In early December of 1977, food editor Laurin Stamm began a weekly recipe column titled “From the Kitchen of The Cypress House.” The column ran continuously through November of 2000, featuring one or two recipes each week, and totaling more than 1,150 recipes over the 23 years.

Checkout, a current weekly column that features various food stories, events and recipes, looks back at some of the most popular recipes from The Kitchen of the Cypress House, and perhaps a newly discovered one every now and then.

This cold weather asks for “cold-weather” recipes, and we have THE cold-weather recipe in mind that was our favorite for many years. I don’t make it as often as I did when The Cypress House was filled with our five children. But the recipe feeds an army, and it’s always been a favorite of the Stamms.

From The Kitchen of The Cypress House, November 7, 1979:

Cold weather, it seems, is finally here. And I’m glad. It’s the season for hot soups, nourishing stews, tasty chilies and, of course red beans and rice.

The Cajun favorite is served regularly in the New Orleans area. Always on Mondays and always over rice. We love to prepare red beans in The Kitchen of The Cypress House. A big pot of rich tasty beans fills the kitchen and the whole house with an aroma you won’t believe.

The is the way we fix red beans and rice. Serve with a green salad, French bread and red wine. Good, good, good.

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

 1 pound dried red beans

1 meaty ham bone

2 to 3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 stem celery, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt, pepper and red pepper to taste (it takes a lot)

1 pound Creole or Polish smoked sausage

1 quart or more cold water

Boiled rice

Wash and sort beans. Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Turn off the fire and let the beans sit covered for 1 hour.

Bring the beans to a boil again, and then lower the heat. Add the ham bone, green onions, chopped onion, garlic, celery, bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours. Add the sausage the last hour or so. Add about a cup of water toward the end of the cooking if the mixture gets too dry. Stir frequently and scrape down the sides and across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching. Stir the entire mixture about every 30 minutes.

Serve the beans, meat and gravy over the hot boiled rice.

P.S. If you’re a real Cajun like we all are, you can serve white beans and rice, pinto beans and rice, black-eyed peas and rice, black beans and rice, and so on and on. Just ask Flip.