Treebeard’s is a Houston institution. I love to eat there and always  have red beans and rice. I found this yummy recipe at Food.com It is really close to the original.

Ingredients-
1 lb dried red kidney beans
2 quarts water
2 medium onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
1/2 large bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper (you can always add more)
2 bay leaves
1 lb smoked sausage, cut in 1/2 inch slices

Directions-
1-Sort and wash red beans. In a large soup pot, add 2 quarts cold water and red beans. Let soak overnight. (To speed up process, you can bring them to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, remove from heat and let stand 1 hour before the next step). DO NOT DRAIN WATER!

2-Add onions, celery and bell pepper to beans and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft . Do not stir more than necessary.

3-Stir in seasonings and sausage. Simmer 30 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves.

4-Meanwhile cook a pot of rice and serve the beans over hot cooked rice, garnished with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onion.

5- Don’t stir more than necessary because you don’t want mushy beans. If you want thicker beans remove the lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking time or remove 1/2 cup of the beans and mash them before returning to the pot.

While we lived in Saudi Arabia the women’s group published a cookbook, A Taste of Jubail. It’s an interesting book because of the cultural diversity in Jubail during that time. I have discarded many cookbooks over the years, but I find myself clinging to this one for two recipes. There are many great recipes in this book and now that I think about it a really great one for sweet and sour shrimp. (I better post that, too). The two that I have used over and over are for Texas Brisket and Homemade Barbecue sauce. I’m making both of these today. We are having a few friends over for dinner tomorrow.

Texas Brisket
Ingredients-

1 4-5 pound beef brisket
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method-
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Rub minced garlic into both sides of the brisket. Combine remaining seasonings in a small bowl and mix well. Rub seasonings into both sides of the brisket. Set brisket, fat side up, on a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap tightly. Transfer foil wrapped brisket to a shallow, foil lined roasting pan.  Bake until tender, about 8 hours. I never test it, I just bake for 8 hours and it is always done. I usually cook this the day before I am going to serve it because it needs to be cold to get good slices. If you don’t care about slices and don’t mind it being shredded you can serve it right out of the oven with homemade barbecue sauce. (recipe below).

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup prepared chili sauce (I use Heinz the most. Maggi is good if you can get that brand)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Method-

Melt butter in a skillet over medium low heat; add chopped onion. Cover and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Blend in the remaining ingredients. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve at room temperature