Luckily, I’d gotten through most of my dinner feast preparation before the finger massacre, so I’m left with some lovely homemade leftovers to tide me over until I’m feeling up to cutting anything again.
First on the menu was baked beans (a new batch of Rancho Gordo beans just needed to be cooked!), and I found a great looking recipe in this month’s Cooking Light - it made 10 servings, so I cut it in half. Unless you’ve got a huge crowd coming over, you’ll be fine with the half.
Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans
1 cup dry beans (the recipe asks for navy, but I used Flor de Junio beans)
4 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup light molasses
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 minced jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
water
1 teaspoon salt
Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans, reserving the liquid. Add water to the liquid to make 4 cups.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes or just until crisp. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes or until onion begins to brown, stirring often. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add molasses, sugar, jalapeño, mustard, and red pepper; stir to combine. Stir in beans and the 4 cups of reserved bean liquid and water. Increase heat to medium-high; bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover and bake at 350° for 3 hours. Stir in remaining 1 cup water. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until beans are tender, but not falling apart, and liquid is almost absorbed. Remove from oven; stir in salt.
No pictures of this one to the aforementioned massacre. You’ll just have to trust me on this one - it’s good!
Sounds delicious - now that it’s getting cooler in Northern California I will make it a point to try this dish. Glad you’re feeling better and back to cooking.
XOXO