Voices Board member Annette Campo recently interviewed her grandmother, Anna Treadway Smith, and filed this story about her recipe for "Spanish Rice."
"Someone else needs to learn how to make this stuff," Anna said. She was always threatening not to bring her famous dish to family gatherings - neither Anna's son nor her daughters ever learned how to make it 'right.' The grandchildren started protesting my poor grandmother's appearance without the dish!
"I don't remember the first time eating the rice; it's like realizing you blink or breath. It's just always been there...all cheese filled and delicious," Annette said. The grandkids would fight over seconds and thirds. Annette, now 31, has perfected the dish. "My grandmother is still with us, crazy...Italian-French-Cajun, loud as all us St. Bernardians are - card playing, God-fearing, and a little off her rocker, but she's ours."
The dish has come to be a part of my life. It seems so simple, but a tad too long in the oven or not enough seasonings or the wrong kind of cheese, and it's just not right.
SPANISH RICE
2 or 3 blocks of mild cheddar cheese (Winn Dixie brand)
1 1/2 cups rice
.25 lb pack of ham (Winn Dixie brand)
2 tall cans of Hunts tomato sauce
1 bell pepper
1 container of Creole Seasoning
1 pk Sweet N Low
In the crockpot, add Sweet N Low, seasoning, ham, chopped bell pepper, and tomato sauce. Cook on a low setting for three hours. Boil rice when ready to take off the sauce, and stir rice and gravy together in a baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
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