A couple of weeks ago I was actually semi-social and went to a murder mystery dinner with Annette and Beth. It was based on the Brady Bunch and featured two actors who played almost every part, with some help from the audience. It was entertaining, and now I know about murder mystery dinner solutions: Don’t over-think them. The actors know you’ve had a glass or two of wine and aren’t doing your best sleuthing.
I’m not here to talk about the acting, though. I want to talk about The Beans. We were served salad, meat, bread, cupcakes and The Beans. I don’t know exactly how they made them, but I have never inhaled green beans like these before. I’m a big Green Bean Casserole fan, but that doesn’t hold a candle to these.
I’m not one of those people who is great at discerning ingredients just by tasting, but I could see green beans and tomatoes (thank you, eyesight) and guessed that there was some sort of meat used as a flavoring agent – probably ham.
Well, it seemed like a good time to experiment. I bought the beans (french-cut style, la-de-da) and diced tomatoes (pre-seasoned with onions and garlic), and looked for some smokey ham. All they had were hocks, but that seems right. Don’t those luscious down-home recipes all include a ham hock? “Ham hock” – it sounds so southern, so…. American!
I threw it all in the crock pot with a fair amount of pepper and let it simmer all day. They tasted fine for supper, but they were even better the next day after they sat in the fridge and got all hock-y.
Then I wondered, “What exactly is a hock, anyway?”
Google google google. Discover discover discover. Gag gag gag.
They were still good, though.
Hehe… Your title had me waiting for the punchline. I wasn’t disappointed. But at least it’s nice that that part doesn’t go to waste, right?
That last sentence is speaking Laurenese. Well played.
I’m glad it tasted good….the picture looks like a mutated chicken heart…
When I first saw the picture, I thought the ham hock looked like a human organ & especially after reading the 1st line of the post….I thought for sure it was a clue in the murder mystery. Let me apologize for that. Looking forward to trying this dish myself!
Can you clue us in a little on the murder mystery? Did Greg do it? Did he kill Marcia, Marcia, Marcia?
Sam the Butcher did it, and they gave away the ending too early. I wrote ‘Sarah Palin’ on my card because I was sure that obscure clue was vital to the solution.
Hehe!
Who was killed? Was it Marcia? Alice?
A lady in the audience got it three times. She sniffed the poisoned flowers meant for Peter, the poisoned wine meant for Greg, and the poisoned beef jerky meant for Jan (I think that’s what it was). She played herself, then her twin, then her triplet.
Todd and Kathryn and kids came over for supper last night. I did not serve them this.