I'm a big fan of beans, especially this time of year. Beans are the backbone of great soups and stews and, of course, there's hundreds of chili preparations.
Ever since I got a Crock-Pot to test, I've been experimenting by trying some of my favorite braises in the nifty slow cooker. For this week's Meatless Monday menu, I decided to try my Grandmother Kate's baked beans, minus the salt pork. After years of trying to recreate this classic dish, I finally decided it wasn't going to happen, so I decided to make it my own.
Never in a million moons did I expect the slow cooker preparation to taste pretty darned close to Nana's, down to the mahogany shade and slight sweetness! I thought that was most definitely a product of "baking" those beans in an old-fashioned bean pot. Well, no.
I started with two cups of small white beans, added half a chopped onion, a can of beer, one heaping tablespoon of stoneground mustard, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and water to cover. Set this mixture on the "slow cook for 10 hours." And when I checked at the end of the day, those beans were beautiful!
To make this dish a meal, I served them on top of baked sweet potatoes, with a tangy slaw on the side. The preparation got thumb's up around the dinner table and, you know what? Just like Nana's baked beans, these were even better the next day, served English breakfast style, alongside a fried egg and tomato. YUM!
-- Leslie Kelly
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