We've been attempting to make a decent batch of baked beans for a while now. The Husband was gifted with a cast iron dutch oven for just this purpose, but we've had...issues. Beans not softening and staying crunchy (does not make for good beans); the seasoning in the dutch oven flaking off (black specks in ones beans also does not make for good beans).
- Hard water - our well water is very high in calcium which inhibits softening. Fixed by using bottled/filtered water.
- Tomato paste/sauce - we read in Cooks Illustrated that the acid in tomato products inhibits the softening of the beans and should be added toward the end of the cooking process. Didn't seem to help. Still had somewhat crunchy beans.
- Salt - inhibits the softening of beans. Now add only at the end of the cooking process.
- Vinegar - as an acid, it also inhibits the softening of beans. Now add only at the end.
Bourbon Baked Beans (Ckng Lght, June 2010)
This was OUTSTANDING! Seriously good - I could have easily shoved the spareribs aside and just eaten a big ol bowl of beans. I did do some significant modifications to the recipe, mainly in bean prep. I soaked my beans the day before for about 6 hours. I then put them in the slowcooker for 4 hours with 2 bay leaves. Drain and put in fridge. This will save time later and help prevent crunchy beans.
This was thick, saucy, and oh so flavorful. The maple syrup is a great counterpoint to the dijon mustard, and the bacon really brings all the flavors together. These can be made ahead of time and reheated when needed. Great as leftovers! I'll definitely be making these again.
Bourbon Baked Beans
Yield: 6 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)
Ingredients
1 pound dried navy beans (about 2 1/2 cups)
3 applewood-smoked bacon slices
1 cup finely chopped onion1/2 cup maple syrup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
1. Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours
2. Preheat oven to
3. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan, and cook for 4 minutes or until crisp. Remove from pan, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook for 5 minutes or until onion begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add beans, bacon,
4. Stir in remaining 1 cup water (if necessary!), remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup, and remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon. Cover and bake 1 hour or until beans are tender and liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in vinegar and salt.
Check your beans
Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli (Ckng Light BB, from Bon Appetit)
This one...didn't turn out so well. Brain fart on my part - I only had milk on hand having forgotten to buy some half n half, and I didn't see that I needed some Monteray Jack cheese when I wrote the shopping list. I guess that's what I get for writing it at the last minute. And actually, everything was coming together smoothly until I had to add the pasta. It was like suddenly there wasn't enough sauce. I think in hindsight, too many toppings, not enough pasta and sauce.
To thicken the sauce without half in half, I added some flour to the red pepper and chicken strips after I sauteed them, then pour the milk over that and allowed to thicken. To which I then added the Parmesan cheese. This went very nicely, until I had to add the pasta then it became rather thin and runny. I would try this again, but perhaps cutting the chicken and broccoli in half, or skipping the chicken altogether.
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo (Bon Appétit, February 1995)
Yield: Serves
4 to 5 cups broccoli florets (from about 1 large bunch)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 2/3 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 pound penne or mostaccioli, freshly cooked
Steam broccoli florets until just tender, about 3 minutes; set aside.
Preheat broiler. Butter 13x9x2-inch broilerproof baking dish. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in batches, sauté chicken strips until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken strips to bowl. Add sliced red bell pepper to Dutch oven and sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add whipping cream, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and all of Monterey Jack cheese. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add chicken strips and any juices in bowl to sauce. Add freshly cooked pasta and steamed broccoli florets and toss until sauce coats mixture, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese over. Broil until just golden on top, about 3 minutes, and serve.
And, if you've made it this far - pics of the busted kennel:
2 comments:
I was going to suggest that you try a recipe without tomato, but I see that you figured that out. As I understand it, traditionally baked beans are not tomatoey. I've only made baked beans from scratch once, and they came out a little dry. In hindsight, I should have ignored the directions when it said to uncover them at the end so they could brown on top. It just dried them out. They were otherwise quite good, though.
Gail - you will find this amusing; if I recall correctly, one recipe we tried was from a bean ckbk of D's and the other was from Cook's Illustrated. It was CI where we realized our water was a factor.
I think this recipe is going to be my "go-to" bean recipe from now on. It turned out too good to search for better. I think it would be fun to play around with the sugar - maybe sub honey for the syrup.
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