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Content about Black Beans

Some pasilla chiles and avocado leaves make all the difference.
If you happened to stumble across the recipe for “Seasoned Black Beans” in Diana Kennedy’s Oaxaca al Gusto there wouldn’t be much to immediately keep you from turning the page. Dont get me wrong, it is housed in a beautiful book, it is just that besides the boring name and lack of picture, this is all Kennedy says in the headnote: “This fried bean paste is used for filling tamales, for tetelas, or to...
Our weekly roundup of what the two of us have written over on Serious Eats. "Dinner Tonight" Column QUICK MEALS TO YOUR TABLE FIVE DAYS A WEEK. Arepa Sandwiches with Chorizo and Black Beans These traditional central American snacks are sliced in half and turned into a filling sandwich. Asparagus Soup with Egg on Toast This silky soup is perfect for the first asparagus of the season. Soy-Dijon Chicken Wings The...
Insight into perfecting 90 minute, no-soak beans and homemade bratwursts.
It's been a delicious week.  I've been doling out my homemade bratwurst to close friends and making batches of 90 Minute, No-Soak beans just because I can.  I know some people had some questions about both of these posts, and this week has given me a few more insights to both processes which hopefully will answer some of them.  Also, Michael Ruhlman wanted to see my amateurish spreadsheet I created to find a bratwurst...
This whole site was started when we were fresh from college and cooking together recklessly.   Since our lives have changed--moving in with girlfriends, marriage, and new cities (and boroughs)--we don't always get to indulge in those old times.  But with Blake in Chicago visiting this past week, it was like we were back at York Avenue in that tiny little apartment.  From absurdly fatty hamburgers to restaurants in Chicago (...
May 5, 2008
This weekend for brunch we made some huevos rancheros from start to finish.  The day before, we cooked a pound of the inimitable Rancho Gordo midnight black bean according to the instructions given by Rick Bayless: in a dutch oven, cook them with about 8 cups of water, two tablespoons of lard (or bacon drippings, or vegetable oil) and a chopped onion--bring to a boil, then simmer as low as possible until tender, salting in the last...
Ah, the avocado.  I'm not sure where it can't be used--sandwiches, tacos, burritos, soups, or salads.  The last, particularly, has been of interest lately, as it adds some healthy heftiness (is that a real thing?) to any otherwise wimpy salad.  But not content to merely place it in my salads, I wondered what it might be like on it. But I was worried it might go too far.  When it comes to the salads, nothing ruins more than a...
First off, a language lesson: refried beans are not fried twice.  It's understandable that most people, myself included until I started writing this, assume a literal translation of the word "refried" and, employing razor-sharp detective skills, deduce that the beans are fried, let rest, and then fried again. But the word refried is actually an approximation of the Spanish word refrito, meaning "over-fried."  The prefix re- in Spanish is a...