Soul Food

You might not have known that June is National Soul Food Month. Common mistake. Most of you didn't know that today was National Rocky Road Ice Cream Day, either. (I accidentally jumped the gun and made Rocky Road on Monday instead. Then I made another batch Wednesday with pecans instead of almonds. Totally different flavor.) I am a person willing to celebrate for almost any reason, so I am geared up for Soul Food Month.

Even though I was there in May, not June, we're going to say that my Natchitoches trip kick started my celebration. I tried the famous Natchitoches Meat Pies, along with Chicken & Alligator Sausage Gumbo. Matt was nice enough to give me a cookbook, Cane River Cuisine, that has some recipes I plan to try now that I'm back from the plantation. We had a fun time laughing at the recipes for various molded salads and "Sally's Armadillo Something or Other...Armadillo is cleaned similarly to turtle." Of course it is!

On tomorrow's Sunday dinner menu: Natchitoches Meat Pies, Beans & Rice, and something for dessert. Usually when I plan a menu, I choose a dessert to make first, but I'm not sure what would be great with those courses. I could do a Cajun favorite like Bread Pudding or Beignets, but I think I'm going to try a Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe that Matt said was fabulous.

I was scouring the cookbook and the Net for a good Red Beans and Rice recipe, but I might just make Alton Brown's Once and Future Beans. Recipe reviewer Thomas from Alpharetta, Georgia wrote, "I've looked high and low for a great baked bean recipe, and this one is the best I found." Spoken like a true Georgian. Anything cooked with a pound of bacon would taste pretty good to me. Those beans are the reason I invested in a dutch oven.

And now a little Foodie for Dummies before signing off. Check restaurant menus and advertisements carefully for misspellings. Don't ever catch yourself eating "Chili Rellenos" or "Chile Reanos" or anything with a name beginning with "Mc."