Viva las simple pleasures

[Nurian]

Today, I worked to get some things done and when I sat down at the end, I realized it was lunchtime. I didn't want anything huge, so I decided to make something I've always loved.

I made beanies and weenies.

All I had were black beans so I added half a rasher of streaky bacon and let those cook. I then added ketchup and heaping handfuls of dark brown sugar. Lastly, I cut up two hotdogs and threw them in. I let those cook for about 15 mins, stirring every now and again.

My efforts paid off. I'm playing WoW, watching cartoons (Simpsons) and eating beanies and weenies. Somewhere, the nine year old in me is having a ball.

[TelephoneAngel]

I want to ask about the sugar. I read lots of recipes where they ask for sugar to be added to savoury items
(eg to a tomato sauce for pasta) and I never add it.What does it do to a dish?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I want to ask about the sugar. I read lots of recipes where they ask for sugar to be added to savoury items
(eg to a tomato sauce for pasta) and I never add it.What does it do to a dish?

It completely and totally fucks it up.

Adding sugar to tomato gravy is rampant down here. Nobody knows how to make tomato gravy down here. They ALWAYS fuck it up by adding sugar, and then tell me "Oh, you have to taste my tomato sauce." Because I'm the token Italian down here, so every damn body has to bounce their ruined tomato meat sauce (which I hate to start out with) off me.

Gaaaagh.

Tomatos are sweet. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to add sugar to them.

[lupo pazzesco]

The idea is that by adding sugar, you cut back on the acid in the tomatoes. Which, as Kinkoid said, simply fucks them up. I find that if you want a tomato sauce to be less acidic, start with better tomatoes! also, if you use the right balance of herbs, it enhances the flavor of tomato sauce and you don't taste the acidity of tomatoes. Of course, all this is made unnecessary if you use fresh tomatoes, becuase they really don't have that much acid to begin with, I don't think.

[Nurian]

It's not the sugar itself, though it helps. It's the molasses in the sugar. And remember, I used ketchup, not true tomato sauce, so the sugar helps cut some of the bitterness of the vinegar in the ketchup.

[zombiequeen]

I think it sounds really good.
I made a pulled-chicken sandwich today.
Took half a piece of chicken breast (that was in coca cola barbecued chicken and beans! Numminess!) and pulled it apart with a fork and knife. Added a spoonful of barbecue sauce, microwaved, and put on bread. Simple but unbelievably yummy.
I love leftover cooking experiments.

[Food Lady]

I absolutely love sweet-savoury dishes. I think it's a symptom of being American, having one parent from the south and one from the midwest.

[AdminAssistant]

I absolutely love sweet-savoury dishes. I think it's a symptom of being American, having one parent from the south and one from the midwest.

Yeah. I add a bit of sugar to my chili because that's how Mom makes it. Tastes good to me.

On the other hand, sugar has no business being in cornbread. None.

[telecom_goddess]

I sometimes add honey to tomato sauce...not often. No sugar though that's a new one on me.

One of my favorite things is mac and cheese (out of the box) and baked beans...not mixed up together but side by side...although I end up eating them together. YUM.

[TelephoneAngel]

It completely and totally fucks it up.

Adding sugar to tomato gravy is rampant down here. Nobody knows how to make tomato gravy down here. They ALWAYS fuck it up by adding sugar, and then tell me "Oh, you have to taste my tomato sauce." Because I'm the token Italian down here, so every damn body has to bounce their ruined tomato meat sauce (which I hate to start out with) off me.

Gaaaagh.

Tomatos are sweet. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to add sugar to them.

That was my whole thought as well, but I take the point about the vinegary ketchup.

[Food Lady]

Yeah. I add a bit of sugar to my chili because that's how Mom makes it. Tastes good to me. On the other hand, sugar has no business being in cornbread. None.

I was nodding in agreement until I read the cornbread comment. I've had non-sweet cornbread and it was yucky. To each her own....

[AdminAssistant]

I've had non-sweet cornbread and it was yucky. To each her own....

If you grew up on only those sweet corn muffin things they call cornbread in the north, then you probably wouldn't like the real stuff. But Mom's homemade cornbread with a bit of milk gravy is amazing.

[Magpie]

Hold on a sec. I'll accept that you don't need to add the sugar to cornbread. But I don't understand how 3 tablespoons (or less) in three cups of grain can make a significant difference in how sweet cornbread is. Can I get a recommendation for a good Southern-style cornbread recipe, just to compare? (I'm one of the people who puts kernels of corn in her cornbread, just think of the coup if you convert me )

[zombiequeen]

See, we buy the mix cornbread here, and it's tasty. My grandma (from Texas) made from-scratch cornbread a few years ago, it was so nasty...maybe she got the recipe wrong? I mean even the texture was not good.

My mum puts cocoa in her chili.

[AdminAssistant]

Can I get a recommendation for a good Southern-style cornbread recipe, just to compare? (I'm one of the people who puts kernels of corn in her cornbread, just think of the coup if you convert me )

Mom doesn't really have a recipe, but I'll try to remember how she makes it. She starts heating up a cast-iron skillet with some bacon fat. In a bowl she mixes corn meal with buttermilk....I don't think she puts an egg in but I'm not sure. And some salt. When the bacon fat is nice and hot she whirls it around the skillet, then dumps the excess into the cornmeal batter. The batter then goes back into the skillet, and it goes into the oven. It gets a nice crunchy crust.

That's it. No jalapeños. No corn kernels. No extra flavorings or sugar to make it tolerable for people who don't really like cornbread. Just plain simple tastiness.