Smokehouse baked beans

Sunday I went to a picnic, and I was asked to bring baked beans. I am almost embarrassed to admit it, but until now I have never made baked beans. You know how North Carolina BBQ is practically synonymous with coleslaw? Well, Kansas City BBQ joints tend to feature quite a lot of baked beans. In fact, if you are ever in KC, you must go to this place called Smokehouse Bar-B-Que for the divine baked beans and brisket burnt ends.

I studied some old church cookbooks from my childhood to see if I could find a comparable recipe to take to the picnic. I remembered my friend Marion has a delicious and easy recipe. It is basically a can of baked beans doctored up. It requires BBQ sauce but not the vinegar kind. Be sure to use the thick, tomato-based kind like KC Masterpiece.

4 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled
1 large can (40oz) baked beans
3/4c. brown sugar
1/4c. chopped onion or 1T onion flakes
1 T chili powder
1T yellow mustard
1t. or more liquid smoke
1c. barbecue sauce
1/4c. molasses

Combine all ingredients. Taste as you go and adjust the various flavors to your preference. I like a bit more mustard than the recipe requires. Put beans in a casserole dish, top with bacon, and bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes or so.

Make some potato salad, grill some burgers and you've got a picnic.

Potato salad is just as easy: boil taters that you've cube. Cool. Add a chopped onion or two to the potatoes. Stir in mayonnaise by large spoonfuls until it is as you like. Be generous with salt. Add some pickle juice if you have a jar in the fridge.

Real potatoes au gratin

I've searched high and low for an elegant and simple recipe for potatoes au gratin. I found all kinds of strange variations including ingredients like cream of mushroom soup and a pound of shredded cheddar and a topping of corn flakes. While I'm sure all of these are delicious, they were not what I was searching for. I did not want an overly heavy, greasy mess that overshadowed the potato and possibly even the main course.

Finally I found what I was looking for in a recipe from my friend's sister. This is a traditional recipe for what the French call pommes de terre dauphinois. I love the humble spud and it doesn't need a lot of over the top treatment to be delicious. This recipe is perfection for the potato. Someday I am going to try to grow my own potatoes in a tire. If anyone has done this, let me know how it works.

Gratin Potatoes:
makes 8 servings

3 large Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 qt. whipping cream
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Layer potato slices in a buttered 13 x 9 baking dish. Stir together cream and remaining ingredients, pour mixture over potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender and mixture is bubbly and golden. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

If you have a healthy heart, you may as well gild the lily and dot the top of the potatoes with some butter. YUM!