MONDAY
Sliced, Baked Ham on Sweet French Baguettes with Irish Butter | Boston-Baked Beans {Slow-Cooked}
Every once in a while I take a double-dip in the easy department and come up with a dinner like tonight’s…left-overs and a slow-cooker side dish! Not a bad way to start the week…I believe re-entry should be made as easy as possible. This weekend was wonderful but busy, as usual…children’s activities, errands, chores, Michael had a few work projects and I spent a chunk of time right here, finishing my “office” make-over. This morning, after safely delivering the children to school, I returned to a clean, quiet home bathed in the morning sunshine. It took me only about 15 minutes to prepare the beans {which had been soaking overnight} and when I hit the start button on the slow-cooker, dinner was a wrap! The ham is left-over from last night’s Sunday dinner & Michael is bringing fresh baguettes home from Acme Bakery in the City. I poured myself a steaming cup of freshly-brewed coffee, grabbed my iPad and sank down into an oversized chair in our living room covered in a blanket of sunlight. I read for a bit, touring the February editions of both Town & Country and Traditional Home magazines {which recently popped up on my tablet…I LOVE when that happens!} and then I started shuffling about the WEB {this last exercise is actually quite productive when you blog}. I eventually stumbled upon this little gem…
I eagerly flipped through the magazine’s beautiful pages packed with tempting treasures and, within 30 minutes, had my Valentine’s Day shopping FINISHED! Click on the magazine cover above to check out to & from magazine…it is filled with the most FABULOUS gift ideas!
Now, back to tonight’s dinner ~
Boston-baked beans were a favorite of mon Pépère. A bowl of these beans, together with a slice of warm, buttered bread made him smile…so ma Mémère made them often. Always in her black, cast-iron bean pot & always with a generous helping of molasses. I have vivid childhood memories of coming home from sledding or ice skating {on some of the coldest, New England winter days} and peeling off the snow clothes, putting mittens on the radiator to dry and then warming up with a bowl of steaming baked beans. As I write this post, I can smell the beans simmering in the kitchen…and if I close my eyes, I can see my Mémère standing by my stove, stirring the pot.
Slow-Cooked, Boston-Baked Beans {adapted from Simply Recipes}:
- 1 pound dry, white beans {such as Great Northern or Navy beans}
- ½ cup organic, dark molasses
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cloves
- 3 cups boiling water
- ¾ pound diced bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons organic, unbleached flour & 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, blended with a fork to make a crumbly paste,used to thicken the beans {optional}
- Place beans in a large glass bowl and add enough cold water to the bowl to cover beans by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight and drain.
- Mix the molasses, brown sugar, mustard and ground cloves with the boiling water…stirring until combined. Set aside.
- Line the bottom of the slow-cooker with half of the bacon. Layer over with half of the drained beans. Add all of the chopped onion in a layer, then top with another layer of beans and finish with a layer of the remaining bacon.
- Pour the molasses mixture into the pot, making sure beans are covered. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, until beans are tender. Check the water level a few hours in to cooking and add water if needed to keep beans covered.
- Thicken the beans with the flour & butter mixture in the last hour of cooking, if desired.
For these simple sandwiches, use the best ingredients you can get your hands on and the end result will be decidedly dinner-worthy. The baguettes & batard Michael brought home from Acme were still warm…
And for recipes such as these sandwiches, where butter is a featured star, I like to use Kerrygold Irish butter. It has a richer flavor than most domestic butters I have tasted…
Click on this photo by David Lebovitz & take a virtual tour of making butter in Cork, Ireland
I set out mustard for these sandwiches but with bread & butter this good {and that wonderful baked ham} the mustard wasn’t touched.
- 1 pound dry, white beans {such as Great Northern or Navy beans}
- ½ cup organic, dark molasses
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground cloves
- 3 cups boiling water
- ¾ pound diced bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons organic, unbleached flour & 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, blended with a fork to make a crumbly paste,used to thicken the beans {optional}
- Place beans in a large glass bowl and add enough cold water to the bowl to cover beans by at least 2 inches. Soak overnight and drain.
- Mix the molasses, brown sugar, mustard and ground cloves with the boiling water...stirring until combined. Set aside.
- Line the bottom of the slow-cooker with half of the bacon. Layer over with half of the drained beans. Add all of the chopped onion in a layer, then top with another layer of beans and finish with a layer of the remaining bacon.
- Pour the molasses mixture into the pot, making sure beans are covered. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, until beans are tender. Check the water level a few hours in to cooking and add water if needed to keep beans covered.
- Thicken the beans with the flour & butter mixture in the last hour of cooking if desired.
