Thursday, November 19, 2009

An Incurable Case of Culinary Curiosity (Beans and Butter Knots)

I know, I know. I promised that I would post a recipe today. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to renege on that promise.

I am NOT posting a recipe. I lied yesterday. I blatantly misled you, just so that you would come back and see what the recipe was. I wanted you to be driven back to the site by curiosity. By an incurable case of culinary curiosity! I am so bad! Bad mama!

Repeat. I am not posting even one recipe today.

I am posting two recipes!

Yes, indeedy. Today you get two recipes for the price of one! Never let it be said that you don't get your money's worth here at Smithellanous.

Shall we proceed?

The first recipe is the Apple Bean Bake. I have been making this for at least ten years and we absolutely love it. In fact, it's one of Nathan's favorite recipes.


Before I post it, though, I have to tell you a story about it. Sarah saw the recipe card sitting on the counter yesterday and she picked it up and stared at with great curiosity. (You can tell how well loved a recipe is by how many stains are on the card.)



She finally looked at me quizzically and said, "Was this card written on a real typewriter? Where you had to slide the card in and hit the return handle and hear the 'ding' and everything?"

Let me just tell you that at that very moment, I felt rather old. Rather ancient. Rather dinosauric. I felt like I was part of a museum exhibit.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Over here we have a recipe card from the late 20th century that was actually typed. On a typewriter!"

And everyone would ooh and ahh about the fossilized technology and move on to the next exhibit.

I am from the typewriter era. Sigh.

Okay, on to the recipe. (Originally typed on a real typewriter. By an ancient typist. Me.)


Apple Bean Bake

48 oz. can of beans (Cooked, brown beans in a can--either called "baked beans" or "pork and beans. I remove the pork before using in the recipe.
4 T. butter or margarine
2 large cooking apples cubed (3 C)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar
1/c C ketchup
1 t. each of cinnamon, molasses and salt (If you don't happen to have any molasses on hand, I think the recipe would still be fine.)

1. In large skillet, melt butter, add apples and cook until tender.
2. Add brown and white sugar, stir until sugar is melted.
3. Stir in ketchup, cinnamon, molasses and salt.
4. Add beans. Mix well.
5. Pour into 2 quart casserole and bake for about one hour at 400 degrees. Serves 6-8

(Can easily be halved or doubled; if halving, be sure to decrease cooking time a little.)


Here are a few photos to illustrate the process, featuring my lovely cooking assistant, Sarah, and her lovely cooking assistant, Snowy.










And now for the second recipe which I stole from Facebook, where it had been posted by my friend, Leeanne.


Butter Knots


This is a very complicated recipe, which will require 4-5 hours of your time. It has multiple steps which are enormously complex and require much mental trauma.

So! Are you ready?

1. Open a can of Pillsbury bread sticks
2. Knot them and bake as directed
3. Meanwhile, saute garlic in a stick of butter
4. When knots are done, brush ALL the butter on the knots
5. Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan cheese

Whew! How exhausting can one recipe be? You are now all given permission to go and take a nap. That will give the butter in the recipe more of a chance to become permanently adhered to your hips.

One additional note about this recipe: I used the minced garlic that comes in the jar. It's a little bit easier. Also, I just used a half stick of butter because I already have too much "stuff" adhering to my hips. However, I'm sure the knots would be extra delectable with a whole stick.





And now? Now you get to see a picture of the two recipes as part of a meal. Is this exciting, or what? Chicken on the grill, baked beans, and rolls. What could be better?

Well, except brownies for dessert. With pecans on top. And ice cream. Yum.



And that concludes Becky's Cooking Class for the Day. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as the Smith family has.


_______________________


Melissa asked about the photo editing site that makes the "cool" pictures like I posted yesterday. Two of them are: photofunia.com or loonapix.com And prepare to become instantly addicted when you go there!


_____________________


Anonymous asked (concerning the rug conundrum I wrote about yesterday):


Tell us more about the couch and the colors that are in it and maybe we can help with the rug decision. Do you want the rug to be the focal point of the room? Do you want it to coordinate or contrast? Will there be art on the walls? What about the lighting-both natural and artificial? Does Steve work best in a calm environment or does it need to be lively? Just a few things to think about. Have you looked at Home Depot yet?


I just have to say that we should have had her along on our shopping expeditions. What great questions and things to consider! We're making a sort of final decision today and will certainly be asking those questions.


____________________________


Tomorrow afternoon, Steve's parents will arrive. And tomorrow evening (or more like Saturday morning about 1 or 2 am) Nathan and Meagan will get here.

Saturday, we will all take off for Manteo in an Official Smith Convoy.


Good times!

10 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

MaryH said...

I started my secretarial career on a "real" typewriter, using the typewriter eraser for mistakes or the white-out AND used carbon paper - there was always the occasion that you would forget to take out the little pieces of paper you would put between the carbon paper and the first page to keep the carbon from smudging while you used the eraser - then when you proceeded to type, your "real" carbon copy would have big ole blank spaces in it and you would have to start over and over and over! I also come from the dinosaur days of using shorthand and would sit for what seemed like hours in my bosses' offices taking dictation and reading it back and editing it on the spot and then going out to that old "real" typewriter and produce a final document. You know what? I think that was truly just as efficient as this ridiculously fast paced computer/e-mail/fax/voicemail age we are living in now. There was careful thought put into every word and where it was placed the FIRST time because to edit and do it over would take too much precious time. Now, we edit and edit and edit and edit to the point that I have come full circle in documents - they are the same as they were before the editing started. With the ability to e-mail documents of any length at the push of a button has made my job a nightmare. You used to put a document in the mail, have to wait a few days for it to reach its recipient and then they respond back (by mail) which would take a few days and then we would be done. NOW, I see the same document(s) a bizillion times a day from many different authors and am expected to turn it around in a push of a button the same amount of times - it is NUTS!!! Our brains, the same brains we have had for centuries, are not created to compete and keep up with the pace computers, e-mails and all the other wonderful technical "advancements" that now are part of an office. Anyway, include me in the "old" typewriter club - somedays, I wish they were still all we had.

Becky, the beans in the recipe, are they baked beans or can of plain beans? It sounds great - and the rolls too - I can't wait to try both.

Thanks for sharing.

Harriet said...

I have a similar dinosaur typewriter story. We were recently participating in a group garage sale, and my daughter Caty, who is almost exactly Sarah's age (born Aug. 1995), knew I would be getting to preview what the other members brought to the sale before it opened to the public. She begged me to buy a typewriter if someone brought one because she thought it would be so cool to try it out! Are they kids of the computer age, or what?

Anonymous said...

Yep. I remember typing class in high school, and carbon paper, and erasers and White Out, which seemed like manna from God's own hands. And then those little sheets that you could just type over and it would white the letter out neatly; oh, the angels sang the day I first used that. *sigh* I do believe that Mary is right as far as the pace of life. The things that our brains are expected to hold, and how it pushes out the things that really matter.
I'll be trying the bean/apple bake. There's a roasted carrot recipe on Pioneer Woman today that sounds good, too, so basically, dinner has just about been planned for me. Now, if someone will just give me a good porkchop recipe, I'll be done!

Shannon said...

Good Luck with your move!!!

Marysienka said...

"I felt like I was part of a museum exhibit". haha you're so funny!
You are not old, my parents are older than you. So you're not old. ;-)

Thanks for the smile tonight!

Saffyres said...

That recipe looks GOOD - but what KIND of beans????

Jessica Kramasz said...

Seeing as I had both a can of breadsticks and 4 hours to spare :-)I tried the butter knots tonight. It was a huge hit with my family. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Beverly said...

Typewriters! I haven't thought of one of those for years!

(I feel a bit dinosauric lately too!)

It's good to hear that it's almost time for your sweet boy to come home too! Precious times...

Sue G said...

Yay. Two recipes--count them--two--that don't have cheese, cream cheese, sour cream or any other of the icky stuff that people love (except me). These both sound great. Thanks for them.

And they do sell pork and bean type beans but without pork. They're called vegetarian beans and I think Campbell's makes them.

Melissa said...

Becky,
Thanks for the photo link, your are correct that I can spend hours playing around with them. Hope everyone has a great holiday!