I'm looking up the recipe for Minnie Lee's green beans, but I already know I'm going to get sidetracked thinking about Key West, the end of the world, the black spot on the map with the big white question mark.
I keep a good amount of simple cooking supplies on hand for a bachelor, I can whip up something on short notice if need-be. Cleaning out my pantry as well, old gets pushed off to the right, new goes in on the left, just like skivvies. Thank you, faithful training. This way, everybody gets a fair rotation and nobody feels left out. (I like that word "pantry." It evokes a trip to the cellar, sorting out stores, feeling comfortably stocked.)
Cooking up some country boy chowda this eve, an update on that one. You can add a few dried chile peppers (the evil red ones used in Thai cooking) to spice it up a bit... the rain is pouring down, the dog is hiding under the printer table; and chopping up the celery, I pulled out some raisins and peanut butter.
Echo the dogLikes ants on a logPot is simmeringWhile I blog
AABA - anything beyond two lines when someone tries to teach rhyme scheme leaves me like, "WTH?!" These poetry savants break their own rules in leaps and bounds.
... on deck: an attempt at Minnie Lee's green beans. This place just closed, and it's too bad, because it had a more authentic feel to it. This is no problem for eclectic Key West though, where you can actually drive for a mile without seeing a McDonald's. Yes, Minnie Lee's... I found this spicy, snappy concoction at the Meteor Smokehouse on Southard St. I used to spend time down there before setting out on a few assignments and often had a few days to beat the street on my own. The Meteor Smokehouse was one of my favorite destinations (I had about 4 or more "obligatory Key West" visits, below) for the - smokiness, right next door to a another curiously named tavern, The Green Parrot. At Meteor, I was happy alone getting the beans, and have never been able to come anywhere near cooking this. I was going to send a real live handwritten snail correspondence note their way, but as of a few weeks ago, well, the internet says they're gone. Damn shame. Oh, the beans: part of my problem was using canned beans.
"You so STUPIIIIIIIIID!"
KEY WEST
So excluding Meteor, here's the rest of the top 5 places to spend your nickel and dime while in Key West.
So excluding Meteor, here's the rest of the top 5 places to spend your nickel and dime while in Key West.
'Captain Tony's - the REAL location of the Ernest Hemingway pub (not Sloppy Joe's); and the namesake of one of the greatest personalities of the Keys. I've mentioned him elsewhere here, the night of his birthday when he stepped out of the limo with the two hot cougars on his arm.
'Willie T's: The Bar - Soul of all People" - My favorite bar in the entire world, beating out anything from Barcelona to Yokohama. Nights, I used to play the hell out of Journey in their jukebox and walk to the nearby pay phone after getting heavily soused, which I thought was a rather cosmopolitan thing to do. Wind jostling the palms, me fumbling around for a phone card. Would make a great short film.
"Chicharrones" - the closest place to Cuba to get a Cuban sandwich - I love how like Andre said, they mash them down and grill them - you can replicate this with a George Foreman grill to some extent. Mustard, jamon, pickles, what else?
"Café Solé" - "A meal in Provence." Its outdoor terrace, trellises and French cooking makes it something resembling what would be the officers' club of Key West. They have the finest dishes, maybe plan on spending $25/pp.? Not trying to be snooty, but it's just neatly tucked away (thereby easy to miss unless you're looking for it), and... chawming!
Which brings us to the main event:
MAIN EVENT !!
Granny Sue Answered:
"I don't know the Minnie Lee recipe, but here''s one suggestion":
"Mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, olive oil, and chili flakes. Fill a frying pan 2/3rds of the way with water. Bring water to a boil and add beans and salt. Cover and cook, stirring once, until beans are bright green and still sorta crunchy, 8 or 9 minutes. Drain and rinse beans in cold water. Stir soy sauce mixture and add to pan. Bring to a boil. Add the beans and cook through. Garnish with sesame seeds."
(Source: Yedda.com)
I'll let you know how they turn out another time, but I'm headed back down... to the kitchen.
6/17 - This came in from a fan of this blog, thanks Keith & Rob. If this works, someone liberated the secret recipe! Unbelievable.
MINNIE'S BEANS (from "keywesmoke")
*Sautee chopped onions and sliced/diced red & green peppers, set a side (I add a little garlic)
*Clean & dry some fresh green beans
*Pour about 1/4" oil into pan (I use olive) and heat. Add green beans and stir fry them (I watch for them to change to that nice bright green color and are still crunchy)
*Add onions and peppers back in, add crumbled cooked bacon
*Stir in House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce, enough to coat. Sautee covered a few minutes.
I use the regular House of Tsang Szechuan Stir Fry sauce and mix in a little bit of the spicy one with it. I imagine whatever similar product would be just as good.
[End recipe]
I added poppy seeds at the end, and probably some of those insanely hot "chile arbol" spicy dried red death peppers. Once you are done stir-frying, they need to be broiled until crunchy.
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