The Famous Rice Dressing

I want to dedicate this post to every person who said their favorite part of my book was the Thanksgiving chapter in The Secret About Time, and my parents, who also loved the Thanksgiving chapter.

In it, Caitlyn is invited to Thanksgiving with Austin's family, where she and the audience both realize how much of a fish out of water she is. All of us can relate to at some point feeling awkward and uncomfortable while sitting on a folding chair at a strange dinner table. Still, hopefully, you have been fortunate enough to escape the humiliating experience of bringing a dish that gives your host hives.

What you may not realize is that this whole scene is inspired by actual events. My dad is from Massachusetts, and my mom is Cajun. The first time he came to my grandparent's house for dinner, the chili was so hot and peppered (it's never called spicy in South Louisiana- It's peppered) that my dad turned beat red, started sweating profusely, and yes, actually broke out in hives.

That's not the only scene inspired by my parents. In fact, you could make a case this whole book in a way is based on a version of my parents. See, my parents are opposites, and if you're wondering how a relationship works with two individuals from two very different cultures, well, let’s just say you're not the only one. Growing up was filled with contradictions. A bubbly Cajun mom and an old salt Cape Codder dad, traveling to two sets of grandparents in two different states, gumbo vs. chowdah, po boys vs. lobstah rolls, bayous vs. cranberry bogs, Saints vs. Patriots, accordions vs. bagpipes, Mardi Gras vs. Shrove Tuesday, the list goes on. There are some overlaps. Both involved a lot of seafood and a lot of time on the water, two things I adore.

While the chapter is not a direct copy of the unfortunate events from my parent's early years, it's close. Caitlyn brings a Cajun dish called rice dressing that goes over well until Austin's dad breaks out from the pepper.

I regret not putting this recipe in the original book, but I'm going to add it when I relaunch it with the sequel in June. That doesn't help every one of you lovely people who already bought a copy, so here ya go! Straight from my family's cookbook because I love all y'all.

The original recipe in my great grandmother’s hand. I love how she said, “Please excuse my writing spelling.”

Grandma Dunand's Rice Dressing

adapted from my great grandmother, Mo Mo's original recipe. My grandma dictated this recipe to my Aunt, who included it in a family cookbook.

Ingredients:

5 packages of fresh gizzards (approximately 5 lbs)

6 yellow onions

4 bell peppers

1 celery stalk

1 lb mixed ground meat (60% pork, 40% beef)

Cooking oil

1 to 2 cups of water

8 cups of cooked rice

onion tops

Kitchen Bouquet

parsley

Salt and pepper*

*pepper in South Louisiana is typically cayenne instead of black pepper

Directions:

Clean each gizzard (peel off the fat and the other stuff). Grind the gizzards like ground meat. In large magnalite (or heavy-bottomed pot with lid), add cooking oil. Brown gizzards and ground meat. Once browned, add all veggies. (The more veggies, the better... Mrs. Dunand taught that!) Add approximately 1-2 cups of water. Add salt and pepper. If not brown enough, add kitchen bouquet. Cover and cook on low to medium heat for a good while. Make sure a little water is always in the pot ( needs to be most to add rice). Add cooked rice. Turn off fire. Add a lot of onion tops and parsley. Cover again and let the onions and parsley steam up.

There you have it! If you're having a hard time imagining what this dish will be like, consider this is one thousand times better than Popeye's dirty rice.

From my family to yours Happy Thanksgiving and bon appetit!

Kathryn

Got a recipe to share? Leave me a comment below!