Chef H-Train, Coming At Ya!

This week, I made feijoada. I got the recipe from my friend, RCH, who got the recipe from someone else (the story is a bit fuzzy to my memory...it may have something to do with a return missionary).

For those who don't know of this dish, it's a simple dish that hails from South America. Brazil claims it as their national dish. You take different kinds of pork: bacon, smoked sausage, pork tenderloin, etc, and cook it in a pot. Traditional preparation calls for a clay pot, but I don't have a clay pot, and my metal pots have yet to fail me...so suck it, feijoada purists.

You cook it in a pot, add black beans, some bay leaves, and I like to add some garlic because I like garlic. There are variations as to the seasonings added, so I guess it's more about personal preference. Some people add chili peppers, some add onions. ~shudder~

You serve it with rice.

Bottom line = tasty.

I had Mom and Mr. Recommendation over for dinner. Mom reveals to me that Mr. Recommendation doesn't like black beans. I tell him to pick the beans out. He tries the dish, beans and all, and decides that in this case, black beans aren't so bad. It just goes to show two things:

- I am a bitchin' cook.
- Bacon makes everything better.

Before I made this, Mom and I went to the store because I needed beans. I cheat and use the canned stuff. I don't have patience for raw beans. As I was grabbing multiple cans of beans, an elderly gentleman stopped and asked me how I cook the beans.

So, I explained the recipe for feijoada. Different types of pork, plus beans, plus seasonings. The guy got stuck on the pork. He pointed to his cart where sat an industrial sized package of pork chops. I said while that was good, you should add some other different types of pork (or beef). I don't claim to be an authority of feijoada, but I do know about my personal experiences with the recipe, what worked and what fell flat.

He kept referring to his ginormous box-o-chops. He didn't want to add anything else. Not even bacon. FOR GODSAKES, AT LEAST ADD THE BACON!!

After thanking me (his mind made up about using only 50lbs of pork chops and no bacon), we went our separate ways. I leaned in to Mom.

"That guy is going to go home and fuck up the recipe and blame me for it."

Oh well.

I made tons of the stuff. So, guess what I will be taking to work for lunch...all weekend long.

In conclusion, if you are looking for something new and exciting to serve for dinner, make this dish. It will be a tasty hit, and you can can feel good knowing you are proficient at making exotic, ethnic food.

(Yes, I know this is a boring post. But life is boring right now. Be patient, I should be getting crapped on shortly.)