Category Archives: Vegetable

SOUTHERN POTLUCK BAKED BEANS

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I found this funny little vase at an estate sale:

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It was made by Fitz & Floyd in MCMLXXVII (too lazy to figure it out myself, I discovered an online site — of course — that will convert Roman numerals to Arabic numerals, which said it’s 1977):IMG_7606

This little guy looks like my dogs feel on the 4th of July when the fireworks start:

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How are you celebrating the 4th of July?  Food, fun, family, fireworks — the 4 best f-words around, right?  I saw lots of patriotic efforts around town, big and small.  There were small little flags tucked into gardens:

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And big flags waving proudly in yards:

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What did one flag say to the other?  Nothing, it just waved.

Trees were lit up in red, white, and blue at this downtown office building:

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And the big red cock at BRC Restaurant (I know, I hate the name too), was painted with stars and stripes.

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I found a few new treats for this patriotic holiday, including red, white, and blue Rice Krispies (I’d love to show you the Rice Krispie Treats I made with them, but they disappeared too quickly, so you’ll have to use your imagination.  Like Spongebob):

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Trader Joe’s had this White House cookie kit (maybe for the next presidential election — not feeling it for this one):

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And these Shooting Stars Cookies, which are made with pop rocks, and according to the Trader Joe’s staff, are quite a party all by themselves:

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Walmart had bouquets of red, white, and blue flowers (dog not included):

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I wouldn’t normally buy dyed flowers, but they looked kinda desperate to go home with someone — anyone — so I broke down and bought a bunch.  Not only were these dyed, but they were sprayed with glitter, as well.  Shaking my head.

Inspired by the cannon vase and thoughts of Independence Day, I’m sharing a recipe for Southern Potluck Baked Beans, a great side dish for your 4th of July barbecue. I think every Southern cook has some version of this in her repertoire, or at least in her Junior League cookbooks.  There was a time when I might have scoffed at the idea of making baked beans by starting with cans of baked beans — seems kind of redundant.  But the amped-up flavor from the additional ingredients and thick texture that comes from baking for two hours make these a special side dish to bring to any potluck, especially one where grilling is involved.

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SOUTHERN POTLUCK BAKED BEANS
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegetable
 
Ingredients
  • 8 slices bacon, cut in half
  • 3 28-ounce cans pork 'n beans
  • ¾ cup barbecue sauce (I used this one, and recommend you do too)
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until bacon is partially cooked and has rendered some of the fat. Remove bacon to paper-towel lined plate, and reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings. Place beans in a large bowl. Add barbecue sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, and 1 tablespoon bacon drippings, and mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer beans to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Arrange bacon over top. Bake until sauce is thick and syrupy, approximately 2 hours. Remove from oven and allow to stand approximately 15 minutes before serving.

uncooked beans

Ready for a two-hour stint in the oven

cooked beans

Smoky, syrupy, sweet, tangy — baked beans will never be the same

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Have a blast this 4th of July!

 

BAKED CARDOONS WITH BREADCRUMBS AND PARMESAN

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We’ve been enjoying glorious spring weather here in Houston.  Cultivated bluebonnets are appearing in neighboring yards:

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Frilly azaleas are in full bloom (on the heels of the redbuds, lorapetalum, and Japanese magnolias).  It’s almost as if the city were spray painted with big splotches of pink, purple, and white:

Those are what I call azaleas!

These huge azaleas tend to be found on older homes.  Landscapers today tend to favor Encore azaleas, which grow in tidier formations not much more than about 16 inches tall, and promise to bloom year round.  (The “bloom year round” thing, unfortunately, is kind of a joke.  They manage to choke out a few blossoms in the warmer weather, but they are decidedly not spectacular.)

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  Encore azaleas

I came across a tree that was filled with birds that I didn’t instantly recognize.  There must have been 30 of them, flitting about, eating the berries on the tree.  I sat and watched them for a while, completely mesmerized.  I later learned that they were Cedar Waxwings.

 

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Cedar Waxwings

The farmers market was packed this weekend, with people coming from all over to enjoy the great weather.  I came home with some beautiful produce, including tender broccoli side shoots (we love these):

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Green onions in bud (I think these look like baby leeks, but am told they’re green onions):

And never-cease-to-delight-me candy-striped Chioggia beets:

IMG_2495 Don’t be fooled by their plain exterior

The beauty within

Most of the produce came from Atkinson Farms, one of my favorite vendors.  As I completed my purchase and started to walk away, I noticed something on a back table, a sort of Land of Misfit Vegetables.  Beep, beep, beep — I backed up to get a better look.  Wait.  Was that . . . .   Could it be . . . ?  Cardoons?

Mr. Atkinson confirmed that they were, in fact, cardoons.  Up until then, I had only read about cardoons, and at this point, my nose was probably twitching with excitement.  I asked him what do you do with them, and he answered with the same answer I get whenever I ask him about any vegetable he sells — “eat them.”  I told him I figured that out, and he kind of smiled and very patiently explained to me how to prepare them.  Turns out, they are a bit of work, which is why, he said, people don’t like to buy them.  Silly people.  He handed me a bunch, told me they were on him, and to let him know what I thought of them.  Oh, Joy is my new middle name!

Cardoons, like artichokes, are thistle-like members of the sunflower family.   Mr. Atkinson was right, they are a bit of work.  You first have to strip the leaves, which are bitter, and trim the outside layer, which is stringy.  I’m not sure how to describe the inside of the stalk — it looks like a series of tubes.  As the stalks mature, they become hollow and more stringy.

Next, the prepared cardoons need to be simmered in salted water for about 30 minutes until they’re tender.  Then they’re ready to be used in any number of ways — sliced and added to pasta, breaded and fried, gratineed, etc.

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I topped my cardoons with a mixture of 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, then dotted it with about a tablespoon of butter and baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the topping was browned.

IMG_2574Looking at cardoons, you might expect them to taste like celery.  You would be wrong, and really, why would you want to go to all that trouble for something that tastes like celery, when you could just eat celery?  You may have heard that they taste like artichokes.  More accurately, they taste EXACTLY like artichoke hearts.  And for that, the hassle is worth it.