How Do You Red Bean, Genet Hogan?
Genet Hogan was raised on a roux. The native New Orleanian now lives in Northern Georgia with her husband and three children. However, she is keeping that New Orleans heritage alive by passing on the traditions even though they are over 500 miles away.
She’s also passing on the culinary tradition of her family with her successful blog, RAISED ON A ROUX, where there are hundreds of recipes from the traditional New Orleans meals, Crawfish Mac ‘n’ Cheese, to Grill Ranch Chicken, Loaded Baked Potato Salad, along with tips for making a roux and a popular Finger Food Friday series. With the blog, she’s able to honor her “ancestors by preparing their recipes and passing them on,” along with sharing the fact that “no matter where you are, you can be a New Orleanian.” And that passion and wisdom shines through in her blog.
As the blog grew, Genet wanted to expand more on the unique customs of New Orleans that has made it one of the top destinations in the world. She started RAISED ON A ROUX the magazine to celebrate the Crescent City. The magazine, which is available on iTunes and for Android devices, is dedicated to family recipes, food traditions and life lessons from her New Orleans family. It’s a deeper look into her New Orleans kitchen – the place where you “share yourself with others by inviting them to your table for a home-cooked meal.”
I asked the popular food blogger, Genet Hogan, “How Do You Red Bean?”
1. Where’s your favorite place to order red beans and rice?
My favorite place to order Red Beans and Rice is at Popeye’s (the fast food fried chicken and biscuit franchise that began in New Orleans). They make the creamiest beans in town. No trip home is complete without hitting the Popeye’s drive-through at least once.
2. Do you put any unique ingredients in your pot of red beans? Do you prefer dried or canned beans?
I will not make a pot of red beans without Camellia Brand dried red kidney beans, the Holy Trinity (the Creole mirepoix of chopped onions, celery and green bell peppers) and pickle meat (brined pork shoulder also known as pickled pork). I also always throw in some type of smoked pork sausage. And let me share a little bit of dried red bean wisdom with you. My maternal grandmother believed, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the lighter (pinker) the beans the creamier the pot. So I always rummage through the store shelves and pick out the pinkest pounds of Camellia red beans I can find.
3. What do you eat with red beans and rice?
All that’s needed to round out my Red Beans and Rice meal is plenty of buttered French bread (for wiping the plate clean) and a few hits of Louisiana Hot Sauce.
4. Do you only eat red beans and rice on traditional Mondays or any day of the week?
I used to hold firm to the Monday tradition. But since moving to Atlanta, I cook and eat Red Beans and Rice whenever I long for the comforts of home.
5. What are you currently working on?
Right now, I’m working on moving my family back to New Orleans. My husband and I were trying to make that happen before this current school year began, but our timeframe was a bit too ambitious. So now we’re setting our sights on the summer of 2015, which will mark 20 years away from home–way too long!
In the meantime, I’ll be expanding the “Lagniappe” section of my website to include a running list of my favorite places to eat, drink and be merry. I’m also in the process of publishing another edition of Raised on a Roux, the Magazine, a fun extension of my website that’s available on the Apple newsstand for iPad, iPhone and Android users.
Stop by RaisedOnARoux.com and follow Genet’s wonderful blog. You can also find her on Twitter @raisedonaroux, Facebook, and in the iTunes Newsstand Store with her magazine.
