Yellow Eye Bean Salad

So, do you guys remember that bean salad my mom made back in July? And how I said I was going to make it "soon"? Ooooh, hee hee heee! Right. It's been nearly 5 months, but I did! I made it! Hugh and I hosted a baby shower on Monday so I took the day off (naughty Bruno, very bad) and cooked... for like 8 hours. It was excellent.

Seriously though, I was happy to have an excuse to revisit the recipe. It's based on a recipe by BAM! himself, though he calls for black eyed peas. Instead, I used Rancho Gordo yellow eyes.

It's pretty straightforward: cook the beans, chop the veggies, add the dressing & seasoning and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. If you're in Boston and you have a fridge full of beer, you could also put it on your back deck because IT'S ONLY 30 DEGREES. You know, if you want. Just a suggestion. You should give it a stir every hour or so, too.

Take it out an hour before you want to eat it, stir again, and put it in the pretty bowl you thought you lost. I would caution that you should use good beans here, since they are the star of the show, but if you use canned... well, I won't tell.

PS - there's bacon. Did I mention that?

Yellow Eye Bean Salad
adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 lb dried beans of your choice, soaked for a few hours, cooked and cooled or three 15 oz cans
4-5 slices of bacon, crisp cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, chopped fine
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (leave a few seeds if you want more heat)
1/4 cup parsley, leaves only, chopped
2 small or 1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp creole seasoning (see below)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate (or porch-erate) 3-4 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Let sit at room temp for 45 minutes before serving.

Serves many.

For DIY creole seasoning, combine the following thoroughly and store in an airtight container:

2.5 parts paprika
2 parts salt
2 parts garlic powder
1 part dried oregano
1 part black pepper
1 part dried thyme
1 part cayenne pepper
1 part onion powder