family dish assignment...now I'm hungry =(

The Beans of Sunday Supper
Justin Royal

Nutritionally, beans of any variety have been acclaimed praised as great sources of fiber, protein, antioxidants, iron, and a variety of vitamins. Dry beans are cheap and store well, and can be easily prepared with little skill (if need be).
Probably not by chance, I’ve never heard a member of my family glorify my grandmother’s “Sunday supper white beans” for their nutritional content. Like many other Southern chefs, she has succeeded in the art of transforming relatively healthy foods, from chicken to okra to sweet potatoes, into not-so-good-for-you but oh-so-delicious creations such as fried chicken, fried okra, and sweet potato casserole. Her white beans are no exception: while their method of preparation may be the subject of nutritionists’ nightmares, the time-honored tradition of consuming them every Sunday will likely continue until the next (or first?) Great Bean Famine.
Sundays in my family have always been synonymous with eating. Actually, every day in my family is usually synonymous with eating, but especially Sundays. Because of my family’s increasingly hectic schedule, Sunday has always been set aside for visiting with (and of course, eating with) each other. Regardless of the previous night’s activities, the aroma wafting from my grandmother’s kitchen on Sunday mornings has long been a more reliable means of waking me up than any alarm clock. The whole family stumbles into her kitchen in half-awake states (from just waking up), and leaves in a similar fashion (from being in food comas). A typical Sunday breakfast consists of homemade biscuits with sausage and country gravy, homemade cinnamon rolls with icing so creamy and gooey that each person should receive a moist towelette along with their plate, fluffy buttermilk pancakes soaked in melted butter and pure maple syrup, fried eggs, grits with grape jelly (gotta get those 5 fruits a day somehow), and most importantly, country ham. “Country” ham refers to the fact that it is cured in more salt than a normal person consumes in one calendar year, and seems to have triple the fat content of other types of ham I’ve seen at the grocery store.
Eating country ham is especially crucial on Sunday mornings: it is the key ingredient in Grandma’s famed white beans that we eat on Sunday nights. Shockingly, my family actually doesn’t consume all of the country ham that she fixes for Sunday breakfast. The night before serving us breakfast, she begins “soaking” her white beans for later that day. After breakfast, the leftover country ham is cooked just until part of the fat renders. The soaking beans are then transferred to a “crock pot” and cooked along with the ham hock for about 3-4 hours, and the fat that has been drained from the partially-cooked ham. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “crock pot” is a cooking appliance that uses low amounts of heat to cook things over longer periods of time.
Unfortunately, I’m not able to provide the exact recipe for these beans. While the basic ingredients and methods used can be more or less guessed, the exact timing, special combination of spices, and precise measurements remain a mystery. Although her cooking isn’t the ONLY reason why my family loves going to her house, she’s afraid that sharing the recipe with any average Joe will detract from the magical experience of eating at her house. I’ve scoured the internet for a recipe that sounds somewhat similar to how I imagine hers, and I’ve included what seems to be the best bet.


1 lb dried navy beans

6 cups cold water, for soaking

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped well

1 carrot, chopped well

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups cold water, for cooking

1 bay leaf

1 meaty ham bone, from baked ham

salt and pepper
1. Wash and pick over the beans.
2. Place in a large stockpot and cover with the soaking water.
3. Let stand overnight.
4. (you can speed this up by using your crock pot on high and watch the water. It takes around 3 hours) Drain the beans, rinse and drain again.
5. Heat the oil in the pot over medium high.
6. Add the onions, carrot and garlic.
7. Cook, stirring often until the onions are tender, around 3 or 4 minutes.
8. Add the beans, cooking water and the bay leaf.
9. Slowly bring to a full boil.
10. Reduce the heat to a simer, cover and cook for 1 hour.
11. Add the ham bone to the pot.
12. Re-cover and simmer 2 hours longer-watch the water level.
13. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
14. Remove the ham bone and cut away the meat.
15. Chop into bite sized pieces and return to the pot.
16. Add salt and pepper to taste.
17. Serve with corn bread.
While the last step in this recipe may seem extraneous to novices, it is perhaps the most crucial. Nothing acts as a better accompaniment to white beans than beautiful, golden corn bread served fresh out of Grandma’s ancient cast-iron skillet. TRUE corn bread is always made in a cast-iron skillet that’s been well-greased and aged over time. This particular skillet has been in our family for at least 50 years, and while the utensil itself is not a particularly beautiful sight to behold, I’ve never heard a single complaint (from family or friend alike) about the corn bread it produces.
Of course, beans and corn bread aren’t enough to satiate my family’s appetite, and a typical Sunday supper spread would also include chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, macaroni n’ cheese, fried apples, and just about anything else that’s been featured on Paula Deen’s show. However, the white beans have become particularly meaningful, since they require the most preparation and rely on our eating country ham in the morning to yield the final creation at supper. Over the years, I’ve realized that making us fall in love with this dish has helped Grandma ensure that she’ll be able to feed us twice in the same day.We’ve all heard the expression that beans are a ‘magical fruit.’ In my family, my Grandma’s white beans really are magical (just not for the stereotypical reason you’re probably thinking of).