Is My Blog Burning? First Anniverary Edition!
Taboo Foods: Baked Beans and Sauerkraut
This event theme really threw me, I have to admit. For as long as I've participated in IMBB, I no sooner read the theme and my mind is racing -- usually with too many ideas and too little time. So, when I started to contemplate taboo foods and foods you don't like, foods other people don't like.... Hmmmm. I was beside myself. Completely befuddled -- there isn't much that I won't eat! (My friends, including my carbo-phobic ex are a whole different story! But, how much fun is it to make bread or a bowl of pasta and watch everyone just sort of push their food around?). So I took another tact.
Beans and Sauerkraut. Stinky dangerous foods that everyone loves, and then loves to hate.
Perfectly inspired by this evening's gathering at the Cedar Lodge (if you've been there you understand) and the supposed pig roast underway, I thought the perfect covered dishes would be baked beans and sauerkraut. Of course, my baked beans and sauerkraut are not your standard fare. Oh, no. Not for me! The beans are smokey, with a hint of molasses, bacon and the snap of apple cider. The sauerkraut -- well, it is actually Choucroute. If you are ever longing for the classic tastes that you remember from long ago but just can't seem to find in a can, these recipes are worth the minute effort for the aromas (tangy, spicy and warm) they fill your home with, and the flavors that come alive in your mouth.
Stove Top Baked Beans with Bacon and Molasses
Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish
4 thick-cut peppered, bacon slices, thinly sliced crosswise
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 15.5-ounce cans Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained
scant 2/3 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup purchased barbecue sauce (I used KC original Masterpiece)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels; drain. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic to pot; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in bacon, beans and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
adapted from a recipe by Steve Raichlen that first appeared in the July 2000 issue of Bon Appetit. Copyright 2000 CondeNast, Inc.
Choucroute
Serves 6 to 8 as a side
2 pounds fresh sauerkraut, drained
2 ounces thick peppered bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 ounces smoked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
1 tart Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
1/2 teaspoon ground juniper berries
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
3/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
Place sauerkraut in a large bowl and add cold water to cover. Let stand for 10 minutes to remove some of the brine. Repeat once, then drain and gently squeeze out excess moisture.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook the bacon and kielbasa over medium heat until the bacon is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, apple, ground juniper berries and ground fennel seeds (use a spice mill to grind to a fine powder). Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the onion softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cider and vinegar, increase the heat to high, and cook uncovered until the liquids are reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the liquids have almost evaporated, about 10 minutes more. Cover and keep warm.
adapted from Alfred Portale's Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook. Copyright 1997 by Alfred Portale.
Check in with Carlo over at My Latest Supper for the complete roundup of this IMBB First Anniversary edition!
7:10:53 PM 
|
|
