Memorial Day was pretty low key here; I wanted more than anything to get in some gardening time after meeting a friend for coffee in the morning. Still, I thought I would wheel out the smoker and get some chicken done and see who on the street was game for gathering for a meal. As it turns out, one family had already started dinner so it would just be my neighbors across the street. When Amy asked what she could bring, I told her I had it covered; I was also making these baked beans and a fresh veggie. She laughed and asked, 'What do you do with beans other than open the can and heat them?' Well, not a lot really but enough to make all the difference in the world!
I saw these beans shared by Fake Ginger in a Facebook group I'm in. As it turns out there are myriad variations but all have one important ingredient in common and that's the use of Root Beer. I had to chuckle when I saw a version from Bon Appetit. It called for Artisanal Root Beer. What? No. No way. Years of curb service and drive thrus and nothing has changed my love for A&W Root Beer; not even the fact that it is now married to KFC. Much like cocktail making I also felt that nuances of the super pricey stuff would just get lost when mixing with a lot of ingredients so can the notion of artisanal and instead grab a couple of bottles of A&W. One for cooking, another for drinking!
I stayed pretty close to the original recipe but a few ingredients were calling my name that I had to add. Some garlic is sauteed with the onions; how could that be bad right? I also added a bit of whole grain mustard just because I love the stuff and I thought we were good to go. But after all was said and done and even cooked, I could not help myself, I just missed molasses so there's a touch of it in there too. Still, the root beer plays a big part; while sweet it also has that bit of a bite and the end result were some pretty perfect baked beans.
So perfect that my neighbor Amy of the 'just open a can' camp couldn't get enough. Now that is a successful barbecue, wouldn't you agree?
Food Network's #SummerSoiree
After a short break the Food Network group is back and has now switched to summer dishes and this one is my contribution for the first of our #SummerSoiree offerings. Today's theme is anything portable. These beans are that...even though they have some meat in them, it's cured and cooked bacon so no worries about spoiling so they would make a great addition to a picnic in the park. I like them hot and I like them room temp but cold? Not so much. So warm them and take them in a covered casserole wrapped in a towel and they should be a great temp to serve wherever you are!
Want more? Check out our group's Pinterest board; each week we'll be making something special for summer eating and drinking!
