The descendants of Charlie and Annaley Redd would write a different history if it weren't for the Prairie Fire Beans that saved their properties.
It's a tale the Redds joke about now, but in 1931 when the Salt Lake bankers inventoried the southeastern Utah cattle operations, the foreclosure notices were in hand."While Charlie worried about saving the ranch, I could only think about what to feed these Salt Lake bank people who came to stay with us for three days," Annaley recalls. "It was in the thick of the Depression and we didn't have much, but we had plenty of pinto beans."
Embarrassed at the offering, the rancher's wife tossed a chili pepper or two in the beanpot. Then she added butter and the last piece of cheese in the house.
"The beans were a hit," Annaley admits, "so much so that I served them all three nights. The bankers changed their minds and gave us another year to meet the obligations, so Charlie always claimed, `The beans saved the ranch.' "
Innovative cooking salvaged the Redd acreage years ago, but it's fated the Redd women to massive cooking assignments ever since.
Visiting professors, politicians and even British royalty have dined with the Redds over the years, while ranch hands, neighbors and customers know where the best meals in the county originate.
Multicourse meals accompany the annual bull sale as regularly as the sun rises over the La Sal Mountains.
Daughter-in-law Diane Redd, wife of son Paul, now supervises the meals for the more than 500 cattle buyers each spring, but the exact guest count is only confirmed after serving is completed.
"We hold the sale in Paradox, Colo., a tiny community that has no hotels, motels or restaurants," explains Diane. "We built the bunkhouse to accommodate our guests . . . and it's full most of the time."
When the April sale rolls around, Diane corrals her family of seven children to help prepare the traditional luncheon menu.
"We light the grills at about 3:30 a.m. and fill them with about 250 Dutch oven potatoes dinner, which she later transported to a remote study site in Canyonlands National Park.
"It's all a part of the business," laughs Sunny. "There's a strong Redd family tradition to feed the guests, whenever they arrive and whether they were expected or not. Like his father before him, Hardy loves to entertain people, and a big part of that entertaining focuses on food."
All three Redd women share tales of cooking projects that would make a hotel executive chef flinch.
"I'd always had a baking day when I made cakes, cookies and cupcakes," Annaley recalls. "That way, I'd at least have somethingavailable most of the time. We had a deep freeze very early and that helped. Of course, we owned the store, so I could borrow from the stocks there in an emergency. We always ordered everything by the case. Basically, when I was home, I was cooking."
The elder Redd remembers a day she asked Charlie whether they'd have guests for lunch, and he said, "Oh no, not today."
"Perfect time to get this kitchen cleaned up, I thought," Annaley remembers. "I'd worked all morning, ripped everything out down to the light fixtures, when Charlie waltzed in with 10 or 12 men to eat. I was on the top step of the ladder, stretching to clean the light. Those were the days you wished for McDonald's, but there was nothing like that available."
Sunny joined the Redd family 32 years ago.
"I grew up on a ranch in Colorado, so I had an idea what I was getting into. My mother cooked for all the ranch hands," Sunny says, "but I was the daughter who used to sneak out in the hay fields and work with Dad or volunteer to drive the tractor instead of peeling potatoes."
Sunny's peeled uncounted pounds of potatoes in the days since her marriage but has discovered less time-consuming alternatives to quantity meal preparation.
"I used to serve homemade rolls for 100 or 200 or 500 people; now I order rolls from the bakery. I'd have homemade brownies or cupcakes; I still do, but I let BYU Catering bake for me. It is much more sensible that way. Then I have time to enjoy the people."
The Hardy Redds host a summer picnic for local residents as well as an employee holiday dinner and an extended neighborhood brunch on New Year's Day.
To simplify the entertaining, Sunny's eliminated any menu items that require last-minute preparation. The energetic cook also stands by a traditional menu of family favorites that work with ease. Sunny prepares a buffet of turkey, beef and ham with stuffing and gravies, but then adds simple accompaniments like a fruit salad.
"I often prepare the fruits, then set the bowl out in the snowbank to chill," Sunny admits.
Traditional dessert features ice cream snowballs rolled in coconut or chopped nuts and topped with her daughter-in-law Barbara's homemade hot fudge or caramel sauce.
"That's all done in advance and can be served almost instantly," Sunny says.
Despite implementation of work-saving methods, Sunny still wonders why her apron strings feel knotted to the kitchen.
"I keep thinking I shouldn't be so busy; I don't know what I did when I had all 10 children at home," she laments.
Still, the energetic rancher's wife has plans to open her own bed-and-breakfast inn at the ranch.
Diane, who runs kitchens in both Paradox and Monticello, maintains a thriving garden and bakes bread during her summer sojourns on the Colorado ranch.
"There is no store there, I mean no grocery store," Diane confirms, "so we learn to manage with what we have available."
Available idle hours likely go unnoticed by the tireless women of the Charlie Redd ranches.
After all, it's close to mealtime and the guest list is still in question.
*****
(Recipes)
Bean Salad
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans
1 can (15 oz.) green beans
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans
1 can (15 oz.) yellow wax beans, optional
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
1-2 green peppers, cut in rings
Drain beans and pour in large bowl: combine with other ingredients. Stir and let marinate 3-4 hours before serving. Keeps well in refrigerator for several days.
Makes 10-12 servings.
-From Sunny Redd
-Each serving contains 224 calories; 11 gm fat; 318 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol.
Caramel Sauce
1 cup butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons light or dark corn syrup
3 cups brown sugar
3/4-1 cup evaporated milk
Combine butter, salt and corn syrup; bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Add brown sugar and milk; boil 2 minutes more. Add additional milk for a thinner sauce if desired. Makes about 4 cups sauce.
-From Barbara S. Redd
-Each 1/4-cup serving contains 396 calories; 13 gm fat 244 mg sodium; 36 mg cholesterol.
Hot Fudge Sauce
1/2 cup butter
3 squares (1 oz.) unsweetened baking chocolate
3 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler; slowly add sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until throughly mixed.
Add milk, one tablespoon at a time while stirring constantly. Adding milk and sugar slowly results in a rick, smooth, rather thatn grainy sauce. Makes about 4 cups sauce.
-From Barbara S. Redd
-Each 1/4-cup serving contains 248 calories; 11 gm fat; 87 mg sodium; 25 mg cholesterol.
Sunny's Potatoes
4 large potatoes, peeled and grated
1-2 teaspoons salt or to taste 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4-1/2 cup onion minced
1 1/2-2 cups whipping cream
Finely grate potatoes; rinse thoroughly to remove starch. Place in greased 7-by-11-inch baking dish; sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion. Add cream to depth of potatoes. Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
(Potatoes can be grated the day before use; stored in ice water, then drained immediately before baking.) Makes 6-8 servings.
-Each serving 259 calories; 19 gm fat; 385 mg sodium; 66 mg cholesterol.
Barbecuesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 bottle (20 oz) ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon onion, minced 2 tablespoons chili powder
Dash cayenne pepper at Tabasco sauce
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons celery seed
Mix all ingredients in a heavy saucepan; simmer for 2 hours. Can be used with beef, pork or poultry. Makes about 3 cups sauce.
-From Diane Red
-Each 1/2-cup serving contains 187 calories, 1 gm fat; 409 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol