For the Love of Root Beer

This recipe was the catalyst of my newest pregnancy craving of root beer. Always hated it before, but I decided I wanted to try out these beans for a last minute cook out. Apparently, Mom craved root beer with me so I guess that explains it. I wonder which of these little girls will be my mini-me... scary thought! So anyway I bought the root beer, used one bottle for the recipe and am quickly sucking down the rest in a hormone induced fervor. I will probably be making this again as an excuse to buy root beer, but also because it was a hit at the party.

I had approximately 2 hours to prepare for a bbq for 8 people, and I had basically planned nothing before going to the grocery store. Being a proclaimed root beer hater, why would I make this? I just needed something to make. I saw this in a magazine and it was all I could think of and the issue was sitting out on the coffee table so I wrote down the ingredients and headed to the store. Seemed like it was worth a try. I am so glad I made it. Everyone loved it, and a few told me it was their favorite part of dinner. Sometimes I don't know why I work so hard on other recipes when something this simple is a favorite! It's way better than the often bland and sometimes too sweet canned baked beans, but it's not trying to be those beans, either. When you first taste it, you may expect it to be like your typical baked beans, and think it doesn't taste right. It's a lot more subtle, but has so much more depth of flavor. And it's easy to make and then just let it sit on the stove or in the oven until you're ready to serve. The other good thing is if you stock a lot of canned beans, you could probably make this without a special trip to the store. Perfect for last minute or make ahead.

Picture: From Bon Appetit. I don't have my own because, again, 8 people were coming over and I was stressed and anyway they looked exactly like this. Like beans...

Root Beer Baked Beans
Bon Appetit July 2010


4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal (I used Natural Brew))
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses (I used dark because that's what I had)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook bacon in large ovenproof pot over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add onions to drippings in pot; cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add beans, root beer, vinegar, molasses, tomato paste, mustard, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; mix. Stir in bacon; bring to boil. Transfer to oven; bake uncovered until liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.

Summer Soup -- Chunky Tortilla Soup

Ok, ok... you guys made me feel bad for not posting. I've actually taken photos of several of the things I've made lately, but I just keep forgetting to post them. Anyhow, this was one of my more recent recipe trials. It's another recipe from Lucid Food... so consider it both healthy for you and the planet. I really love this book because it forces me to try new flavors and ingredients, although some of the recipes are hard to follow to the letter: they aren't all that technically difficult, but the ingredients can sometimes be hard to find unless you have an Asian market, a Hispanic foods market, a stunning farmer's market, and a Whole Foods right around the corner (which the author probably does, since she lives in New York). This made for a considerable challenge back in Tennessee, where the most exotic things at Kroger were the tahini and canned chipotle chiles in adobo (which I couldn't even find all of the time). Fortunately now, I'm in the DC metro area --where perhaps the biggest culinary asset is the ethnic diversity-- and the international foods aisle at the local discount grocery store is two whole aisles with a small refrigerator/freezer section, and that doesn't even include the chips and salsa (which are more appropriately located with the other conventional American foods).

Anyhow, back on the task at hand, this soup recipe really intrigued me because it doesn't call for a single drop of broth, be it meat-based or otherwise... not one single drop. The flavor comes from boiling the corn cobs (so fresh corn is a must, hence the reason this is most def a summer soup in most places) and the juice of the fresh tomatoes that go in it. It's a little messy to make, but otherwise pretty straight forward. You can cook your own black beans or use canned (drained and rinsed well), and don't be shy with the salt... remember the no-broth thing, so there is really no sodium in this other than what you put in it, and you won't be able to taste it unless you do. But when you can taste it... yum!

Liz, I don't know how readily available queso fresco is to you, but use it if at all possible-- it's delicious!! Otherwise you can substitute any mild white cheese (think farmer's cheese or monterrey jack, if you must). Also, I used hand-made (not by me) corn tortillas, simply because I could, but I actually think this would be better with the thin, American-ized ones that come in packs of 4,000.

So here goes...

Chunky Tortilla Soup, from Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia

Serves 4

Three 6 inch corn tortillas

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5 ripe tomatoes

1 yellow onion, minced

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed and cobs reserved

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chile powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced

Leaves from 1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

2 limes, quartered

1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or foil).

Cut tortillas in half, then into 1/2 inch strips. Place the strips in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, then spread onto the baking sheet. Bake until crisp, approx 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Position a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Core and halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds, holding them over the strainer so all of the juice falls into the bowl. Press the seeds with a a ladle or spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the seeds and set the juice aside. Dice the tomatoes.

Heat a soup pot and add the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and saute until soft, then stir in the tomatoes, black beans, corn kernels, garlic, and chile powder. Add the tomato juice, 3 cups water, and corn cobs. If the pot is small, break the cobs in half to fit. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the corn cobs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve soup topped with several tortilla strips, 1/4 cup of queso fresco, a few avocado slices, and small handful of cilantro. Serve lime* and jalapeno slices on the side.

* We didn't use the limes because I didn't really see the need, but do as you will.

Summer Pasta Fix

It's no secret that I love pasta. Since it's summer, I don't want to make super heavy, cheesy pasta dishes, but recently I had a craving for noodles and I needed something to serve to guests for a really casual weeknight dinner. Enter tagliatelle and corn pasta. Yum. I have made this two weeks in a row, so I figure it merits sharing, because that never happens around here. It's really good and gets rave reviews' from B and guests. I served it with a roasted chicken and an heirloom tomato salad. The good summer corn makes the dish really sweet, so just make sure whatever you decide to pair it with should be very savory, otherwise, you will have a very sweet supper. I also think it would be a great (almost) vegetarian main entree.

Photo caption: This is the third photo that B texted me while trying to pick up the ingredients for me for this last minute dinner. You would have thought I asked him to go to Italy to get it. I love this pasta but you can use whatever you can find... just in case your SO goes to the store for you and brings home linguine because finding the yellow bag up and to the left is too hard.

This dish can be almost totally prepared in advance, or you can be like me and start at the last minute and have your whole kitchen in a total mess by the time your guests arrive. Either way, it isn't hard - just really messy. Then again, I am a messy cook, so maybe it's just me. I follow the recipe pretty much exactly, except I don't measure precisely because you really can't screw it up. Just throw it all in and enjoy the starch lovers dish.

One tip: the pesto does get pretty sticky and you don't want it to be totally oily so you can't just keep thinning it with olive oil. Instead of draining the pasta, I use tongs to transfer it from the water to the skillet I cooked the corn in (also good if you are reheating the pesto) so the pasta is really wet. Then I put in the pesto and the corn and start stirring around, using the hot pasta water to thin it out as I stir. Sometimes you can skip that step in recipes but it is really necessary in this one.

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto
Bon Appetit Aug 2010

6 first course/4 main course servings

4 bacon slices, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces tagliatelle or fettuccine
3/4 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided

Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Add corn, garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to drippings in skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups corn kernels to small bowl and reserve. Scrape remaining corn mixture into processor. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and pine nuts. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, and 1/2 cup basil leaves. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil leaves and reserved bacon. Serve pasta, passing additional grated Parmesan alongside.