Kicking off the season

We officially started the backyard barbecue season this weekend when we had Fred's family come visit (that's a few of them above). We got a new grill last week, and fired it up for the first time on Saturday. The weather was perfect and the food was great. Nothing fancy: hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, and watermelon. Very traditional and classic. There's something about keeping it simple that is so appealing and comforting. The hamburgers were simply ground beef with salt and pepper, the baked beans were doctored up canned beans (secret ingredient: root beer), and the potato salad was Fred's grandmother's recipe. The simple pleasure of eating in the backyard.


I prefer to make homemade baked beans. The first time I did was just a few years ago. My parents were hosting a party for their neighbors to meet baby Vivian. Again, a simple backyard barbecue. I volunteered to make homemade baked beans (simply because I wanted to use the vintage bean pot that my mother had passed along to me), without fully realizing how long they take to make. What I also didn't calculate was that the last thing you want to do in a house without air conditioning on a 97° day in July is run the oven for 4 hours. Wow, was that a disaster. This last time, I cheated and used a recipe for souped up canned beans. The root beer was a clever addition, but I don't think it added that much. Next time back to the homemade. Here's how I make them:

Maple Baked Beans
(adapted from the forthcoming Time for Dinner cookbook by the editors of Cookie magazine)
Serves 6

1 pound dried navy or great northern beans
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 strips thick-cut bacon

In a large pot, cover the beans with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 1 hour, drain. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees (F). In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except the bacon. Stir in the beans. Place 1 strip of bacon at the bottom of a large ovenproof dish, Dutch oven, or antique bean pot that your mom gave you. Pour the bean mixture over it, then push the other strip of bacon into the beans. Add just enough boiling water to the pot to cover everything. Cover the pot with aluminum foil, then the lid. Bake 5 hours, checking every hour, or so, to make sure the beans aren't drying out. (Add more water as necessary to keep them submerged.)