Beans the musical fruit

Hear you are having a party this weekend, what better to share with your friends than to treat them to some tasty fiber goodness. Baked beans can take on many incarnations. I like mine a little sweet, a little spicy. Some people put ground beef or smoked sausage,etc... in them. If you decide on YOUR own to get freaky with it, then by all means then do. However, my recipe is a little bit more simple. I can not make it spicy when I prepare them around here, but since your crowd is on the adult side, I will include a little more flavor.
 Here is the supplies you need:

• (3-4) 15 oz can of baked beans, prefer Van Camps, but Kroger has worked as well. Make sure it is not a freaky flavor, just plain beans
• Brown sugar, dark if you have it
• Green bell pepper
• Yellow or white onion
• Cinnamon
• Ketchup and/or favorite bbq sauce
• Bacon
• Can or jarred jalapeno pepper

I hate when my beans get messed up due to weird texture,gross! It is not a make a day in advance thing to me, but it can be a "prep" ahead of time thing. So first let's decide how to cook them. On a weeknight, I take these ingredients and prepare this on the stove top. On a cookout day, when I am bouncing between the grill and kitchen, it is a oven baked dish. I will start with the stovetop method, and tell you what to modify to cook it in the oven.

Preparation

First step is chopping. You need to dice half of the onion and pepper into a small dice. Save the other half for later use. Set to the side, and take about four slices of bacon to chop into small pieces. Now, preheat saute pan over medium high heat. While the pan is heating, begin to open the cans of beans. Once the pan is hot, begin to cook bacon until brown and crispy, not black and crunchy. Take the bacon out to drain on paper towels. You only need about one tablespoon of the bacon grease, pour off the rest. Cook the onion an pepper in this oil. Add salt and pepper at this point.If you want to add jalapeno, add it at this point. I would add about a tablespoon. Once they are done, add the brown sugar. Start with 1/2 cup, it will liquefy quickly, do not let it burn or turn into hard candy. Next, add ketsup, I do not measure,but I will guess about 1/2 cup as well. The bbq sauce should be about 1/4 cup. Stir, and taste the mixture without burning yourself. Add a few dashes of cinnamon and taste again, it should have a certain heat in the background that  make you say hmm, what is that, not taste like a Red Hot.

Cooking

This is the base of how I season my baked beans if you are going to complete it all on the stove, now you are going to need a bigger cooking vessel unless you have any pans as big as mine. Add the vegi mixture, the beans and stir. Taste again. If it missing "something," now it is time to make adjustments. More sugar, a little more bbq sauce, even a little water to thin out the sauce. Once it looks and tastes like you want, add the bacon, and the stove top preparation is complete.

The oven variation is this. Follow everything the same except transfer everything to a baking dish, including the bacon. Cover, and bake on 350 until hot and bubbly, not burn and dried out.

Top Ten: Spice Rack

This is a quick post as I wait for your brother to ever go to sleep. I have put together the top ten things I think you should have in you cupboard as far as seasoning goes. Some need no explanation, other may.

1) Table Salt
2) Black Pepper
3) Kosher and/or Sea Salt
4) Ground Cumin
5) Red Pepper Flakes
6) Chili Powder
7) Oregano
8) Onion Powder
9) Garlic Powder
10)Lawry's Season Salt

Number one and two need no explanation, those are the simple, most basic flavorings you need. Kosher or Sea Salt have many uses from crusting a steak to scrubbing a pan or putting out a grease fire. I know you are not cooking much seafood at this point, but I believe that sea salt adds something special to fish that ordinary iodized salt does not.

Ground cumin is the something in the background that gives Mexican and Tex-Mex food it flavor. It is not "spicy" rather it add aroma and flavor without heat. You can use this to make tacos, fajitas, and chili. Red pepper flakes have uses outside of pizza and pasta, as your brother has taught you. Red pepper flakes can jazz up vegetables, soups, really any dish.

Oregano is a must. It is super versatile. It can season your pasta sauce, it can round out your chili, it can make your cheese steak just a little better. Onion and Garlic powder, make sure it is POWDER, not salt. These are both chameleons that can help you to reproduce flavors that you are familiar with because they are most likely in the processed food you love. Both powders can go in burgers, pasta sauces, chili, chicken dishes,etc...the sky is the limit.

Last but not least is Lawry's Season Salt. This is what I grew up with, this is all I will buy. I have tried many others, I have tried my own blends. But if it ain't broke,do not fix it. This the workhorse of the Black kitchen. The only thing I have not put it on is dessert,(do not give me any ideas.) Since it is salt, you have to watch the other seasoning. It is rare that I would use season salt and regular salt, with the exception of something like a stew, chili or soup because of the volume of food, you need to layer the flavor.

O.k. I think your brother is out for the count so am I. Hope this post help, so next time you call me, I can tell you to go grab these things before asking me questions. Good night.