I had forgotten about having this in my recipe folder. This one is courtesy of our old friend John Conley.
John Conley's sweet white beans:
soak white beans overnight and slow cook them with a 1/2 cup of maple syrup, 2 tblspoons of cider vinegar, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup of mustard and 1/2 cup molasses, 1/3 pound cut up pork belly and a chopped onion, Boil for 40 minutes, rinise, add ingredients and chicken stock and simmer in a Dutch oven for 7 hours on a wood stove.
Danny, my man. Don't just say you cooked your gumbo, give us your secret recipe dude!! I'll whip that up in a heartbeat.
For years we did a gig at the Long Beach Marina for a superior court judge who's from Louisiana. He would fly in all the stuff including about 50 pounds of crayfish and he'd put on a true Louisiana feast for 30-40 people. I noticed he had a big boiler like 20 gallons maybe and all the spices and potatos were in some bags hanging in the water with the crayfish. He had all kinds of stuff, greens, cornbread, gumbo, chicken the whole thing including a couple of good ole boys who knew how to cook it.
One thing missing was shrimp etouffee. I never heard of that until I visited Nawleans some years ago. It seems everybody had their own version of that and I loved them all.
Do you have a personal recipe for that?
Bob
That sounds like a crab, shrimp or in this case a crayfish boil. Yeah man that stuff that boils with the main course soaks up all the spices and flavor and very tasty indeed.
Look they are quite a few fool proof gumbo mixes on the market now that make it pretty easy for anyone to cook a pretty good gumbo. I will chase down some links and post them over the weekend.
Everyone knows how to fry fish but here is a little secret a few old Cajuns showed me many years ago. Very simple as follows:
#1. Filet your catch, or if you are a city dude, the ones you bought from the market.
#2. Take a few cans of beer from a six pack pour into a large bowl and marinate the fish for 30 minutes or so.
#3. While they are soaking drink the remaining beer from the six pack, some may want to use a twelve pack as your mileage may vary.
#4. Here come a da trick . . . take the filets from the beer and while they are wet rub them down with yellow mustard.
#5. Cover them with some cornmeal or Louisiana fish fry either will do. Also this is a good time to send someone back to the store for more beer.
#7. Have that oil (peanut is the best) rolling but not boiling, in a deep fryer, now drop in they fish, not too many at a time as you want them to separate and not stick together.
#8. Very important . . . when they float they are ready!
Made some shrimp and grits the other day. I use some country ham to make the gravy then saute the swimps with some butter and onions. Add to the country ham bits in the gravy and away we go.For breakfast add a couple of eggs over easy and biscuits Wyndham
My wife was never interested in cooking so I had to develop the necessary skills to do all weekend cooking for my family ! I was smart enough to take some courses (classes) in cooking as it was obvious that receipes seldom tell the whole story ! There are tricks you just have to learn and what better way than to go courses ? I have some specialities that I like to cook for my guests and for other special occasions as f.i. my own apple pie receipe with home made vanilla sauce !
If anybody would be interested I could try and translate !:))
After being married the first time, I figured that if I was ever going to enjoy food like my Grandma's good cookin', I'd better learn how to cook it myself.
Perhaps I should let the late great Jerry Reed explain:
another tip......When making a cheese sauce, always grate a little fresh nutmeg into it. Got this from Celeb chef Gordon Ramsay. It really does work. The nutmeg seems to bring out the flavour of the cheese beautifully. Don't be tempted to use dried, doesn't work the same.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean