A Well-Seasoned Life: Black-Eyed Pea Spread

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Black-Eyed Pea Spread

There was a call-to-arms on Thursday afternoon when my mom called to inform me that we were having a party for my Mema's 86th birthday this Saturday. We were doing a simple meal - chili and finger foods. I knew I needed to leap into action and come up with a new appetizer to introduce to everyone. My relatives would be more than willing to serve as guinea pigs for this experiment. I raked through my cookbooks and the internet. I finally settled on this recipe from Johnnie Gabriel's Second Helpings, copyright 2010. It did not disappoint.

Black-Eyed Pea Spread

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
1 (16 oz.) can black-eyed peas
1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14 oz.) can artichokes, drained and chopped
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Saute onions in butter until tender. In a bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and dressing mix. Fold in peas, beans, and artichokes. Add in the sauted onions and mix well. Spoon into a greased round baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

I chopped the onions and sauted in butter until they were soft and translucent. I set them aside to cool a little while I prepared the rest of the dish.

In a large mixing bowl, I combined the mayonnaise, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix.

Even though the recipe did not call for the black-eyed peas to be rinsed and drained, I did so anyway. Added them to the dressing mixture.

I rinsed and drained the black beans and added them to the bowl.

Next, I drained and chopped a can of artichokes. These artichokes were packed in water. They were not the seasoned kind.

I added the sauted onions to the top of the pile. I also to the liberty to add a sprinkling of black pepper and garlic salt. I'll just say that's optional since it wasn't in the original recipe.