FREE: Southern Style Pinto Beans & Cornbread Recipe

The listing, Southern Style Pinto Beans & Cornbread Recipe has ended.

Do you ever allow yourself to experience the wonderful simplicity of a big ol’ pot of beans? Honestly, there are few things more fundamental than placing dried beans into a pot of water, cooking them, and serving them to hungry souls. If life ever get to be too hectic—if the 21st century ever starts to infringe upon my peace—I just throw a pot of beans on the stove and all my cares and concerns instantly melt away. They’re magical that way.
You can do so much with a pot of cooked pinto beans: make refried beans for burritos (so much better than the canned stuff), add them to a pot of homemade chili, or adorn your delicious Brisket Chalupas (recipe coming soon.) Really, though, it’s hard to improve on the basic dish itself: a bowl of beans, seasoned either delicately or boldly—whatever your mood dictates.

And cornbread. You know, when I was in seventh grade, my mom took me to New York City. Late one night after seeing "42nd Street" on Broadway, we dined at Sardi’s. When my spaghetti arrived at the table and I declined our waiter’s offer to sprinkle Parmesan on my dish, the older Italian gentleman gasped and emoted, "But…but…a spaghetti without a cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!!!!!!!" I giggled nervously and asked my mom to get me out of there immediately. But I have to say, I feel the exact same way about beans and cornbread as the old man felt about his spaghetti and Parmesan: they just go together. "A bean without a cornbread is like a kiss without a squeeze!" Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.