Suzi’s Blog
Brian’s Baked Beans, Augmented Style
In upstate New York today, it was in the high 60s so that Halloween snow is gone. But more snow is on the way. That’s why this was a Kindling Day. Warm, blue sky, no snow or ice. The perfect day to gather firewood and kindling. There may not be another day like this until April.
“This is crazy,” my oil delivery man said to me. I think he was a bit disappointed at the temperature.
“That vine on the side of the house?” I pointed. “It’s budding.” And that vine has not had leaves for two weeks.
“Oh” he was now truly unhappy.
“Don’t worry. Snow on Thursday,” I said.
“Great.” He whistled his way back to the oil truck.
After a few hours of lifting things, I wanted a quick, “comfort food” meal. I know that I rant about only cooking from scratch, but the truth is there are days when some grocery store beans are a great start. A start.
I took a 28-ounce can of baked beans and augmented it: sautéed celery and onion plus some molasses. The result is a one pot meal that, coupled with a good beer, lets the day end on a perfect note.
And for that molasses? Look for something a bit different. Suzen and I found some sugar cane molasses at a Middle Eastern market in Brooklyn. More subtle, and probably more sweet, it made for great beans.
Brian’s Baked Beans, Augmented Style
Yield: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
- 1 28-ounce can of baked beans
- 1 stalk of celery, finely diced
- 1 medium sweet white onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup molasses
Preparation:
Open the beans and pour off some, but not all, of the liquid. You’ll be adding about ¾ cup of liquid between the molasses and vegetables. You want beans here, not soup.
Dice the celery and onion. Melt the butter in a 2-quart sauce pan. Add the vegetables and sauté until translucent. Add the baked beans and the molasses. Stir to combine. Heat until it bubbles, stirring occasionally.
Source: Brian O’Rourke
Best Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving: White Bread 101
“Rolls?” I smiled. Hopefully. Pleadingly.
“Yes,” Suzen said. “Not for you,” she emphasized.
“But, but, I want rolls. Comfort food.”
“These are for Rian. For his dinner party.” Suzen apparently had contracted her services out.
“Oh,” I said with a long face. The aromatic gems were just out of the oven and they smelled so good and there a plate of butter just inches away.
“Touch them, and you really will be left-handed.” She had her back turned to me but we’ve been married for twenty-five years. And, she is not a slow learner.
I walked away, crushed again.
“Your batch is in the oven,” she reassured me.
I love days like this where I do not have to beg outright. My knees really bother me getting up and down.
Dinner rolls are a treat, even a treasure, that now many of us rarely have at our meals. Yes, there are those cardboard containers in the refrigerator that have manufactured “rolls” ready to warm up. What I remember, what I relish, are homemade rolls.
Suzen’s source for her dinner rolls is impeccable: The Baker’s Companion from King Arthur Flour. King Arthur Flour creates resources that every baker comes to value. It’s just better flour. Once you’ve used it, you don’t go back. And the book, The Baker’s Companion, is filled with recipes that make the best possible use of this resource.
So this recipe, White Bread 101, is really a terrific understatement. This ain’t Wonder Bread. This is white bread that is so yummy, so rich, that you can finally understand why people love bread, not just consume it. That flavor is certainly due, in part, to the special combination of ingredients here: nonfat dry milk and potato flour. Trust this recipe.
The recipe below is for a loaf. For dinner rolls, before the second rise, cut the dough into 2-ounce pieces, place into a well-buttered 8″ cake pan, allow to rise, and bake away. Hot rolls served with cold butter and warm honey can prove to be addicting. They are a “side dish” that actually become a lovely focal point for your meal.
For a holiday meal, like say Thanksgiving, dinner rolls are a must. I know, you’re having stuffing, too. That’s why it’s called a holiday!
White Bread 101
Yield: 1 loaf or about 8-10 rolls
Ingredients:
- 3 cups (12 ¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ¼ teaspoons slat
- 3 tablespoons (1 ¼ ounces) sugar
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter
- ¼ cup (1 ¼ ounces) nonfat dry milk
- ¼ cup (1 ½ ounces) potato flour, or ½ cup (3/4 ounce) potato flakes
- 1 ⅛ cups (9 ounces) lukewarm water
Preparation:
Combine all the ingredient and mix, and knead them together — by hand, mixer, or bead machine — until you’ve made a soft, smooth dough. Adjust the dough’s consistency with additional flour or water as needed; but remember, the more flour you add while you are kneading, the heavier and drier your final loaf will be. Cover and the dough rise for 1 hour, until is puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk).
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and shape into an 8-inch log. {Or cut into rolls at this point!]. Transfer the log to a lightly greased 8 ½ X 4 ½ -inch loaf pan, cover the pan (a proof cover works well her), and let the bread rise until the outer edge has risen about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.
Uncover the pan and bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it light with aluminum foil for the final 10 –t 15 minute if it appears to be browning too quickly.
Remove the bread from the over, take it out of the pan, and place in on a wire rack to cool completely. After 15 minutes, brush it with butter, if desired to generate a soft crust.
Source: The Baker’s Companion
