with these recipes, you become part of the continuing story of southern cuisine—a tradition of transforming simple ingredients into soul-satisfying meals that bring people together.

Photo: Kat Kimball

Elevating the Meat-and-Three

Like many beloved Southern restaurants, Hot Stuff may look like an unassuming building on the outside with a smoker in the parking lot — but on the inside, a culinary party is waiting to start.

Nathan Barfield, the co-owner of Hot Stuff, wanted to open a “meat-and-three” restaurant – an old school, Southern, cafeteria-style plate lunch spot centered around the tradition of one meat accompanied by three sides and bread.

It’s a style of restaurant found across the South, though mostly outside of New Orleans. But at Hot Stuff, the concept has found a new home.

The menu features meats that include fried chicken, hamburger steak au poivre, Mississippi pot roast, and smoked chicken wings with pineapple habanero white barbecue sauce. Daily specials include New Orleans’ favorite Monday dish, red beans and rice

Photo: Kat Kimball

A Monday Must: Red Beans and Rice

Barfield starts his red beans by soaking the beans overnight. When it’s time to make the beans, he adds the Trinity (bell pepper, onion and celery) to another pot, and sautés it in vegetable oil until soft. Then comes the Creole seasoning, Crystal Hot Sauce, black pepper, salt, red beans and usually a smoked meat.

“It could be a ham hock, or any of the trim when we smoke ribs — in general, some sort of smoked pork,” says Barfield, adding that sometimes it could contain just one type of pork, or a mixture of all three, giving each Monday’s offering a slightly different flavor, but still consistent in taste.

Rather than adding smoked sausage during the cooking process, he instead adds Conecuh sausage on top when serving. Diners can also request the red beans and rice with a piece of chicken or a pork chop.

Barfield, a native of Monroeville, Alabama, learned how to make red beans and rice when he moved to New Orleans. He worked at The High Hat Café, followed by a stint at Turkey and the Wolf. There, he met Hot Stuff’s co-owner Mason Hereford, and the duo came up with the idea for the restaurant.

Barfield only uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans for the dish, as well as the company’s Blackeye Peas for one of the restaurant’s vegan sides.

“It’s the standard. They’re good,” he says, about Camellia Beans. “With other beans, you have to sort through them to see if there are rocks and other things. In the years I have been cooking, I have never had a bad bag of beans. It gives me peace of mind knowing I can just open the bag to use it, and it’s good.”

Photo: Kat Kimball

An Homage to Southern and New Orleans Culture

The attention to detail can also be found in the décor of Barfield’s restaurant with its homage to Southern and New Orleans culture. A Mardi Gras Indian suit from the 9th Ward Seminole tribe, sewn and worn by one of the restaurant’s cooks, Durel Randall, is one of the first things you see upon entering the restaurant.

Photo: Kat Kimball

The back patio — its Southern shack feel adorned with old signs, including one from Bojangle’s — is Barfield’s pièce de résistance. “I like to say it’s like your redneck uncle got hit by a bus, finally got his insurance payout, and he needed to spruce up the area where he drank his beers.”

Hot Stuff, 7507 Maple St.; Mon, Wed, Thurs, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri and Sat. 11 a.m. – Midnight, Sun. 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; hotstuffneworleans.com; @hotstuffneworleans.

Mondays at Katie’s are pretty much like any other day of the week: the tables and bar are filled with moms, dads, uncles, aunts, maw maws and paw paws. You’ll likely find lifelong friends comparing notes about Saints’ games, soccer teammates from a nearby school, and co-workers – all gathered in what feels like a New Orleans culinary clubhouse.

But there’s one notable difference on Mondays: red beans and rice is on the menu.

And keeping an eye on it all is owner Scot Craig.

A Culinary Awakening in Gentilly

Craig discovered cooking as a boy growing up in Gentilly, finding his culinary awakening in the kitchens of his Creole neighbors.

He explains his interest this way: “We’d be out playing, I’d stop in the kitchens [of friends and neighbors] and ask, ‘What are you cooking there?’”

“I’d talk to them about it. I learned a lot from the Creole ladies while growing up in that neighborhood,” he says, crediting them with his red beans and rice recipe.

“I learned how to make it right,” he notes, admitting that in the process, he also found out how to make it wrong.

“It’s about getting that creamy texture that’s so important,” Craig says. And for that, he credits soaking Camellia Red Kidney Beans.

“I’ve tried to use other [company’s] red beans, and they just don’t cook the same,” he says. “Other beans are harder, and they don’t absorb water the same.”

Plus, Craig adds, “I never saw anything but Camellia beans in a Creole lady’s house.”

Meats Bring the Flavor

Craig shares that he makes his red beans and rice like he makes his greens —with a lot of meat.

“I like to use smoked sausage and pickled meats, sometimes I’ll add turkey necks or other meats, anything that will bring it flavor,” he says. “But most importantly, smoked ham hocks and chunks of ham.”
The red beans begin soaking on Saturday, with the cooking process starting on Sunday.

Craig — or Chef Joey Trippi — starts with the traditional trinity of chopped celery, bell pepper and onion and cooks it down in butter, then adds it to the soaked red beans. Next are the bay leaf, butter, water, and the meats.

“We let it cook down,” he says, with the red beans ready on Monday for the first lunch order.
In addition to rice, patrons can have red beans with a smoked and grilled sausage link or hot sausage patty, fried chicken (available for dinner only), fried or grilled pork chops, or Andouille sausage.

A Special Creation

There is one red beans and rice creation that Craig says came together after a number of cocktails: the red beans and rice po-boy.

“It’s freaking incredible,” he says about this once-in-a-blue-moon special.

“You put a layer of mayonnaise and ketchup on the bottom with a layer of cooked red beans,” he says. “Then you add a real crispy hot sausage. I like hot sausage. And then you finish it on top with a little bit of red beans with some rice. It’s killer.”

Katie’s Restaurant and Bar, 3701 Iberville St., katiesinmidcity.com; on Instagram; 504.488.6582. Hours: Mon.-Thus. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

White beans come in many shapes and sizes, and when a recipe calls for simply “white beans,” it can be challenging to figure out which kind to use, especially when deciding between Great Northern beans and Cannellini beans. Although these two types of white beans are similar, they have crucial differences regarding flavor and texture. Luckily for you, we’re experts on all things beans. Here’s what you need to know to decide which beans to use and when.

White Bean History

Cannellini beans originated in Argentina but are much better known for their use in Italy. In central and southern Italy, Cannellini beans are a staple in countless traditional dishes. Great Northern beans gained popularity in the Pacific Northwest region of America and took their name from the Great Northern Railway. This now-defunct railroad helped to distribute these beans across the United States.

Great Northern Beans

Great Northern beans are highly versatile with a delicate, nutty flavor and delicate, creamy texture. Camellia Brand CEO Vince Hayward likes Great Northern beans for their creaminess, stating, “One of my most favorite dishes is shrimp and white beans – a creamy, thick, delicious shrimp-flavored dish that brings back memories of my mother’s home cooking and warm bowls of beans on cold winter nights.” Great Northerns work well in American classics like baked beans, chili, and succotash, although they can be used in almost any recipe calling for white beans.

Cafe Reconcile’s White Beans and Shrimp

Cannellini Beans

Cannellini Beans are larger and heartier than Great Northerns and are sometimes referred to as “white kidney beans” because of their traditional kidney shape. You’ll often find them mixed with pinto beans. Cannellini beans are commonly used in Italian dishes like cozy minestrone, and because they hold their shape well when cooked, they’re a favorite in soups and stews. Like Great Northerns, Cannellini beans cook creamy and smooth with a nutty flavor.

Which ones should I use?

Both options are great for almost any white bean recipe, but we like using Cannellinis in a pasta e fagioli, while we prefer Great Northern beans for dishes like shrimp and white bean soup or white beans and ham hock.

Pasta e Fagioli

Shrimp and White Bean Soup

Great Northern Beans and Ham

Camellia CEO Vince Hayward clarifies the difference:

“It rests primarily with the heartiness of the Cannellini over the Great Northern,” he explains. “Because of its thicker skin and slightly bolder bean taste, the Cannellini lends itself better towards soups and stews. The Great Northern is a bit more delicate, and breaks open more easily, lending itself towards bean dishes consumed directly from a bowl, or to using as an ingredient in baking, or just simply when a lighter texture is desired.”

Ultimately, the main differences come down to their origins, subtle differences in appearance, firmness and flavor, and how they are traditionally used in regional cuisines. Both Cannelinis and Great Northerns are tasty, nutritious white bean options!

When an Iconic Restaurant Changes Hands

It isn’t easy to open a restaurant, so imagine what it’s like to buy an established New Orleans neighborhood eatery where the regulars expect their favorite dishes in an atmosphere that is the same as it was when they originally walked through the doors. Which may have been 50 years ago.

“It’s both very exciting and daunting,” said George DeCastro, who bought Liuzza’s on Bienville in fall 2022 with Erin Clark and two partners in Miami.

“I have the opportunity to step into an iconic New Orleans restaurant and serve food to diners who have been coming here for generations,” he said. “To carry that torch and still be a part of the fabric of New Orleans culture carries great responsibilities.” DeCastro is mainly in the kitchen/back of house, while Clark runs the front of house.

They are familiar with the city: Clark and DeCastro were part of the crew that opened Finnegan’s Easy in the French Quarter. Both relocated to New Orleans when they bought Liuzza’s business, building, and recipes.

Liuzza’s Keeps it Old School with its Red Beans and Rice

Among the original recipes was red beans and rice.

“I found out when I came to New Orleans that locals are very particular with the food products they know and love,” said DeCastro. “They are a very knowledgeable group when it comes to traditional cuisine.”

And, of course, there was no changing up the recipe when it came to using Camellia Red Kidney beans.

In keeping with the Liuzza’s red beans tradition, the beans are rinsed, not soaked. They are put in a large kettle to which assorted meats such as homemade tasso and smoked sausage are added, as well as the “trinity” (onion, green peppers and celery), Creole seasoning, garlic and other ingredients.

“We just keep on tasting it to see if it’s the cleanest consistency that we want,” DeCastro said. “It usually comes out the same every time.”

The red beans are made in a large batch, then frozen in portions which are taken out as needed.

“Once it goes into the freezer, all the flavors and everything that goes into it condenses,” DeCastro said.

He emphasized that when they heat up the red beans, they don’t microwave them, but put them in a small double boiler.

What the Future Holds: A Delicate Balance of the Old & the New

Many like to enjoy the red beans and rice alongside the restaurant’s signature 18 oz. goblets of frosty cold beers — or an Abita root beer. Other signature recipes include the Frenchuletta (Muffuletta on French bread) and shrimp and oyster beignets.

While committed to the restaurant’s traditional recipes, DeCastro said that he is also looking to “explore a lot of other Louisiana foods.” Sounds a lot like Vincent Liuzza, who founded the restaurant in 1947, and like his successors, blended Sicilian foods with Creole and Cajun flavors.

“I want to grow as a brand but walk the line that stays true to what Liuzza’s is to the local community,” said DeCastro. “Being a flag-bearer of a 70-year-old [plus] tradition is a great responsibility that so far, our guests have enjoyed.”

Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, 3636 Bienville St., New Orleans; liuzzas.com; Hours: Mon. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tues. Closed; Weds. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

You may have wondered what the difference is between creamy favorites commonly called lima beans, and the velvety staple referred to as butter beans. And you wouldn’t be the first.

Lima Beans vs. Butter Beans

Well, rest assured; the two are actually one in the same. There’s no difference between lima beans and butter beans, though sometimes they’re sold at different stages of maturity. As a matter of fact, our Large Lima Beans packaging actually states Butter Beans in parentheses, just to clarify. The younger green-hued beans are often called Green Baby Limas and are more tender than their larger counterparts. Despite that, all varieties come from the same plant. Interestingly, whether you prefer to call them lima beans or butter beans is a result of your own geographical traditions and how your family and friends refer to them.

A Southern Staple

Regardless, these tasty beauties have been a Southern staple for generations. Often cooked with ham or bacon and served over rice, they’re high in fiber and trace minerals, super hearty, and offer a deliciously creamy, velvety, and well, buttery flavor. If prepared right, they offer a lush creamy goodness encased and embraced by a firmer, shape-holding skin.

We pronounce “lima” beans like this: “lime” with an “a” on the end. However, these New World native beans originally came from Lima (pronounced “LEEma”), the capital city of Peru. These luscious legumes have made themselves at home all over the Americas, and especially so in the South.

How to Cook Lima Beans, aka Butter Beans

Whatever you insist on calling them, what’s important is how you cook and enjoy them! Here are some of our favorite recipes for lima beans, “aka” butter beans.

Instant Pot Southern Large Limas with Ham Hocks

Mushroom & Butter Bean Ragù with Cheesy Grits

Simple Southern Lima Beans

Butter Beans with Pickled Pork or Smoked Ham Hocks

Vegetarian Lima Beans with Mushrooms

Lamb Shanks with Garlic & Butter Beans

The post The Difference Between Lima Beans and Butter Beans first appeared on Camellia Brand.]]> https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-difference-between-lima-beans-and-butter-beans/feed/ 0 https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-red-beans-and-rice-are-smoking-good-at-blue-oak-bbq/ https://www.camelliabrand.com/the-red-beans-and-rice-are-smoking-good-at-blue-oak-bbq/#respond Thu, 29 Jun 2023 20:18:46 +0000 https://www.camelliabrand.com/?p=45328 Founded in 2012 in the back of Grits bar, the BBQ dream of friends Ronnie Evans and Philip Moseley then read more ...

Nestled in a restored 1920s-era train depot in downtown Covington, Lola is a place where you will run into your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends — anyone who has a hankering for what co-owner Chef Keith Frentz says is “simple Southern fare.”

That’s because for the past 17 years, Keith and his wife, co-owner Nealy Frentz, have hit on a comfy alchemy of food and atmosphere that has made Lola a success.

The duo, who both went to Johnson & Wales University culinary school in different cities, met just before Hurricane Katrina when they were sous chefs at Brennan’s. Keith was born and raised in Covington; Nealy is originally from California. 

The Lola Menu

The menu — featuring an assortment of Southern-inspired dishes with a focus on seafood — is what brings customers back. Another highlight is the restaurant’s charming set-up; it conjures up the small town-feel of Covington during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it served as a transportation and commerce hub for the Northshore.

The brick-walled main dining room is part of the original depot and features a large painting of a pig by Simone Burke. (Keith says he won’t ever sell it, even though he has had offers.) Also on the walls are the daily specials – listed on a brown Kraft paper “poster.”

What’s fascinating is that the kitchen and an adjacent dining room are fashioned out of railroad cars. Of note is “The Doodlebug” – a Model 75 Gasoline Engine Driven Rail Car commissioned on Nov. 24, 1925 by the Columbus & Greenville Railway Company and built by the J.G. Brill Company. After years in service, it was retired in 1948 and went into private ownership, eventually moving to downtown Covington. Refurbished in 2017, the car’s exterior was painted the same green as that of New Orleans streetcars.

Red Beans and Rice, Made the Lola Way

Red beans and rice, which figures prominently as a Monday special, is one of Keith’s favorite things to make, though he admits gumbo is up there, too. (Both were big sellers for take-out during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

As it turns out, Keith didn’t grow up eating or even making red beans.

“I never experienced red beans until I was working at Brennan’s, and one of my old friends, cook Kenney Riley, taught me how to make them,” says Keith.

Riley instructed, “One pound of beans, one pound of butter, 10 pieces of bacon, and the trinity [onion, celery, bell pepper].” Keith remembered thinking that was a lot of butter for one pound of beans; but, after Riley added the sausage, Keith realized it was the best thing he had ever tasted. 

The red bean bug had bit, and Keith proceeded to develop the recipe he now uses at the restaurant.

Keith’s Secret Ingredients

Now, some may think that the butter would be the secret ingredient, but for Keith it is bacon fat. 

“I always cook bacon for my sandwiches, so I always have at least eight sheet pans of bacon made on Monday,” he says. “The excess bacon juice goes into the beans.”

Another must-have ingredient is Camellia Beans, which Keith says are the only ones he will use.

“I don’t soak them because they cook really fast,” says Keith. “They are going to reduce down and smash each other. Once I get them to a boil, I put them on low because unfortunately, I have burned a lot of red beans.”

Mondays at Lola

Keith’s Monday morning routine is this: “First thing I do when I arrive is put my pot of water on, then add the butter, all the dry seasonings such as paprika, salt and pepper, cayenne, dried parsley, garlic, and thyme, then red beans, and I let it boil for a while,” he says. “Next, I will add the trinity and smoked sausage. When the bacon is done, I will add the bacon fat.”

When completed, the red beans and rice is served with cornbread.

And on Tuesdays…

The red beans and rice often sells out on Mondays, but when it doesn’t, Keith will make red bean hummus or red bean succotash on Tuesdays. His red bean succotash is a variation on part of a dish that earned him the title of King of Louisiana Seafood in the 2012 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. The full award-winning dish was a cornmeal-dusted wild Des Allemands catfish with Camellia red bean & local crawfish succotash, braised collards, and house-made tartar sauce.

Has Keith ever used red beans in other dishes? Yep, in a red bean gumbo. “And it was good!” he exclaims.

Here’s hoping to find that dish on the Lola menu soon! But if not, red beans and rice will remain a well-seasoned favorite at Lola.

Lola, 517 N. New Hampshire St., Covington; (985) 892-4992; http://lola.kitchen/; on Instagram @lolacovington; Hours: Mon.- Fri. Lunch, Dinner Fri. and Sat.

Sharing tips and tricks for her favorite New Orleans dishes from her custom pink wheelchair, Amelia Labeaud is a fun-loving New Orleans native raised in the 7th ward who has always had a passion for her city’s food and culture.

Not long ago, her viral video for red beans and rice — made with pickled pig tips and Camellia Brand Red Bean Flavor Infusion — got people talking. “What are pickled pig tips and where do you get them?” commenters asked.

Pickled Tips

Popular in the South and especially among Louisiana cooks, pig tips are the meaty chunks from the underside of spare ribs that contain cartilage but no bone. When a rack is trimmed to make ribs, the boneless strip of meaty rib ends (or tips) remains. A form of pickled pork, pickled tips are inexpensive and used as a flavoring agent in many iconic Southern dishes such as red, white and lima beans, including all manner of stewed vegetables. And you can buy them packaged at many grocery stores and butcher shops.

Amelia, (who goes by ‘Melia’) loves using pickled tips and cooking them low and slow in dishes from red beans to cabbage to greens. “I think they give a really good, buttery, salty taste. It gives the food really good flavor,” she says. Check out her recipe for Red Beans with Pickled Pig Tips.

An Adventure on TikTok

Melia’s adventure on TikTok started a few years back, when her daughter pleaded, “Mom, let’s get on this TikTok trend called ‘things New Orleans people see’.” So for kicks, they created a New Orleans-themed video, and the next day, her daughter exclaimed, “Mom, it’s gone viral!”

“You know, kids get excited about every little thing, so I kind of brushed it off,” says Melia. But when she looked at how many people had reacted to her video, she was amazed. As she experimented with posts to see what grabbed folks’ attention, she noticed that fans were gravitating to her New Orleans-style cooking videos.

How a Giveaway Turned Into a Business

Melia continued to create cooking videos, and in hopes of reaching a few hundred thousand followers, she offered a giveaway — a box full of iconic New Orleans snacks that she grew up enjoying, filled with products like Mama Noodles, Big Shot Cold Drinks, Elmer’s CheeWees, and Zapp’s Chips.

Fans were clamoring for the goods, which is how her giveaway turned into a flourishing business called The Original New Orleans Snack Box. She now sells New Orleans snack boxes and homemade spicy bowls to fans far and wide.

And when she’s not hustling, selling, and shipping, she’s cooking and eating. Want to see what she’s up to? You can follow Melia on all of her social media platforms @RollingWithMelia — on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Bigo.

When You Really Love Red Beans

How much does Saint John Chef Daren Porretto love red beans?

He has a tattoo of one on his finger.

For this New Orleans-born and-raised chef, the city and its food are his passions, and he shares them at the French Quarter restaurant. Through those passions, Saint John customers get a culinary awakening — a conversion, perhaps — of Southern and Louisiana food that goes beyond tradition.

The proof? The moment a waiter places the pork belly cassoulet down on a table, there is a pause: Take a photo, inhale the heavenly aroma, or just dive into the flavor? Most people do all three, as simultaneously as they can, when it comes to this brunch favorite.

A Cassoulet Made with Camellia Beans

Making the cassoulet is a two-day process that starts by soaking Camellia Great Northerns overnight. Then, it’s time to render the meat (Andouille sausage, tasso and ground pork belly), throw into chicken stock, and add vegetables including the trinity (onion, bell peppers, celery), plus garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper. 
“All the usual suspects,” Chef Porretto says, cooked to the right balance, so the mixture is buttery and smooth.

Finally, the pork belly is braised in root beer and topped with a cornbread crust.

A combination of flavors, the cassoulet creates a historical connection between its French origins and Louisiana, with beans as the common denominator.

 And Porretto wouldn’t use anything other than Camellia Beans.

“I feel like I don’t have a choice to use anything else,” says Porretto jokingly.

Camellia Beans is what his grandmother relied on when the two of them cooked together. And when Porretto worked in New York City for a year, she made sure he was well-stocked. Her care packages included at least three different types – usually white beans, red beans, and one other.

“New Orleanians stick to our roots,” he says. “It’s like if you go to the grocery store, and there’s no Camellia Beans, you go to another store to find it. It’s something ingrained in my DNA.”

It’s that DNA — along with a dedication to Southern and Louisiana food — that Porretto and restaurant owner Eric Cook are bringing together in a modern, updated cuisine that never forgets its roots.

Hoppin’ John Oyster Salad

Another example of their culinary philosophy is the Hoppin’ John oyster salad, a fresh take on the New Year’s Day Southern tradition of serving cabbage or greens (symbolizing money, or dollar bills), with blackeye peas (symbolizing prosperity, or coins), and cornbread (symbolizing gold) – all with the goal of starting the new year with good luck.

Instead of cabbage, the salad features Bibb lettuce topped with crispy fried Gulf oysters. It is then ringed by a combination of crumbled bacon, chopped red peppers, and slow-cooked, smoky blackeye peas, “which bring a great flavor and texture to it,” says Porretto. Dressed with a green remoulade — not the traditional pinkish-hued version — it is a light, flavorful combination that melds Louisiana and Low Country traditions.

Red Beans and Rice

And what about the red beans and rice? The classic dish was added back to the menu — Mondays only, as per New Orleans’ custom — with Porretto putting just as much thought into it.

 However, he is keeping that favorite more traditional, as any New Orleans native would.

Saint John, 1117 Decatur St., (504) 581-8120, saintjohnnola.com, on Instagram; 
Hours: Brunch and dinner, Weds.-Mon.

It’s in New Orleans’ neighborhood restaurants where you’ll find the heart and soul of the city’s cuisine.

Since it opened in the 1970s, Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar has been keeping Uptown well-fed, with Southern and New Orleans dishes that have been on the menu since day one.

Always on the Menu
One such traditional New Orleans dish that has always been on the menu is the red beans and rice.

“I’ve never seen an actual recipe written down,” says co-owner Tommy Spain.

The chefs are still using the same recipe, but each has their own flourishes. And while the base is the same, what you get “… really depends on who’s making it, to be honest with you,” Spain adds.

Chef Weston Banks has been here for five years with a short break in between. The other chef is Dexter Johnson, who has been cooking at Joey K’s for 17 years.

“It’s a mixture of both of them,” says Banks, referring to the restaurant recipe and his own. Banks learned his craft at home and while working at other restaurants around town.

How Joey K’s Cooks Red Beans

There are a few constants; among them, using Camellia Beans and not soaking.

“We just put them in the pot, add water, our spices, let them cook,” says Banks. “Once we let them cook, we add smoked sausage and seasoning, onion, bell pepper, and a ham base.”

The dish is available every day as a main or side dish, and while it doesn’t always sell out, it is a best seller.
Why do customers like their red beans and rice? “They are the right amount of firmness, which I think comes from not pre-soaking the beans,” says Spain. “The other thing people have a tendency to do is to over-salt them, and they get too soft. And, we don’t season so much that it hides the taste.”

The restaurant is a regular stop for the New Orleans Secrets Tours’ Magazine Street Foodie Tour. Tour co-owner Mark Aspiazu likes Magazine Street because it is walkable and has good restaurants for stopping and sampling the food.

“It’s one of my favorite places to eat,” says Aspiazu about Joey K’s.

The red beans are “cooked perfectly, scream authenticity, and are creamy and delicious,” he says. “I can get red beans and rice anywhere, but not these, which are the best in town.”

“How could I not bring guests here?”

In fact, the popularity of Joey K’s red beans was celebrated when the restaurant was one of the final four competitors in the inaugural Bean Madness tournament (created and organized by the Red Beans Parade). 64 New Orleans restaurants and chefs were pitted against one another to see who makes the city’s best red beans.

From the Beginning to Present Day
While Joey K’s was founded in the 1970s, it was originally one block away and called Tony’s. It was owned by Joey K’s mother, and passed on to him when she passed away in the late ‘70s. He then moved the restaurant to its current location and named it after his daughter Joey Kay, later shortening it to Joey K’s. In the late 1980s, Cindy and Sam Farnet bought the business, and more recently, Spain and his wife purchased a portion of it.

Spain pulls out an original menu from the late 1980s to compare it to one from 2022. There are menu items that are now long gone, but the classic Joey K’s offerings remain, including red beans and rice, white beans and pork chop, beef brisket, chicken cordon bleu, and the “All You Can Eat Catfish” Friday special. Prices, alas, have changed: red beans and rice was once $4.25, and today it is $11.95.

What hasn’t changed is what brought people here in the first place – the food.

In fact, Spain admits he eats the red beans and rice every day, maybe even twice a day!

Joey K’s Restaurant and Bar, 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; joeyksrestaurant.com; on Instagram; Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m

It’s a bustling scene inside Mother’s Restaurant. Visitors simultaneously look around, taking in this old school New Orleans eatery, while perusing the menu and trying to make a decision about what to order. Should they get the restaurant’s Famous Ferdi Special, a combination of ham and roast beef “debris” with its juices unabashedly soaking into the po-boy bread and down the sides? Perhaps Jerry’s Jambalaya, named after the late owner Jerry Amato, or the signature red beans and rice. Regulars go straight to the always-in-motion serving/deli line to get their favorite dish. Tables are overflowing with Mother’s food and those who enjoy it, a testament to the enduring popularity of this restaurant.

Much of that has to do with brothers Jerry and John Amato, who bought the restaurant in 1986. And much has to do with the staff — such as Miss Pat, who has been there for more than 30 years and has done a little bit of everything.

It’s family. It’s New Orleans. It’s about the relationships between people, as well as with food.

A Recipe is Born
It was Jerry – with culinary training from previous hospitality jobs, studies at Delgado Community College and The Culinary Institute of America – who had an innate sense of what tasted good and which flavors worked together. He was always able to take traditional New Orleans dishes and elevate them.

“Jerry really brought a culinary take on it,” says Charles Pizzo, who does public relations and social media marketing for the restaurant, about the food at Mother’s.

An example is the red beans and rice.

The origin of the red beans and rice recipe at Mother’s starts with the founders, Simon and Mary “Mother” Landry, who opened the business in 1938 on Poydras Street. It was there where they fed the neighborhood’s longshoremen, warehouse workers, and others looking for po-boys and hearty New Orleans dishes.

Years later, Chef Odie Mae Peters refined the red beans and rice recipe.

“She tweaked the recipe a little bit,” says Pizzo. “She added more ham because Mother’s cooks its own ham.”

When Jerry arrived on the scene, he saw all the leftover ham fat as the result of trimming, and realized it could be used in the red beans, among other dishes.

“It is a secret ingredient to a lot of Mother’s old-time dishes,” shares Pizzo.

Chef Roland Swazy agrees: “Though it’s no longer fashionable, it’s fat that makes the red beans taste good. And Mother’s happens to have a lot of ham trimmings available.”

After the ham fat is rendered, then the vegetables — onions, green onions, bell peppers and garlic — for the red beans are cooked in it.

Mother’s ham is cooked at the restaurant. “We only use Chisesi Brothers ham,” says Alex Salas, daytime manager, who has been at the restaurant for 16 years.

In addition to cooking the vegetables in the rendered ham fat, the ham bones, which are cut in half, are boiled with the red beans.

Pizzo notes that the ham is not salted. The flavor is enhanced by Mother’s secret sauce, a glaze that covers the ham when it is cooked. Ham chunks are also used in the red beans recipe, as is smoked sausage from Creole Country that is made to Mother’s specifications.

Mother’s uses Camellia Red Kidney Beans. The beans are not soaked, but instead, they’re put through a few rinses to help release the starches. (The restaurant also has specialized equipment so it can cook the beans low and slow at a controlled rate.)

The beans are then boiled in half chicken stock and half beef stock, a.k.a. “debris gravy.” The stocks are made in-house.

The Legacy Continues
Chef Swazy has been put in charge of carrying on the restaurant’s culinary traditions. Swazy started as a dishwasher in 1987 and worked his way up to become head chef, learning what made Mother’s so special along the way.

“Chef Jerry Amato, who mentored me, was big on the need for consistency. Regulars come to Mother’s Restaurant year after year, and they want and expect everything to taste the same,” says Swazy. “While some restaurants try to be cutting edge, Mother’s aims to be traditional. We’ve seen adult children bring their elderly parents in to eat,” he added. “These are folks who worked in what were once office buildings along Poydras Street, such as the Lykes Building or One Shell Square. They tear up and get emotional, telling us ‘Your food tastes exactly like I remembered it.’”

And that’s why Mother’s Restaurant remains beloved.

Mother’s Restaurant, 401 Poydras Street, mothersrestaurant.net, (504) 523-9656. Hours: 7 days 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

Arkesha Baquet is a busy woman. It’s just a half-hour before opening at Li’l Dizzy’s in Tremé, and menus must be reviewed, supply deliveries confirmed, and she needs to peek in the kitchen to check on the Creole-Soul food favorites this beloved eatery is famous for.

If a restaurant can embody a city’s culinary history, traditions, and heart — as well as its past, present and future — then Li’l Dizzy’s is it.

Arkesha, and her husband Wayne Baquet Jr., are second-generation owners of the restaurant founded by Wayne’s father, Wayne Baquet Sr., in 2004.

The Baquets and Their Long-Standing Culinary Legacy
The family has a long, rich culinary legacy in New Orleans. Before Li’l Dizzy’s, there was Zachary’s on Oak Street, and before that, Eddie’s in the Seventh Ward, run by Wayne Sr.’s father, Eddie Baquet Sr. Eddie learned the business working for his aunt and uncle, Ada Baquet Gross and Paul Gross, at their restaurant, Paul Gross Chicken Coop. The Chicken Coop opened in the mid-1940s and was among the first Black-owned restaurants in the city.

Li’l Dizzy’s is the last of the Baquet family restaurants that’s still in operation today, and Arkesha and Wayne Jr. took it over in February 2021, after Wayne Sr. retired during the pandemic. (Those who are curious will appreciate this tidbit: the café was named after Wayne Sr.’s grandson Zachary, who played the trumpet at St. Augustine High School and was nicknamed Li’l Dizzy after famous trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie.) Says Arkesha, “It’s a family business where a lot of people like to come with their families.”

Some Things Have Changed, While Others Have Stayed the Same
With Arkesha and Wayne Jr. at the helm, only a few things have changed: the restaurant just serves lunch, the buffet has been removed, and service is now tableside and take-out. Food is served in take-out containers for the ease of both customers and staff.

What hasn’t changed are the recipes. Those have been part of the Baquet family lore for generations. Wayne Sr.’s wife, Janet Jourdain Baquet, created the recipes. A few are by his mother, Myrtle Romano Baquet.

The red and white bean dishes, credited to Janet, are legendary, and the recipes can be found in “The Baquet Family Cookbook”.

The two recipes are the same, except for the beans used, but as Arkesha learned early on, the white beans better be Camellia’s Great Northern beans – and not lima beans.

“People will have a fit,” says Arkesha. “Because, I’m telling you, when we first opened up (post-pandemic), and we started selling white beans, the question almost every customer asked was, ‘What kind of white beans are these?’ They did not want those lima beans.”

Arkesha was asked this question so many times, that she even called Wayne Sr. about it.

“He said, ‘If you give them something else, they’re not going to be happy,’” says Arkesha.

Soaking the Beans and Secret Ingredients
Some additional things that haven’t changed are the way the red and white bean dishes are made — using Camellia Beans — and soaking the beans overnight.

“My mother said that it’s sacrilegious not to soak your beans,” Arkesha says. “I don’t know how you would get away with them being good. That’s what would scare me; are they going to be hard?”

One ingredient that gives the bean dishes a special kick is the notable hot sausage the Baquets make in-house. The hot sausage can also be served alongside the beans, or customers can choose options like smoked sausage or fried chicken.

The red beans are served only on Mondays and usually sell out, while the white beans are served only on Tuesdays, and are just as popular.

Customers can thank head chef John Cannon (who some may know for playing the tuba in the Stooges Brass Band) and lead cook Lawrence Miller: Cannon makes the red beans, and Miller makes the white beans.

Li’l Dizzy’s Third Generation
Li’l Dizzy’s third generation includes Arkesha and Wayne Jr.’s children, Jene and Jace, who can be found helping out on Saturdays. Wayne Jr., who is the president of a wholesale company, is there, as well.

“We’re all here on Saturdays,” says Arkesha.

And they’re dedicated to keeping the Baquet culinary legacy alive.

Li’l Dizzy’s, 1500 Esplanade Ave., lildizzyscafe.net; on Instagram; (504) 766-8687; Mon-Sat. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Opening During the Pandemic

Opening a restaurant is always a risk, and Allison and Glenn Charles took on an even greater one when opening Nice Guys in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the duo – natives of New Orleans – had a dream, a plan, and were determined to move forward.

They haven’t looked back.

The restaurant took off, so much so that the Charleses are in the process of expanding Nice Guys into a former Japanese restaurant that was next door and renovating a Canal Street space as a second location.

The Secrets to Their Success

What could be the restaurant’s secrets to success? The Charleses’ savvy business sense: they took a long-empty building on Earhart Boulevard and renovated it into a place that is welcoming and casually chic.

The not-so-secret-secrets are Chef Fred Andrews and the menu, featuring classic yet innovative dishes that New Orleanians know and love. The restaurant’s tagline is “New Orleans food with a twist!”

A great example would be the red beans and rice.

Andrews boils smoked turkey legs in a seafood boil, such as crab, before adding them to Camellia Red Kidney Beans — which he doesn’t soak — during the cooking process.

He then adds the “trinity” — onion, celery, bell pepper — plus garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper, and pickled ham, and a “whole list of secret ingredients,” he says.

Andrews cooks the red beans and rice the day before serving, so the flavors are enhanced overnight.

The restaurant serves red beans and rice on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and “we always sell out each day,” says Glenn Charles. “People love it, and I think it’s because of the smoked turkey meat that we use.” (And whatever the secret ingredients are!)

An Original Take on Traditional Dishes

What else do the restaurant’s customers love? The menu’s original takes on traditional dishes. Shrimp and grits is now SLG (shrimp, lobster, and grits) and French fries are Earhart Attack Fries – a combination of marinated chicken, hot sausage, smoked sausage, bacon, jalapeños, and seasoned fries topped with crawfish cheese sauce and a fried egg. And then there are chargrilled oyster options, including the Oysters Rockefeller version.

Even snowballs get a special twist with little bottles of alcohol flipped into the icy mixture, while daiquiris get their own enhancements of fruit and more.

Allison Charles points out that the Wednesday special of the seafood hot box features a combination of seafood rice with potatoes, sausage, and corn boiled in crab boil, and is finished with Nice Guys’ garlic butter and the seafood of your choice (though some people like to add turkey legs).

Nice Guys Finish First

It’s no wonder that online reviews for the restaurant are raves and often include kudos to the wait staff.

About their success, Allison Charles says, “We were blessed, really blessed.”

It’s no longer a secret that Nice Guys do finish first.

Nice Guys Nola, 7910 Earhart Blvd. NOLA 70125, (504) 302-2404, https://www.niceguysnola.com/

Keeping New Orleanians Well Fed Since WW II
Leni’s Cafe is like going home, a place where you will find comfort food just like what your mom or grandmother — and let’s not forget dad and grandfather — made.

From a grilled cheese to a cheeseburger, omelet to egg sandwich, and red beans to white beans, this Baronne Street diner’s plate breakfasts and lunches have been keeping New Orleanians well fed since at least World War II.

Since 1978, the Warehouse District restaurant has been owned by Pete Patselikos.

He is, however, not Leni. That would be a previous owner (circa early 1960s), Leni Kampitsis; Leni is short for Eleni, a Greek name, and Greece is the country from which Patselikos hails.

“After the purchase, I continued what she had created,” says Patselikos, talking about the menu, which at its heart is American Greek diner food with New Orleans dishes.

That includes red and white beans.

The Secrets to Leni’s Red Beans
Patselikos claims there is no real secret to his red beans — “cook the red beans, put in the right seasoning” — but as you talk to him more, a few key elements pop out.

“We don’t soak the red beans,” he says, adding that people often soak them because of the quality. That’s not an issue at Leni’s because the restaurant uses Camellia Beans.

“Start by putting the beans in cold water, let them boil,” says Patselikos, “then put in the seasonings including pepper and celery, as well as sausage and ham.”

And don’t forget to add tomato paste to give it some color, Patselikos advises, sharing that butter is also added.

Only on Mondays
This process starts sometime between 5:30 – 6 am, and the red beans are done by 9:30 am, when they are creamy.

“We make them only on Mondays,” says Patselikos.

“Very traditional,” Patselikos’ wife Despina Patselikos says, referring to the New Orleans’ custom of making red beans and rice on Mondays. The origins of the Monday tradition can be traced back about 100 years to when women would simmer the beans on a stove during the day while they did the wash.

Customers can get the red beans and rice as is or with “Whatever you want that’s on the menu … it’s usually with smoked sausage. Some order a pork chop. A lot of people like to have it with fried shrimp,” says Patselikos.

#WhiteBeanWednesday
Then there is Leni’s white beans and rice, only served on Wednesdays. Instead of using Great Northern Beans, the restaurant uses Camellia’s Large Limas.

Why?

“That’s what they were making 45 years ago,” says Patselikos, who says he is continuing the legacy of the previous owners, such as Leni.

Classic & Time-Tested
And for a long time, Greeks have owned the restaurant. Before the current owners, there were Pete G. Michailakis and Gus Michailakis during the late 1960s and 1970s (they were either the same person or related to each other), and prior to that, Leni Kampitsis. A newspaper article from 1941 shows Margaret Wellbat — who may or may not have been Greek — owned the restaurant and that she was fleeced out of $15 by a Robert E. Byrd pretending to be in the army.

During the 1920s, the space was home to Monarch Sheet Metal Works and around World War I, it housed Murray Welding and Metal Works.

Now in 2022, there is no denying that when a customer walks into Leni’s Cafe, they will be served time-tested classic New Orleans dishes — such as red beans or white beans and rice — Leni’s style.

Leni’s Café, 741 Baronne St., 504.523.0069; Hours, Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

1905 Alabama diner ad featuring camp stew

Across the Yellowhammer State, cooks of every description have been lighting fires under old kettles and cooking camp stew for well over a hundred years. From the Tennessee Valley in the northern part of the state to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta on the Gulf Coast, camp stew is available nightly in hundreds of households, barbecue shacks, meat and three joints, and of course, hunting camps. The fortunate among us may find the dish in the backwood taverns that dot the rural countryscape across the region. Camp stew is so ingrained in the psychology of Alabama eaters that it made the 100 Dishes To Eat In Alabama Before You Die list published by the Birmingham News, a journal with roots that stretch back to the 19th century.

1912 barbecue stand as for camp stew

What It Is & Where to Find It
Snack bars at fiddler conventions, pro-wrestling matches, National Guard Armories, high school football games, beauty pageants, and Baptist homecomings held across the entirety of the state reliably have big pots of camp stew burbling on the range. If you’re not from Alabama you may ask yourself, what is this dish? It’s the stuff of fever dreams: a potent witch’s brew of all manners of meats, vegetables, and starches including but not limited to common ingredients such as pork, beef, and chicken serving as proteins with tomatoes, onion, and corn filling the role of vegetables. Worcestershire sauce is a crucial component. Wild game like alligator, squirrel, quail, and feral hog may also be found in an adventurous cook’s stew.

A 1913 Alabama newspaper article mentions that Democrats and suffragettes alike enjoy camp stew

Beans: A Must-Have Ingredient
Butter beans, Limas, or Baby Limas are often included, and you may even find Great Northern beans or Pintos depending on what part of the state you’re exploring. “If it ain’t got beans in it, it ain’t camp stew,” is a common refrain heard when discussing the dish. Piscine versions of camp stew may be found as you explore diners and cafés alongside rivers like the Choctawhatchee, Black Warrior, and Escatawpa.

A 1908 recounting of a camp stew feast served to Alabama prisoners

Feeding the Masses in Good Times and Bad
In the early 20th century the penal colonies of the day were not immune to the charms of camp stew. The Montgomery city jail cooked a few large vats of the stuff to feed their prisoners at Thanksgiving time. Montgomery would prove itself to be a critical nexus in the furtherance of the popularity of camp stew as the 20th century gathered steam. Saloon keepers in the heart of the city began using the dish as a powerful magnet to get the drinking men to frequent their establishments. With purchase of a cocktail or cold draft beer, these enterprising business owners would set out a bowl of the stuff with nary a charge. When the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 struck, the good citizens of Alabama swung into motion and launched a camp stew-based charitable festival and sold a thousand tickets to a massive stew party held at the legendary Pickett Springs Resort near Montgomery. All the moneys were remitted to the citizens of San Francisco to assuage their suffering.

A 1931 advertisement seeking the services of a camp stew and barbecue man

A Badge of Honor
No less a luminary than legendary woodsman, author and naturalist Horace Kephart would soon integrate the cooking of camp stew into the regimen of becoming an official Boy Scout. In that halcyon era, a young scout had to demonstrate proficiency in the preparation of camp stew to earn his cooking merit badge. Want to become an Eagle Scout? Fire up that pot of camp stew, and it better taste good. By the time the 1930s came along, a regional derivation of camp stew called Lumberjack-style was being practiced in Jefferson County in the central portion of the state, but the details of what was surely pure deliciousness have been lost to the sands of time.

In 1949 the first canned camp stew made its way to market

A Canned Version, Extra Heavy on the Meat
At mid-century, a canned version of camp stew was being offered in Birmingham grocery stores but the enterprise was not fully formed enough to attach a name brand to the product. That would change as the Reynolds-Holston Canning Company of Troy, Alabama, soon waded into the fray with their own canned version of the food stuff. No strangers to marketing, the ads of the day trumpeted their product as being “extra heavy on meat”, and “100-year-old formula” was often prominently mentioned as well.

1960 ad for an Alabama barbecue stand featuring camp stew

Fundraising for Civil Rights & Putting Restaurants on the Map
As the Civil Rights-era dawned, camp stew played a prominent role in fundraising activities. Black women fanned out across Montgomery County, Alabama, selling fried catfish sandwiches, chicken and dumpling plates, and yes, camp stew. The money was plowed straight back into the movement, and these humble foods helped foment real change across the region. One now-successful restaurateur threw what she called “Heaven and Hell suppers” as she was trying to raise money to get her business going. A fiery camp stew would be served followed by ice cream and pound cake. Martha’s Place is now in its fourth decade and feeds upwards of 500 people daily. Camp Stew helped Martha Hawkins make her dream a reality. Camp stew is writ into the genetic code of Alabamians. The elixir has a thousand mothers and a thousand fathers, each claiming primacy. Truth be told, there is no “one true camp stew”. It’s the one that is currently in front of you that will most likely serve as the best one you ever ate. That is until you visit Aunt Hazel and Uncle Ralph’s cabin near Wetumpka this weekend, when a new ranking will be loudly and enthusiastically affirmed.

A young camp stew cook tending to his kettle in the early 1980s

This post hails from R.L. Reeves, Jr., a Texas photographer and writer who is living and documenting life in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. His recipes and cooking notes can be found on his food and culture blog, scrumptiouschef.com

NOTE: As of 10/2024, Mahoney’s is under new ownership and doesn’t serve red or white bean dishes and the French Quarter location ​is now closed​.

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood’s Casey Levy had just received an urgent text from his staff at the French Quarter location. It wasn’t about the air-conditioning acting up or a delivery that hadn’t shown up yet. Nope – his staff wanted to know how soon he was going to bring the white beans over. White beans and rice — they are periodically on the menu as a special — are a favorite for staff and customers at Mahony’s.

Quality and consistency on the menu
For both the red bean and white bean dishes at Mahony’s, that meant using Camellia Beans.
“The quality and consistency achieved from about a century of maintaining those standards – how could we not want to use a local brand that lives that?” said Levy.

For every white bean there is a season
The white bean specials — Mahony’s uses Camellia Bean’s Great Northern variety — only happen about six months a year, divided somewhat by seasons. During the fall and winter months, that version is “looser, more old school style,” and is served with griddled shrimp with house seasoning that adds sweetness to it. The creamier version usually comes out during Hogs for the Cause, a culinary benefit in late March, and like the festival, is pork-centric.

Red beans: always on the menu
The red beans, which are always on the menu, are also made creamy. For that dish Levy “went to the drawing board … back to basics of what I learned early on in my family’s restaurants …. red beans old school, let the ingredients talk to themselves and figure out how they will handshake together.”

But instead of soaking the beans overnight using cold water, Levy said “we use hot water and add the smoked ham hock right away, with soaking only needed for five hours.”

After that, the smoked ham hock is removed, the beans are rinsed off quickly, then put back into the pot. “The absorbing of the smoky water into the beans gives them a different ‘bite’ when eating the beans. Lets you have that porky goodness without all the heavy oils needed,” said Levy.

Always cook the garlic in bacon fat
“Add your normal trinity, then garlic rendered in bacon fat,” said Levy, “a bay leaf and a little salt and pepper. We don’t add much seasoning at all.” They let the mixture simmer for a bit with the bay leaves and spices, then add in thin-sliced andouille sausage. “This will cook into the beans and give them that ‘lil extra flex,” says Levy.

Near the end of the cooking, when the red beans are creamy, a dab of Tabasco sauce is mixed in, before it is served with popcorn rice, smoked sausage and jalapeno butter cornbread. Some customers opt to have fried chicken with it.

Keeping it old school
“Like with many restaurants in Louisiana, the varying ways that they cook their beans lends to a great sampling of old school and newer flavors that can exist in the ‘kitchen sink’ cooking of the red and white beans world,” says Levy. “I like to think that ours has a taste and ‘feel’ that lets people remember a simpler way of cooking them and create that simmering of memory that made them fall in love with red beans in the first place.”

Mahony’s Po-Boys & Seafood, 3454 Magazine St., (504) 899-3374; 901 Iberville St., (504) 717-2422, mahonyspoboys.com

Where everyone knows your name
Café 615, Home of the Da Wabbit restaurant, with its iconic, vintage Bugs Bunny themed neon sign, began as a drive-in restaurant in 1948. Today it continues to be the place Westbankers (and others in the know) go for great New Orleans food. On a typical Monday, which is red beans and rice day, of course, it’s packed with diners. The waitresses are in nonstop motion and seem to know everyone by their first name. This familial feeling – not to mention the restaurant’s famed red beans – brings the neighborhood here, and that’s how owners Donna and Eric Savoie like it.

A restaurant history in neon
The Savoies bought this Gretna landmark in 2004 and renamed it Café 615, Home of Da Wabbit, keeping a link to its previous owner, “Da Wabbit” Licciardi, who won the building in a card game in 1946. Before Licciardi owned it, the business was a drive-up diner and bar called Kerner’s, which was also known as a place to gamble. Today, this old-school New Orleans tradition and the food keep bringing people back. “That’s how our business has grown – by just word of mouth or just locals,” says Dawn.

A red beans recipe for 300…and counting
When Eric recounts their red beans and rice recipe, he thinks in bulk – he says they serve about 300 portions on Mondays for lunch and dinner. He constructs his dish in steps: “We start with 50 pounds of dry beans. Add around 10 to 12 large bay leaves, then add two cups of liquid smoke and eight large smoked ham hocks. We boil it until the beans are soft, then add four cups of chopped garlic and 35 pounds of smoked sausage cut in quarters. We cook that until the garlic is soft, then add two pounds of non-salted butter. Then let it cook for two to three hours.”

Two pounds of butter – yes indeed!
The butter, he says, makes the mixture creamy. Eric then adds three or four stalks of celery chopped, 15 bell peppers, and 25 large onions, all chopped, which are all cooked down. “You don’t cook it until you can’t see the seasoning, because you still want to see the seasoning. We just cook it until it’s translucent, so it’s soft, but visible, and then we add salt.” The dish is completed with a side of a pork chop or smoked sausage.

Red beans, white beans… but always Camellia Beans
The only beans Eric will use, which also include the Thursday special of white beans and rice, are Camellia Beans. “It’s a family tradition,” said Eric, to use the beans. And it’s one that can’t be messed with. It’s staple and most people that come in are getting the red beans,” Dawn notes. “It’s a New Orleans thing.”

Pork chop or smothered rabbit on the side
For the white beans and rice – which can be ordered with pork chop or smothered rabbit (not the “wascally” kind) – Eric uses a different cooking technique: “We boil navy beans in plain water until they are soft, then we add regular onions, green onions, pickled meat, salt and pepper to taste. We check it until the pickled meat is tender and the beans are soft and creamy. Way easier than the red beans!”

Café 615, Home of Da Wabbit, 615 Kepler St., Gretna, 504-365-1225, cafe615.com

While many swear by Andouille sausage, and others opt for ham hocks or tasso, there are many overlooked smoky, meaty ingredients that impart deep flavor to a pot of beans. From pig tails, rib tips, and pork necks, to smoked turkey necks and turkey legs, these under-used seasoning meats — with their skin, tendons, ligaments, collagen, and fat — infuse flavor, body, and incredible richness into a pot of beans.

Eating “nose-to-tail” is a philosophy that encourages using all parts of an animal, so as not to waste anything. And since Cajuns in particular and Southerners, in general, are known for being resourceful, thrifty, and not letting anything go to waste – delicious pieces and parts that might otherwise be ignored or thrown out are often used to perfectly season red beans and increase nutrition.

Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Legs

Game Meats

With a similar spirit of thrift and resourcefulness, hunters use game meats in as many different homemade dishes as possible – including when seasoning big pots of beans. From venison and rabbit to duck and more, there are many game meats that offer wonderful complexity to beans. Recipes like Rabbit and Cannellini Stew and K-Paul’s Famous Butter Beans ‘That Make You Crazy’ feature the best of game meat flavor.

So why not get creative with your next batch of beans? Try lesser-known pig tails or turkey necks for seasoning meat, or turn to a game meat favorite like venison. Your taste buds (and your wallet) with thank you.

To understand how important the Fiorella family has been to the food culture of New Orleans, just ask the folks who line up early at Fiorella’s Cafe in Gentilly, waiting for the doors to open. They wait for that hot and crunchy, award-winning fried chicken that is perfectly seasoned down to the bone. Some are there for the wide variety of po-boys on the menu. And many are there early on Mondays for first dibs on the hearty, smoky Monday red beans and rice before they sell out.

Family Recipes from a French Quarter Restaurant

Owners Kelly and Calcie Fiorella are carrying on a family tradition, with family recipes, based on the original Fiorella’s Restaurant on Decatur Street in the New Orleans French Quarter, which was operated by their dad, CJ Fiorella, until he closed it 1999. As that restaurant’s origin story goes, CJ was a New Orleans grocer of Sicilian descent who just wanted a good cup of coffee. Every day CJ would make his way to the French Market to buy fresh produce. After taking care of business, he would stop in the Market Place Restaurant and purchase a coffee. One day in 1984, the restaurant’s owner, Anthony Bianca, who knew CJ and his family and their love of cooking, approached him and offered to sell him the restaurant. It took a bit of pushing from a friend, but CJ finally accepted, and Fiorella’s was born.
CJ renamed it Fiorella’s Cafe and brought a large amount of the family’s own recipes to the restaurant. Not completely satisfied with the menu, he began to walk around the French Quarter and look at the different menus to see what others were doing. Since this was a family style neighborhood spot, he wanted to make sure he offered red beans and rice on Mondays, served butter beans another day, and stayed true to a typical New Orleans menu – but with a Fiorella spin.
“When my brother and I decided to reopen the family restaurant here in Gentilly, I said to him, I’m the one doing all of the cooking,” said Kelly Fiorella. He was not only excited to be back in the kitchen but also to bring back the original family recipes, including the famous fried chicken (they go through about 80 to 100 pounds of it per day).

How do you red bean, Fiorella’s?

Fiorellas Cafe in Gentilly on June 14, 2021.

One plate you will only find on Monday is red beans and rice – a recipe that was handed down from Kelly’s grandmother. “It was a tradition, and it was always with Camellia beans,” he said. “There were always little bags of Camellia beans in the pantry,” he said. “She also had stacks of Camellia white beans, red beans, navy and black-eyed peas. I can remember always seeing that little Camellia logo.”
On a typical Monday, Fiorella’s goes through about 10 to 12 pounds of Camellia red beans, according to Kelly. It’s all made fresh Monday morning and usually sells out by mid-afternoon. And when it’s gone for the day, it’s gone. Fiorella’s red beans recipe is a hearty one. You will find the hint of bacon with the onions, bell peppers, and garlic. They add ham, pork shoulder, and andouille sausage. The key to a good pot of beans, Kelly says, is to cook them low and slow.

Fiorella’s Weekday Specials – A Schedule to Live By

Kelly also uses Camellia’s large lima beans for the Thursday special of butter beans and rice. “I love the butter beans,” he said. “They’ve got so much flavor to them.” Other weekday specials include meatloaf on Tuesdays, Italian sausage and shells on Wednesday, and shrimp Creole on Fridays. The menu also includes favorite family classics like meatballs and spaghetti, veal parmesan, hamburger steak, fried seafood, a variety of po-boys, and of course, the fried chicken. In both 2016 and 2017, Kelly and Calcie earned the “best fried chicken” award at the National Fried Chicken Festival.

“It’s all family recipes,” said Kelly. “The red beans is a family recipe handed down.”

Fiorellas Cafe in Gentilly on June 14, 2021.

Kelly’s love of cooking was sparked early on, when visiting his grandmother. “Every time you walked into that woman’s house, it smelled like she was cooking a pot of red gravy or something,” he said. “That’s my grandmother’s meatballs that we use with the spaghetti. She taught us her recipes.”
The history of those who came before him is important to Kelly. Black and white photographs of relatives decorate the walls and serve as reminders of the legacy he wants to continue and build upon. The building itself has historical importance, too. The Fiorellas have had a longtime friendship with the Bologna family that formerly operated Teddy’s Grill at this location. To pay homage to that friendship and what the restaurant meant to the Gentilly neighborhood, two black plastic bull heads from Teddy’s Grill watch over the dining room. “We always just wanted to stay true to what is tradition in New Orleans,” Kelly added.

Written by Eric Olsson

Unfortunately, due to losses from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine is now officially closed after serving soul food to generations of New Orleanians.

Since Celestine Dunbar was a child, Camellia beans have been a part of her life in one way or another. “I can see my mother right now using one of those little packs of Camellia beans,” said Dunbar. “I can’t remember her ever not using them. They were just a part of our family.”

Cooking for her family is how Dunbar gained the confidence to open Dunbar’s Creole Cooking on Freret Street in 1986. “There were seven children, and it was their job to get up in the morning and make breakfast for the family. Then, they would turn around and start making lunch. I helped out and cooked a lot.” 

In the beginning, Dunbar’s offered deli sandwiches in keeping with the deli business she’d taken over at that location, but eventually she began to cook hot meals at her house and bring them in to sell. Many of the recipes were ones that her parents and grandmother taught her to make. Each day she would bring in a different special. Monday was red beans and rice. Tuesday was cabbage and barbecue chicken. Wednesday was meatballs and spaghetti. Many of these specials are still served to this day, and all of them are the same family recipes.

Celestine Dunbar never stopped cooking

For almost 20 years, Dunbar’s Creole Cooking was a fixture on Freret Street, but that all ended in 2005 after she lost the restaurant to the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina and the fight with insurance companies that followed. To keep the Dunbar’s name out there, she went back to her roots of cooking in her own home kitchen and selling the food elsewhere. Her first stop was the food court at the Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans. After five years of serving students Uptown, she went on to deliver hot pre-plated meals to the workers on lunch at the Chalmette refinery.

This allowed Dunbar time to save up and purchase a new location, and she found that location in 2017 at 7834 Earhart Boulevard in New Orleans. Though the name of the restaurant changed to Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine, everything else stayed the same when they moved into the bigger location. Longtime friend and chef, Frank Jones, rejoined her as head of the kitchen. “He knows all of the recipes,” Dunbar said about Jones, who has been with her for over 30 years. “Frank does it all.”

“All they want is Camellia beans” 

As lunchtime hits, locals come out for the red beans and rice. “We sell them every day,” Dunbar said. “They’ll buy the red beans and rice before they’ll buy anything else.” She admits that over 60% of sales are for the red beans with fried chicken. On most days they go through about 12 pounds of Camellia red beans and up to 25 pounds a day during Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras.

The recipe for the beans has been the same since the beginning. “We start with the trinity (white onions, green bell pepper, and celery) along with a lot of water,” Dunbar stated. “Then, you boil the trinity with garlic, green onions, granulated garlic, and a little parsley until the vegetables have become soft. You add your meat and seasoning (a special blend of black pepper and cayenne pepper) when the beans are about 90% done. This gives it it’s flavor.”

There are two tricks she offers for making the beans nice and creamy. The first trick is to add vegetable oil in the beginning. Dunbar says that by doing this, it will not only prevent the beans from boiling over and ruining the seasonings but will also help make the beans creamy. The other trick, or secret she learned from her mother all those years before, is to use Camellia brand red beans. “Camellia brand beans are just the best red beans there is. They are pink, fresh, and you just always get a beautiful red bean.”

Giving back to the community

Like many restaurants throughout New Orleans, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine worked with the Chef’s Brigade NOLA, a united coalition of restaurants and chefs working together to offer food to those in need during the COVID pandemic, including front line responders, and healthcare workers. Dunbar said that they use Camellia brand lima beans and serve them with baked chicken seasoned with the “Louisiana Trinity” over a bed of white rice. The Chef’s Brigade produced up to 60,000 meals a day, utilizing independent restaurants throughout Orleans Parish to feed at-risk residents and neighbors throughout New Orleans.

Dunbar is happy that the restaurant can do its part in giving back to the community. She understands that the people of New Orleans have been an integral part in the continued success of her restaurant and rallied behind her to keep Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine going. Though there have been many ups and downs and stressful days, she always looks forward to what is to come – and there are exciting new plans. And through it all, she says that one thing will be certain, “people will come from all over the world and ask for those Camellia red beans and rice with fried chicken.”

Unfortunately, due to losses from Hurricane Ida in 2021, Dunbar’s Creole Cuisine is now officially closed after serving soul food to generations of New Orleanians.

Written by Eric Olsson

If the walls could talk.

Pimm’s Cups, intrigue, first dates, proposals of varying sorts, assignations, Creole flavors and a place to rest after a long day in the French Quarter — Napoleon House hasn’t changed much since 1914 when this famed bar and restaurant was opened by the Impastato family.

But if the walls could talk, Napoleon House would start telling tales from an earlier time when the building was owned by Nicolas Girod. Nicolas was a businessman, mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815, and a dreamer and schemer. Soon after inheriting the building in 1814, he began to alter it, creating the three-story building that we see today. Legend says the work was done in preparation for the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose supporters — rumored to include local pirates Jean Lafitte and Dominique You — were planning to help him escape from exile in Saint Helena and come to New Orleans.

Napoleon died before this alleged escape plan came to fruition, but his portraits still preside over the Napoleon House on the faded plaster walls, and the stern bust of his countenance surveys the dreamily illuminated bar and restaurant where cocktails and classic New Orleans cuisine rule the day and night.

Red Beans on Monday

In 2015, executive Chef Chris Montero of the Ralph Brennan restaurant group took the helm at Napoleon House, where he is also the general manager. Montero, who’s from an 8th-generation New Orleans family and well-versed in classic Creole cuisine, kept many of the original Impastato family recipes, merely tweaking them with artisan-made ingredients. At the top of that list of was Monday red beans and rice.

Montero grew up sampling different red beans and rice styles: his grandmother preferred ham hock, pickled pork, and a spicy smoked sausage; his mother rendered pork and sausage. For his own version of red beans, Montero harkens back to his grandmother’s classic Creole cooking. “I make it with chicken stock,“ he said.

Sausage that tastes good and does good.

One of the two sausages Montero uses in Napoleon House red beans is a Creole smoked sausage that has a local — and philanthropic — origin. As part of “Silence of da Hams,” a team that competes in Hogs for the Cause (a barbecue competition held in New Orleans that’s an annual benefit for pediatric brain cancer), Montero helped develop the sausage. It’s also available in grocery stores, and a portion of its sales goes to Hogs.

Camellia in the (Napoleon) House

Montero also uses Camellia Brand beans. As he put it, “To me this is the only brand people buy.” Montero leaves the important job of preparing the dish at Napoleon House to Josh Bierria, the restaurant’s production chef. A “behind-the-scenes” person, Bierria is an essential part of the team, said Montero. “Josh’s Camellia red beans and rice have become a big item on Goldbelly.com” said Montero, adding, “Two weeks ago we shipped 200 cases of red beans and rice in a day, all over the U.S.” Would Napoleon have liked red beans and rice? Montero contemplates for a moment and answers, “Why, not?!”

Written by Sue Strachan

Forty-five years ago, Leo Christakis decided to purchase Mena’s Palace in the French Quarter as a way to move back to Greece. When he learned that the restaurant was for sale, he told his brother, Leo, “Let’s buy it, make some money to save up, and move back to Greece.” His brother agreed. But as the years went on and the business continued to thrive, Christakis and his family began to build relationships and friendships with those who lived around the restaurant. “In my culture,” he said, “you go to a friend’s house, and they ask you what do you want to eat? What do you want to drink? Then, we sit around and talk, and drink, and eat. That is how we do it here, that is how we take care of our customers.”

“He refuses to buy any other brand than Camellia.”

“It’s all he’s ever cooked with,” said Leo’s daughter and restaurant co-owner Ellie Christakis, referring to her dad. “One time, an order came in for lima beans. Our supplier had sent a different brand and we had used them because we had to make some lima beans. He tasted it. ‘No. These aren’t Camellia,’ he said. ‘Don’t order anything but Camellia.’ And we definitely learned our lesson. The color was different. The taste was different. It’s amazing what a difference Camellia makes.”

Start with the trinity.

At Mena’s they start their red beans with the trinity (onions, bell peppers and celery). They sauté it down and add smoked sausage as the seasoning meat. Once the red beans are added, they cook them for a long time to get to that creamy texture and serve them with fried chicken or smoked sausage on the side. Ellie Christakis explained that the family uses Camellia products at home, too. She makes the Greek soup ‘Fakes’ with Camellia lentils. The soup (pronounced ‘Fah-kehs’) is traditionally made with lentils, water, red onions, garlic, bay leaves and a tomato puree (if you want it reddened) and served with an added drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lots of vinegar. “There’s another one called a ‘Fasolada’ and it uses a Great Northern Bean. And we only use Camellia,” Ellie Christakis said of the soup that many consider to be one of the national dishes of Greece.

Here for the community.

One thing that has been certain about Mena’s Palace and the Christakis family is that they have always put the needs of the neighborhood first. Whether it was coming back from Hurricane Katrina or riding out the pandemic, their top priorities have always been to treat everyone like family, keep prices low, serve big portions of high-quality food, and remain consistent. “We appreciate our customers and the relationships and friendships we have with them,” Ellie Christakis said. “New Orleans is such a nice city, especially in the French Quarter. There are so many good people. A lot of warmth and love.”

New Orleans is home.

“I wanted to move back to Greece, but never did,” said Leo Christakis reflecting on his decision to stay in New Orleans and continue operating Mena’s Palace with his family. “You get to understand the people, and I loved that. I wanted to see the customers happy and the rest took care of itself. I am 77. I’m still working, and I still like it.”

Written by Eric Olsson

As you walk up to, the aroma of fried chicken fills the air. People from all over the world line up and wait, sometimes hours, to enter Willie Mae’s Scotch House, a small two-room restaurant in the historic Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. They’re attracted by not only the aroma of perfectly fried chicken, but also by the accolades from the Food Network, the Travel Channel and the James Beard Foundation, which declared it an “American Classic Restaurant” for carrying on the traditions of great regional cuisine.

At one time, Willie Mae’s was just a corner spot that was only known within the neighborhood. It started out as a bar in 1957, then after moving to its current location, a beauty salon was added in the front because Willie Mae Seaton always wanted to be a beautician. She began to cook in the small kitchen behind the bar to feed the customers and soon after, they were telling her that she needed to open her own restaurant. In the early 1970s, the beauty shop was closed to make room for those who were coming in to eat the smothered veal, pork chops and that crispy, spicy fried chicken.

As word got around, the dining room, which seems more someone’s house than an actual restaurant, began to fill up. In May of 2005, the award from the James Beard Foundation put the old scotch house on the radar of every food critic, journalist, and tourist from around the country, and the lines stretched longer. But just months later, the restaurant was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed it.

After almost three years of rebuilding, with the help of countless volunteers and family members, Willie Mae’s Scotch House reopened to great acclaim. Willie Mae stepped aside and her great-granddaughter, Kerry Seaton-Stewart, carries on the tradition of the famed family-owned restaurant. The national praise of their fried chicken took off.

“Then of course there’s the trinity – celery, bell peppers and onions.”

Kerry Seaton-Stewart grew up in the kitchen with her great-grandmother and grandmother. “She had me in the kitchen with her my whole life,” Seaton-Stewart said, who began working at Willie Mae’s as a teenager. “She would require that I cooked all of these cultural meals. All the traditional meals. At school, they would fix red beans for lunches and I would just play with it because they were not my grandmother’s beans. I was always comparing and measuring the standard of red beans.”

But Seaton-Stewart knew that adapting to changing times was important to keep the restaurant moving forward. She noticed that those who lived outside of the southern region were not accustomed to eating lots of pork and fatty meats like they used in the pot of red beans or butter beans. “I felt the vegan wave coming on and I just wanted to be ahead of it and be inclusive,” she said. “That way, if people came in and they weren’t all pork eaters they can still eat it. I’ve been making them vegan for 14 years now.”

By switching the red beans and butter beans, which are large lima beans, to vegan, she felt that the actual flavor of the two dishes were lifted. One of the enhancements she found while doing taste tests with family and friends, was to include extra bay leaves. “Bay leaves are a must,” she said. “Then of course the trinity – celery, bell peppers and onions – and then some garlic.”  But the not-so-secret ingredient is in the red beans themselves.

“We use Camellia because it’s just a better grade of beans.”

Seaton-Stewart said that you can tell that the quality of Camellia beans is better than any other brands simply by the way they are farmed and cultivated.” You don’t have all the rocks in there and broken beans,” she said. “Camellia is high quality and they just cream better so you know when you cook them it’s going to make a good bean sauce. No other beans are going to be creamy like that.”

Expanding the tradition

Willie Mae’s Scotch House has been as popular as ever. After 60 years at the corners of St. Ann and Tonti in the Treme neighborhood, Seaton-Stewart expanded into the Central Business District food hall, Pythian Market, in 2019, with a condensed version of the restaurant. The new location still features the same iconic fried chicken and red beans and rice and will help meet the supply and demand to the loyal longtime following of locals and tourists to keep the legacy going.

“Red Beans tells the story of the culture of New Orleans,” Seaton-Stewart said. “It means home to me. It makes me think of my family because we have so many good times and great memories eating a pot of red beans.”

Written by Eric Olsson

In the middle of the ever-changing Bywater neighborhood in New Orleans, there is an unassuming yellow store front at the corners of Dauphine and Piety streets. Take one step inside the small grocery store and it’s like you are stepping back in time to the early 1970s.

The building that houses Frady’s One Stop has been around for more than a hundred years. Before Joseph Frady bought the going-out-of-business Flick’s Meat Market in 1972, it was an open-air fruit stand. Frady bought the meat market with two goals in mind: to turn it into a corner grocery store and to serve the best cold drinks and sandwiches. 

After Frady’s One Stop opened and word spread around the neighborhood about the food, locals began to ask for more than just sandwiches. To accommodate the customers, Frady had a small kitchen installed behind the counter with deep fryers and a stove and began to serve hot lunches and daily specials. Year after year, the list of po-boy sandwiches and daily specials could be found scrawled across the black chalkboards that decorate the interior.

A red beans tradition.

“Right away my father started to serve red beans and rice on Mondays because they were coming in and asking for it,” said Kirk Frady, who now runs the food store. “My dad was born and raised in New Orleans and grew up like that with my grandmother. Monday was wash day, and red beans and rice. People came into Frady’s and expected that.”

You’ll not only find packages of Camellia Beans being offered for sale on the grocery store shelf, but it’s also a Monday ‘lunch special’ that is served to-go with either smoked sausage or chicken, a vegetable (such as mustard or collard greens) and a dessert (bread pudding or a cobbler) for a price that has had loyal locals and in-the-know tourists coming back for decades.

“I don’t know where the recipe came from.”

“We usually cook four to five pounds of Camellia Red Beans every Monday,” Kirk Frady said. “I don’t know where the recipe came from. My dad hired a cook, an older lady, and she lived next door. She would soak the beans overnight, then she would come in and cook them. And it’s still the recipe we’re using today.”

To make the beans extra creamy, Kirk Frady says to use lots of butter along with mashing the beans in the end. To get that extra depth of flavor, besides onions, bell pepper, and garlic, he recommends using lots of celery. “We’re big on celery,” he said.

“We’ve always used Camellia. They have always been here and are established in New Orleans.”

Frady’s One Stop has established itself as a mainstay in an old neighborhood that is rapidly evolving around it. Away from the colorful residential streets that are lined with rows and rows of double shotgun houses and Creole cottages, the industrial spaces are being reclaimed and transformed as artists and musicians move in. Bed and breakfasts are sprouting up to meet the demand of tourists visiting this quirky, laid-back part of New Orleans.

“It’s a working-class neighborhood. We get a lot of carpenters and electricians, who are working on these old houses, come in to eat with us because it is an easy meal,” Kirk Frady said, “but with the Bywater being such a destination now, we’re selling a lot more groceries, like beans and hot sauces in little gift baskets because they want to take them back to where they are staying or send them back home. Even though they did not grow up with wash day and soaking beans, they know the drill and they want to take Camellia red beans and a Barq’s with them.”

“No Wifi at Frady’s. Sit and talk.”

At its core, Frady’s One Stop is still an old-world type of neighborhood grocery store, but deep down it’s one of the best spots to grab a bite to eat in New Orleans. While a small portion of the menu changes daily, the list of the sixteen po-boys offered along with the selection of breakfast that is served all day remains a fixture, just like the sign that reads “No Wifi at Frady’s. Sit and Talk.” So take your red beans and rice to go, sit outside on one of the colorfully painted benches, enjoy the charming neighborhood and know that no matter how much the area changes around you, the folks at Frady’s know what it means to be New Orleanians.

Written by Eric Olsson

Instant Pot Southern Large Limas with Ham Hocks

An Instant Pot favorite with slow-cooked flavor, this recipe offers all the comforts of home.

Bourbon-Bacon Field Peas with Collards

Featuring both bourbon and bacon, this field peas dish will win over everyone with great taste. Be sure to serve it alongside fried chicken.

Simple Slow Cooker Blackeye Peas

Nothing’s more foolproof than this slow cooker blackeye peas recipe. No hands-on attention needed!

Mosquito Supper Club White Beans

This recipe and photo are excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Hailing from Chef Melissa Martin of the Mosquito Supper Club, this recipe celebrates authentic Cajun cuisine, just like her restaurant does.

Instant Pot New Orleans-Style White Beans

Another recipe to turn to when you’re short on time, this Instant Pot dish will taste like it simmered all day.

Zydeco Chop-Chop Red Beans & Rice

No fresh vegetables on hand? No problem. If you’ve got Zydeco Chop Chop, you’ve got great red beans & rice.

Instant Pot White Bean Chili

Fast, comforting, and delicious, this Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe warms the belly — whether it’s a weeknight or game day.

Dump and Go: Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

This recipe relies on pre-chopped trinity and your slow cooker to do all the work. Just dump it in and go!

Soup Beans

This Appalachian dish featuring pinto beans and bacon is simple and homey.

Simple Southern Lima Beans

If you love creamy butter beans, you’ll love this dish. But don’t forget the cornbread or biscuits.

Never mind moonshine – it’s potlikker that traditionally fueled the South, from the mountains of Appalachia to the tumbleweeds of Texas. Potlikker is the rich liquid left over in the pot after a long, slow simmering of greens (like collards, turnips or mustards) when seasoned with a bit of salty meat (like ham hock, smoked turkey wings or slab bacon). This leftover cooking liquid might seem like something to discard for those not in-the-know, but as it turns out, potlikker is divine, providing such a transcendent experience when soaked up by cornbread (or even sipped on its own) that you’ll quickly learn to savor it down to the last drop.

The original nutritious green drink?

Potlikker originated as a staple in the African American cuisine of the American South – a culinary tradition known worldwide as Soul Food. This nutrient-dense liquid was – and still is – used as a base for soups and other dishes. Simmering greens such as in this Potlikker and Blackeye Pea recipe for such a long time causes nutritive goodies like vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and a host of minerals to leach out into the cooking water, creating the kind of nurturing drink that should probably be bottled and marketed as a wellness elixir! And when the greens are simmered down with a few beans or field peas, it only adds to the flavor and the nutritive value.

The Great Potlikker and Cornpone Debate

But potlikker’s influence doesn’t just stop at the dinner table—oh, no. It’s played an outsized role in provoking strong feelings in Southern art, literature and politics over the years, creating plenty of interstate rivalries and public outcry over how best to eat the dish. Perhaps most notable is a 1931 squaring off between Atlanta Constitution editor Julian Harris and Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Harris crumbled his cornbread into the potlikker to eat with a spoon, while Long did the far less “fashionable” thing by dunking his handheld cornbread hunk into the juices. The entire South was thrown into a tizzy, but Long eventually got the last word on potlikker: In 1935, he included an explanation of all its merits as part of a long-winded filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor.

Bean Liquor vs. Potlikker

Similar to the debate over whether “real chili” contains beans or not, Southerners differ in their ideas of how to spell the word “potlikker” and what goes in it. While it’s well established that the broth from cooking beans is called “bean liquor” or “liquor” and that the word “potlikker” refers to the liquid from cooking greens, there are plenty of folks who throw field peas or beans in with their greens and still call the leftover liquid potlikker. Either way, home cooks and chefs alike are finding delicious new uses for potlikker these days, from cocktails (potlikker martini, anyone?), to potlikker vinaigrette for salads, to outside-the-box potlikker breakfast stews. And when beans and greens get together with plenty of potlikker? That’s the kind of second-and-third helping dish that’s warming down to the bones. In any case, don’t forget the cornbread!

Written by Sarah Baird, a writer and editor based in New Orleans. An award-winning former restaurant critic for the city’s alt-weekly and seasoned tippling enthusiast, her work appears regularly in print and online for Lucky Peach, Food52, AFAR, Pacific Standard, Saveur, The Atlantic, Eater, The Village Voice, PUNCH, The Guardian, GOOD, Liquor.com and beyond. 

Red Bean Essentials: Pickled Pork

Southerners love the richness that seasoning meats like pickled pork add to pot of red beans. Before refrigeration, preserving foods was a challenge, and every culture developed some version of pickling or preserving in a salty brine or vinegar. Herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, were often added. Pickled pork, a.k.a. pickle meat, was born of this process, providing seasoning while also preserving shelf life. And because it adds such unique flavor, the practice of including pickled pork is still beloved today – whether you’re cooking red beans or other iconic Southern dishes like butter beans or stewed vegetables.

Pickled pork is rendered supremely tender from its brine and can be relied upon to break down and saturate the other ingredients in the pot with its delicious flavors. So when you cook with it, you’ll want to hold off on adding salt before tasting the cooked beans — because the salt released from the pickle meat should be plenty to season the pot. It also adds a tang or vinegary taste that many fans love.

At most Louisiana grocery stores, pickled pork is readily available in hunks, smaller chunks, or slices from brands such as Richard’s and Savoie’s — both of which call themselves “Cajun” — and Vaucresson’s, which claims Creole as its heritage. No matter the brand, the aromatics and spices used in the brining process are all about the same. If pickle meat is unavailable where you are, you can buy it online, or easily make it yourself with a pork shoulder roast and seasonings.

Check out our recipe for Pickled Pork.

Try a few Red Beans & Rice recipes that feature pickled pork:

New Orleans-Style Red Beans & Rice

Barry Begault’s Slow Cooker Family Red Beans

See how some cooks use it alongside other ingredients to get the best-tasting red beans around:

“Andouille, diced pickled pork, garlic, Tony’s, and a really good blend of other seasonings.”
Liz X.

“Bacon grease-sauté onions-pickled pork, Tasso, little roux, ham base, low and slow till they cream, green onion tops at the end!”
Jimmy Y.

“Pickled meat, garlic, bay leaf, onions and let them simmer on top of the stove! Serve over rice with a little hot sauce, fried chicken, and fresh French bread!”
Daphine J.

“Soak and rinse them. Put them in the crockpot with some onions, garlic, celery, boiled pickled meat, kitchen bouquet, and brown gravy powder.”
Adia H.

“I use hickory smoked bacon! The grease from the bacon will make the beans creamy and flavorful!! But I can’t forget the smoke sausage, pickled meat, and ham hocks!!!”
David H.

An Old Tradition

Like so many delicious Southern culinary traditions, the use of ham hocks came about as a result of hard times. While the wealthy viewed knobby, gelatinous ham hocks as undesirable, laborers in the fields and cities gladly used the marrow-rich bones to flavor and enhance beans, greens and broths. Hocks were, and still are, cured with salt and smoked — serving to enhance flavor while preserving shelf life. And the beloved practice of including a ham hock in a pot of simmering red beans is a must for many today.

Inexpensive, Collagen-Rich, Meaty Flavor

Over the years, Southerners have come to a universal appreciation for the rich, porky flavor that ham hocks impart at a thrifty cost. In fact, cooking red beans with a ham hock truly offers multiple advantages. First off, ham hocks are collagen-rich, so when slow cooked with beans and liquid, the collagen and fat slowly dissolve, adding a silky texture along with rich, smoky flavor. Ham hocks also add a wonderful saltiness, so be sure to wait till your beans have finished cooking before adjusting salt to taste. Usually sold in pairs that are pre-weighed and wrapped near your grocery’s butcher case, ham hocks are inexpensive, allowing you to add meaty flavor to your beans for less. And finally, at the end of cooking, you’ll want to remove the ham hock, pull it apart, chop up the tasty little pockets of meat by the bone, and add that meat back to your red beans – because those wonderfully tasty bits will make your red beans even more delicious.

Here are some of our favorite red bean recipes that feature ham hocks:

Emily’s Red Beans and Rice

New Orleans-Style Red Beans & Rice

And check out quotes from those who wouldn’t think of cooking red beans without them:

“Smoked ham hocks and sausage, bell peppers, onions and garlic! Oh yeah!”
Aimee M.

“Boil the smoked ham hocks first to make a smoky broth, and use that broth for the beans.”
Southern L.

“A Chisesi ham hock and a healthy dose of Tabasco.”
Randy S.

“Soak overnight. Salt, garlic and a great big smoked ham hock. Bring to good boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are soft texture.”
Kathy F.

From Camellia Band Navy Beans and Great Northern Beans to Large Limas and more, our favorite white beans are buttery, delicious, and deserve their own day of the week. Whether you’re looking for easy Instant Pot recipes, slow simmering stovetop favorites, Cajun cuisine or something with Mexican flair, you’ll find a delicious round up of white beans here. So, let’s get cooking.   

Café Reconcile’s White Beans and Shrimp

Café Reconcile is a destination lunch spot for a lot of New Orleanians, and their famous White Beans and Shrimp dish is a local favorite.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

We can thank our friend Chef Jennifer Hill Booker for this delicious recipe. It’s from her cookbook Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent.

Creamy Bean and Collard Greens Soup

A quintessential comfort food, this Creamy Bean and Collard Greens Soup is full of Southern flavor.

Instant Pot Navy Beans

Featuring smoked sausage that’s browned right in the Instant Pot, this is a great weeknight recipe that offers big, savory flavor.

Instant Pot Southern Large Limas with Ham Hock

Lima Beans with Shrimp and Andouille

Simmering white beans with Andouille sausage brings amazing spices and seasonings to the pot, but adding fresh peeled shrimp in the last few minutes of cooking really takes this dish up a notch.

Frijoles Charros

South-Louisiana Style White Beans & Rice

Raised on her family’s farm in Mississippi and classically trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, Chef Jennifer Hill Booker puts an authentic, interesting twist on even the most humble pot of beans. And the recipes featured here from her cookbook Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent are a testament to her skill and ingenuity. Combining what at first glance might seem like two disparate types of cuisine — Southern and French — she has found a way to celebrate their similarities, by incorporating nose-to-tail cooking and using every part of the pig. Featuring such richness-producing cuts as hog jowls, ham bones, salt pork, and ham hocks, these savory recipes don’t let anything go to waste and are loaded with flavor. And with the addition of garlic, onion and dried red chili peppers, they create welcoming meals for family suppers and friendly get-togethers alike.

Butter Beans & Hog Jowls

Chef Booker notes that her delicious Butter Beans & Hog Jowls dish gets its richness from the bacon-like flavor but firmer texture of hog jowl. From the cheek area of the hog, hog jowl can be used fresh, cured or smoked and remains firm during long cook times. As she explains the Southern-French connection, “Beans and greens are a huge staple in Southern cuisine and cooked in much the same way here as they are in French cuisine. Whether the beans you use are fresh, frozen or dried, they are cooked the same way — by adding a liquid, a cured or smoked piece of meat for flavoring, and seasoning.” With Butter Beans & Hog Jowls, the broth becomes thicker the longer you simmer the beans, and the dish is even more heavenly when served with cornbread.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

Great Northern Beans & Ham is another of Booker’s favorites, and its wonderful flavor comes from the use of both a ham bone and diced ham. The marrow hidden inside a ham bone adds amazing richness to the dish and melts into silky goodness when slow-simmered. And the diced ham is a meaty addition that makes the meal hearty and comforting in every way. Serve with melty grilled cheese on sourdough for an irresistible combination.

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks is a dish that’s savory and satisfying, and the ham hock imparts marrow-rich flavor that enhances the beans. Chef Booker explains, “The longer you cook your pinto beans, the thicker the sauce or “gravy” will become. I find it best to cook them a day or two before you plan to serve them, and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat and serve. This guarantees a thick, rich pot of beans.” For a little color and freshness, garnish with chopped spring onions, or top with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped red onion and bits of bacon for even smokier flavor.

Field Peas & Snap Beans

Made with salt pork, Field Peas & Snap Beans epitomizes both down home goodness and Booker’s childhood experience. Like bacon, salt pork is made from pork bellies and adds great meaty flavor and luxurious fat — slowly rendering down as the peas cook. As for the addition of snap beans, Chef Booker notes: “It doesn’t matter if you start with fresh, frozen or dried field peas, they always turn a muddy color when they’re cooked. It made me realize that my grandmother always added snap beans (or string beans) to her pot of peas to provide a bright spot of color.” To round out the meal and feed a hungry crowd, try serving alongside a slew of toasted ham and cheese sliders.

For more recipes from Chef Booker, check out Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent. You’ll find more savory Southern dishes like Tomato and Okra Gravy, Glazed Turnips with Pearl Onions and Brown Butter, Fresh Pork Sausage, Hickory-Smoked Chicken Croquettes and Venison Stew.

Lady Cream Peas, Crowder Peas, and Field Peas

Some of our favorite Southern staples include three delicious varieties of peas that are treasured among those who know them, love them, and probably grew up eating them. Lady Cream Peas, Crowder Peas, and Field Peas are humble, endearing, and homespun. They’re also commonly known as “cowpeas” or “southern peas”. And with one simple recipe that can be personalized to your liking, they’ll simmer into a delightful pot of creamy goodness to be enjoyed alone or alongside other Deep South delights.

If you’re not familiar with these peas, here’s a bit of backstory. Despite their names, none of these varieties is actually a pea. These beans were brought to the New World from Africa and became part of the Southern diet beginning in the 1600s. Cowpeas are commonly grown in the South since they are adaptable, heat-tolerant, and drought-resistant.

Cook up any of these three pea varieties, and the result will be a perfect comfort food dish for rounding out your favorite Southern meal. What you’ll find here is one simple, original recipe from the Hayward family (owners of Camellia beans), that was personalized and named for the particular pea varieties and the family members who loved them. (Our Lil’ Auntie loved lady cream peas, Patricia favored field peas, and Clayton had to cook up crowder peas!) The recipe is easy to follow and brings out the flavors of each of the three different peas; simply personalize the pot based on the pea variety and seasoning meat you choose. You can also make these peas vegetarian by using olive oil or vegetable oil. Otherwise, the basic recipe features butter or oil, diced onion, mashed garlic, a generous mixture of dried herbs that’s often called a bouquet garni, as well as salt and pepper. These Hayward family favorites are still served today at get-togethers and holidays!

Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas

Here, Lil’ Auntie’s Lady Cream Peas are simmered with a hearty ham shank for meaty flavor, then combined with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings, and cooked till tender. With a sweet flavor, creamy texture, and clear pot liquor, Lady Cream Peas are lovely served over rice, and this dish pairs well with other Southern pleasures like smothered okra and homemade cornbread.

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas

Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas are cooked here with smoked sausage for wonderfully savory flavor — and then, just like the lady cream peas — mixed with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings, and simmered till soft. Ideal in soul food dishes, field peas are similar in flavor and texture to blackeye peas — in other words, they’ve got a distinctive, delicate flavor all their own. And when served over rice, alongside creamy mac ‘n cheese and a loaf of crusty French bread, Patricia’s Perfect Field Peas are irresistible.

Clayton’s Crowder Peas

For a different kind of smoky flavor, we cooked Clayton’s Crowder Peas with smoked turkey legs and then simmered them till tender with the sautéed vegetables and seasonings. The crowder pea variety gets its name from the way its peas crowd themselves in the pod; it has a rich, hearty flavor and creates a dark pot liquor when cooked. Serve these beauties smothered over rice, alongside fried chicken and biscuits, and your family and friends will be in heaven.

Pick your pea, and get cooking. Or try all three, and see which one you prefer. They’re all delicious Southern staples that deserve their rightful place at the table.

Perfect Southern Peas

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-pound) package Camellia Brand Crowder Peas, Lady Cream Peas, or Field Peas
• 1/2 pound seasoning meat or 1/4 pound butter
• 10 cups water
• 1 teaspoon butter or olive oil (optional)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 toe garlic, pressed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons your favorite dried garden herbs or Camellia’s suggested Dry Herb Blend
• Salt
• Coarse ground pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse and sort peas.
2. Cover peas with water, add seasoning meat or butter, and simmer about 1 hour.
3. Sauté onion and garlic in butter or olive oil, add to pot with remaining ingredients, and  cook 1/2 hour or until soft.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.

Say hello to Jennifer Hill Booker – Le Cordon Bleu-certified chef, cookbook author, reality TV personality, culinary educator, business owner and GA Grown Executive Chef for the GA Department of Tourism and Travel. She discovered her passion for food early in life; as a little girl cooking beside her mother, grandmother and aunts, she learned that through food she could touch people’s hearts and bring smiles of happiness.

Weaving her love of traditional Southern cuisine with her belief in incorporating healthy, seasonal foods and her classic French training, Jennifer created a unique style of cooking that she calls Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent. Her first cookbook, Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent  (Pelican Publishing, 2014) includes deeply flavorful bean dishes made with different cuts of pork, and Camellia brand is excited to feature these traditional favorites.

Her second cookbook, Dinner Deja Vu: Southern Tonight, French Tomorrow, was launched in February 2017. This cookbook looks at a creative way to save time cooking by offering two recipes for a dish made with the same ingredients. Leftovers were never so delicious! Stay tuned for featured recipes from this cookbook coming soon to Camelliabrand.com.

In addition to developing recipes, Jennifer teaches culinary arts, presents live cooking demonstrations, speaks at events and engages with her followers. Competing on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen with host Chef Alton Brown, Jennifer demonstrated her creativity and tenacity to the Food TV world when she made it to the final round. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

She spends her free time in her kitchen, garden, or the local farmer’s market. She currently lives in Lilburn, Georgia with her two daughters Jenelle and Regine, along with their KorgieJack, Pudge.

Taking steps to truly eat well can be easier and tastier than you might think. And with a little ingenuity, you can enjoy a healthier take on your favorite southern meals. They key is being creative and mindful of the things you can do to use healthier cooking methods, increase nutrition, and take advantage of the amazing health benefits of dried beans, peas and lentils. This is one southern meal that lets you savor what you love, while treating your body right: Golden Sautéed Catfish, Warm Wild Greens Salad with Pecan Dressing and Crowder Peas with Okra.

While fried foods and pork products can be oh so tasty in a lot of our favorite recipes, occasionally replacing them with other flavor-enhancing tricks can help you cook healthier dishes that still taste delicious.

Golden Sautéed Catfish

For example, while a fish fry is great for an occasional weekend treat, it’s a good idea to enjoy your fish sautéed during the week. These filets are brushed with olive oil, coated with Creole seasoning that provides a punch, and cooked in one tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet — for great flavor and a nicely browned exterior. Lemon wedges squeezed over the finished dish bring out the brightness. Golden Sautéed Catfish is fast, easy and full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. And you can easily substitute snapper, flounder or tilapia for the catfish.

Warm Wild Green Salad with Pecan Dressing

Cooking greens down with bacon and ham is a beloved tradition, but you can also enjoy greens (turnip, mustard and collard) barely wilted and tossed in a warm dressing of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and chopped pecans. Chock full of sweet, crunchy flavor, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this Warm Wild Greens Salad with Pecan Dressing is a wonderful way to eat your greens and feel good about every bite.

Crowder Peas and Okra

As you might already know, dried beans, peas and lentils have high amounts of fiber, iron, protein and nutrients that work to protect your body from free radicals and aging. With our Crowder Peas and Okra, cooked simply in a mixture of aromatic vegetables, broth and seasonings — you end up with a great-tasting, vegetarian dish that lets you reap all the health benefits that the peas naturally offer. Try these additional tips for adding meatless flavor to vegetarian beans.

Yes, you can enjoy your favorite southern dishes and still be good to yourself. And this complete meal is a wonderful place to start.