I have a mission for you. I am on the trail of Jennie Smith Traister who submitted a recipe for the cookbook published by The Baptist Church of Beaufort eight or so years ago. I couldn’t find her through the church or on the Internet.
A large 2,000-member church, The Baptist Church of Beaufort is currently served by the Rev. Jim Wooten as pastor.
The reason for the search is that I want to thank her for the Texas Caviar recipe she contributed to the cookbook. This “caviar” recipe has been around for a while, but it is no competition for the roe of the sturgeon.
This sturgeon, which gives us the roe for the expensive caviar, is a rather ugly, bony, large fish that can reach 10 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds. The even larger, 3,000-lb. Russian beluga provides most of the caviar. Daughter Gaye checked for me on the Internet, and we discovered that the Russian caviar is available for $149 per ounce. If you don’t mind eating the cheap stuff, one group is only $24 per ounce.
I think I like Jennie’s product better. It is made with familiar, available ingredients and will keep a long while in the refrigerator.
All of my “testers” really liked this dish. Other than the cup of sugar and half cup of oil, it contains all the good stuff we like. My cousin Edna, visiting for the day from North Carolina, wanted the recipe to carry to her group. Our grandson Jay wanted it for his wife Mollie to make.
I served this with Scoops corn chips before our meal, and it was a success. I thank Mrs. Traister for submitting the recipe to the church cookbook. Everyone will enjoy this “caviar” for any kind of casual gathering, and especially while waiting for you to finish preparing … Sunday Dinner.
Texas Caviar
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
Sprinkle of ground black pepper
Generous shake of dried red pepper
¾ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon salt
Combine the above ingredients in a saucepot, bring to a boil, and let sauce cool.
1 15-ounce can blackeyed peas
1 15-ounce can shoepeg corn
1 4-ounce jar sliced pimentos
1 medium onion, grated
1 15-ounce can pinto beans
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium green pepper, diced
Prepare celery, onion and green pepper. Drain canned peas, corn, beans, chick peas and pimentos. Mix all these together with the sauce. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Will keep for a month.