Red Beans and Rice is a great Cajun dish. You can make the beans the day ahead and reheat in the crockpot for the gathering. I am not at home to look at my recipe but I found one very similar by Emeril. I would double the recipe- that way you can keep some for some meals. One thing that I do is when it is all cooked, I remove the ham hocks, take just the meat part off discarding that bone and tough outer skin. I get the ham hocks at WalMart. One more thing: Most likely you will not be able to find the small red beans in Ohio just substitute dried red kidney beans. This dish has so many flavors going on that the difference will be minor. I don't use thyme either but fresh parsley is important. One last thing: you can freeze leftovers, too.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...pe2/index.html