Crafting a New Style

Earlier this week, I had plans to make a baked bean dish for what is known as "Tech Feed", an event sponsored by the Friends of PCPA (Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts).  A "Tech Feed" is timed to coincide with the tech rehearsal for each show, and this week the show that is opening is Romeo and Juliet, and the menu was build your own Taco Salad.  I thought that a southwestern style baked bean dish would make a great component, and would have the added benefit of being vegetarian, or even vegan friendly if done correctly.

I was inspired by a recipe that I had made in early February called Kahlua Baked Beans from The El Paso Chile Company's Burning Desires, which we served at a barbeque for an international workshop on the SPS-ALPHA project at our ranch..  This recipe went very well with grilled Tri Tip and we had very few leftovers.  I already knew that it would work for a crowd.

But, something else struck us (my husband loves tweaking seasonings and spices until a recipe tastes just right) as we were tasting the beans, and it really hit home when we were thinking about a name for this "new" recipe.  These beans were not your typical baked beans anymore.  The original recipe had a twist that differentiated it from the normal kind of beans, and so did ours.  There are influences from Santa Maria Style Barbecue (I'll dedicate a separate post to that topic soon), since beans are a traditional part of that style of cooking.

The haciendas in Early California were known for their hospitality, and a barbecue style menu such as the one we had for our SPS-ALPHA workshop is well suited to making guests feel welcome.  You can grill one or more entrees, and round out the buffet with casual appetizers, salsa, salads, baked beans, and other vegetable dishes.


There is an architecture style authentic to California — a mixture of Native American, Mexican, Mission, early California ranch and Spanish Colonial styles.  This  hacienda style needs land to accommodate its horizontal layout, I wish our house at the ranch reflected this, but we're still working on it.  In thinking about the baked bean recipe and its transition from traditional to a new cooking style more in keeping with today's hacienda style hospitality, I can't help thinking that we need to layer in the flavor of the Central Coast, so we're thinking that we should call this style "Central Coast Rancho", and this recipe represents a starting point.

Central Coast Rancho Style Beans
Inspired by The El Paso Chile Company's Burning Desires

Ingredients:
10 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained (liquid reserved)*
2 medium onions, chopped 
1 tsp. sugar (as needed)
1/4 cup butter
12 oz.. enchilada sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, preferably with chipotle
1/2 cup Tequila
2 tbs. hot taco sauce 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cracked pepper
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup of cooked rice (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium eat.  Add onions, and cook until golden and translucent, about 10 minutes.  You may wish to add a teaspoon of sugar to help caramelize  the onions.
2. While the onions are cooking, get the beans ready.  I'd recommend draining the beans over a large mixing bowl using a strainer.
3. In a large slow cooker (or Dutch oven, if you'd rather bake this dish in the oven), stir together the beans, 2 cups of reserved liquid, the caramelized onions, enchilada sauce, barbecue sauce, Tequila, hot taco sauce, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
4. Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours if using a slow cooker.  If you are baking the beans in  the oven, you'll need to bake them for about 2 hours at 350 degrees.
5. Taste for seasoning (checking salt and pepper) and add the nutmeg.  If you find that the beans are too spicy for your taste, you may want to add some cooked rice to tone down the heat.

Note:  I made this recipe with canned beans, but the original recipe from which I drew inspiration made use of dried beans.  It called for 1 1/2 pounds of dried navy beans, which were placed in a large bowl and covered with water and left to soak for 12 hours, then drained.  The beans were then put into a large pot, covered with cold water and heated over medium heat till the water came to a boil.  Then the heat was reduced to a simmer, and the beans were cooked for about an hour, depending on the age of the beans, until they were tender.  The conversion from dried to canned beans is 1 pound of dried beans to 3-4 cans of beans, as a reference.


Serves about 16 to 20 as a side dish.
  

Let the Central Coast Rancho cooking style experiment begin!