Another year of sports has come and (luckily) gone. That means it's time for everyone's least favorite summertime RCR series: Red Cup Cooks! Only two cup writers are in the same city now, but we've gotten together with a couple of other faithful readers to bring back the series. We were without our fancy camera this time, but Smeargle (who likes Pokemon and is over the age of 12) has a nifty iPhone.

In this installment, we cooked the traditional Spanish dish of Paella. Yes. It was expensive.

Paella

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If this doesn't look delicious to you, then you're broken.

While I'm sure we've all heard the term, I don't think that many of us can actually define "Creole," especially as it relates to cuisine. While much enjoyed by people in and around New Orleans - as well as the Deep South in general - the defining characteristics of creole cuisine are hard to peg.

It's spicy. It's savory. It's nuanced yet simple. It relies heavily on both pork and seafood. Its chief grain is rice, but it never shies away from a good baguette. It utilizes old world techniques and terminology, while bringing the best out of new world ingredients. It's French. It's Spanish. It's Caribbean. It's African. It's Native American. And it's all so much more than that. 

It's the result of several centuries worth of so many varied, vibrant cultures crossing paths a few hundred years ago at the mouth of the Mississippi, and it's delicious.

Perhaps no dish embodies this uniquely American mishmash of cultures better than that of red beans and rice. It is simple, ubiquitous, outstandingly delicious, and can literally trace its ingredients' respective histories all across the globe. Today, I'mma learn you how to throw together some red beans and rice. This is my way to do it, and you're welcome to find your own, but I guarantee that, so long as proper methods and quality ingredients are used, you can never go wrong with a hearty bowl of this stuff. 

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Another year of sports has come and (luckily) gone. That means it's time for everyone's least favorite summertime RCR series: Red Cup Cooks! Only two cup writers are in the same city now, but we've gotten together with a couple of other faithful readers to bring back the series. One of them has a fancy camera. Perhaps some of your fears from last year will be relieved.

In the first installment, we decided to go with an Iron-Chef-style common ingredient of bacon. Hope you enjoy.

Bacon-wrapped Durkee Green Beans, Bacon Pimento Cheese, Candied Bacon Old Fashioned, and Bacon-wrapped Pork Medallions.

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One of the sobering realities of post-college life is that your friends, once concentrated within reasonable geographic boundaries, tend to disperse themselves all over the damned place, forcing you to once again establish new ties in a new hometown, making friends by testing your awkward and/or inappropriate jokes out on crowds of relative strangers. The Red Cup crew certainly suffered this fate for a while, but for now at least, three of us live within one city's limits. To tide us over during the Rebels' non-sports season, Ivory Tower, JUCO, and I have decided to take advantage of our close proximity to write about culinary delights.

Last week, Mrs. JUCO made gourmet macaroni & cheese, Whiskey made stuffed strawberries, JUCO made mint juleps, and I made chicken & dumplings.

As a child, I loved when my parents would take me to Morrisson's Cafeteria, one of those places where you pass through a school lunchroom style line and pile "home cooking" items on top of a pentagonal plastic tray.  Any child's favorite part of this excursion was the loose definition of "vegetable."  Unlike the kind of "home cooking" that was actually cooked in my home, when we went to Morrison's I could load down on comfort food, eating a whole meal without taking one bite of anything that had grown out of the ground ... unless, of course, I wanted french fries.  And the only green in sight would be the envious faces of children with forward-looking parents who made them begrudgingly eat some produce at this cornucopia of proteins, carbs, and dairy products.

It's no coincidence, then, that a day or so after this edition of Cooks, I found myself acknowledging that I had to watch my calorie intake a little more closely.  You're looking too thin, baby; we gone fatten you up after the jump.

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One of the sobering realities of post-college life is that your friends, once concentrated within reasonable geographic boundaries, tend to disperse themselves all over the damned place, forcing you to once again establish new ties in a new hometown, making friends by testing your awkward and/or inappropriate jokes out on crowds of relative strangers. The Red Cup crew certainly suffered this fate for a while, but for now at least, three of us live within one city's limits. To tide us over during the Rebels' non-sports season, Ivory Tower, JUCO, and I have decided to take advantage of our close proximity to write about culinary delights.

This week (last week, I know), JUCO made meatloaf, Mrs. JUCO made corn casserole, and I made bloody marys.

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One of the sobering realities of post-college life is that your friends, once concentrated within reasonable geographic boundaries, tend to disperse themselves all over the damned place, forcing you to once again establish new ties in a new hometown, making friends by testing your awkward and/or inappropriate jokes out on crowds of relative strangers. The Red Cup crew certainly suffered this fate for a while, but for now at least, three of us live within one city's limits. To tide us over during the Rebels' non-sports season, Ivory Tower, Whiskey Wednesday, and I have decided to take advantage of our close proximity to write about culinary delights.

This week, WW made burgers, I did chili cheese fries, and Ivory made a variation of the John Daly.

Bleu Cheese Burger, Gouda Chili Fries, and a John Daly

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One of the sobering realities of post-college life is that your friends, once concentrated within reasonable geographic boundaries, tend to disperse themselves all over the damned place, forcing you to once again establish new ties in a new hometown, making friends by testing your awkward and/or inappropriate jokes out on crowds of relative strangers. The Red Cup crew certainly suffered this fate for a while, but for now at least, three of us live within one city's limits. To tide us over during the Rebels' non-sports season, Ivory Tower, Whiskey Wednesday, and I have decided to take advantage of our close proximity to write about culinary delights.

This week, Ivory had entree duties (haha.... he said doodies), WW made a side, and I got my drank on.

Enchilada Lasagna, Veggie Quesadilla, Salsa Salad, and Sangria

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One of the sobering realities of post-college life is that your friends, once concentrated within reasonable geographic boundaries, tend to disperse themselves all over the damned place, forcing you to once again establish new ties in a new hometown, making friends by testing your awkward and/or inappropriate jokes out on crowds of relative strangers. The Red Cup crew certainly suffered this fate for a while, but for now at least, three of us live within one city's limits. To tide us over during the Rebels' non-sports season (and let's face it, it's pretty much already started), JUCO, Ivory, and yours truly have decided to take advantage of our close proximity to write about culinary delights.

After one full rotation, JUCO again provides our entree, Ivory supplies the side dish, and I've brought the potent potables. Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

Scallops, Corn and Okra Jambalaya, and an Old Fashioned.

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