Bourbon, bacon, beans (with a little coffee and pineapple); how can you go wrong? You can’t. Especially when the recipe was developed by Michael Mina for Esquire magazine’s “Recipes for Men” series. After experiencing the indulgent bliss of Michael Mina’s lobster pot pie over Christmas I knew that this would be the perfect over-the-top pairing for our Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops.

A one-pot recipe simple enough for men who rarely venture beyond the grill to prepare with confidence, these beans slowly simmer into a winning combination of flavors and textures. It is a venture best left for the weekend as the beans need to soak overnight and then require 4-6 hours of unattended cooking time, but the results are guaranteed to please a hungry holiday crowd. Tiny bits of bacon and pineapple punctuate the round smoothness of navy beans while notes of coffee and bourbon spike the sauce with an addictive earthy sweetness. If you are one to murmur sighs of pleasure while eating an excellent bowl of baked beans, consider yourself warned, you may want to eat a bowl of these alone!

Happy 4th of July! (And a brief public service announcement)

When I was in high school our family and friends would gather together on the biggest lawn available for a huge 4th of July potluck. Once darkness descended, bellies full, we would sit on the grass while the guys shot off countless large and small fireworks well into the night. The fireworks were shot towards the beach from a long cement driveway. One year, a large twisting firework fell over just as it ignited. Instead of shooting vertically into the air the firework zoomed horizontally into the crowd. Just missing the face of my younger brother, it hit me in a blaze of light, glancing off my left shoulder and then slowly fizzling out in the grass. Shocked, I looked down at smoke coming from my shirt. Thankfully the West Coast is still quite cold on the 4th of July, and I was wearing a thick hooded sweatshirt layered over a t-shirt. The firework burned a coaster-sized hole through my sweatshirt, melted the t-shirt underneath, and singed the hood as it skipped off into the lawn. Amazingly my skin and face were unharmed. From that day on I keep a very healthy distance from fireworks and hope that this year you will do the same!

Bourbon Bacon Baked Beans (Printable Recipe)

Adapted from Michael Mina for Esquire

Serves 6-8

Note: Next time I would reduce the brown sugar to 1/2 cup as the beans were on the sweet side for my tastes. However I think most people would be very happy with the full amount of sweetness.

Ingredients:

16 oz. dry navy beans

3 cups water

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

1 yellow onion, minced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup bourbon

1/2 cup strong coffee

1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped to a pulp

1 cup brown sugar

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Pinch chile flakes

Directions:

Place the beans in a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by 1 inch. Soak the beans overnight. In the morning pour off the water and rinse the beans under cold running water.

Place a large soup pot (8 quarts) over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally until the bacon starts to brown. Next add the onions, and saute until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, stirring for one minute. Then add the beans and all remaining ingredients (except the salt, which will prevent the beans from softening if added too early). Reduce the heat to low, and cook the beans for 4-6 hours, or until the beans are soft. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the pot, add a little water. Once the beans are soft, season to taste with salt. (The beans will taste dull unless you add enough salt, so do not be shy with the salt.) Cook the beans for another hour, adding water if necessary to maintain the desired consistency. If the beans are too wet at the end of the hour, raise the heat to medium, and simmer the beans until they reach your desired thickness. Taste the beans again and adjust the salt as needed. Serve warm.

When it comes to holiday feasts, I often struggle with the side dishes. Thanksgiving is pretty easy since the list of side dishes is long and keeps to basic form: stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, a mashed starch of some sort, etc. December holidays, however, seem to lack any customary lists. Earlier this month when I was flipping through one of my favorite balanced diet cookbooks, Canyon Ranch Cooking- I spied a beautiful photo of an acorn squash stuffed with wild rice. Topped with soft blue cheese crumbles and crunchy pepita seeds, it looked too good to pass up.

Fortunately the preparation was simple. In the time it takes to bake the acorn squash, you can cook the wild rice and prep the remaining ingredients. Then after a quick whir of the baked squash through a food processor everything is ready to assemble. This beautiful yet healthy squash isn’t loaded with fat or refined sugar and is an excellent side dish to balance out a heavier holiday meal. Each squash forms a lovely natural bowl. With wild rice pressed on top of the filling the dish is almost worthy of its own plated course. The wild rice and pepitas add a pleasant contrast to the smooth squash, giving it a satisfying balance of silky, chewy, and crunchy textures. If you are looking for a vegetarian side dish to round out a holiday meal, this simple recipe would be an easy yet impressive way to lighten up the table.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice (Printable Recipe)
Adapted from Canyon Ranch Cooking
Serves 8

Ingredients:

3 cups Vegetable Stock (low-sodium)
1 cup dry Wild Rice
1 teaspoon Salt, divided
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Tarragon
4 large Acorn Squash (about 5 lbs), halved and seeded
1/2 medium Onion, finely diced
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice
1 Tablespoon dry Vermouth
1/4 cup canned Evaporated Skim Milk
1 Tablespoon Walnut Oil
1 cup crumbled Blue Cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup toasted Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle.

Place a medium sized pot with lid over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable stock to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add wild rice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, thyme, and tarragon to the pot. Stir, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with the lid, and gently simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the rice has burst open and is tender. Once the rice is cooked, remove the pot from the heat, and fluff the contents with a fork.

Once the oven is pre-heated, place the squash (cut side down)in a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Pour water into the dish until it is 1/4″ deep. Cover the squash with a lid or foil, and place the dish into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash are tender when pierced with a fork.

While the squash and wild rice are cooking, place a small heavy pan with lid over low heat. Add onion and garlic into the pan, cover the pan, and gently sweat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and almost translucent. If the mixture starts to stick to the pan, add a little bit of water. Once the onion is cooked, remove the cover and add the allspice, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and vermouth. Stir and continue to cook the mixture for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and set the pan aside.

Once the squash are cooked, remove them from the oven, and let them cool for about 10 minutes, or until you can comfortably handle the hot squash. Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the orange flesh, leaving about 1/4″ of the squash inside to line the shells (and prevent them from tearing). Transfer the cooked flesh into a food processor. Add in the onion mixture and evaporated milk and process until smooth. While the processor is still running, slowly pour in the walnut oil. Once everything is smooth and blended together, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add about two-thirds of the cooked wild rice into the bowl and mix it into the squash mixture. Spoon the squash mixture into each individual acorn squash shell, mounding it slightly in the center.

Take the remaining wild rice and press it gently onto the top of the squash fillings. Sprinkle blue cheese (about 2 Tablespoons per squash), pepitas (about 1/2 Tablespoon per squash), and a sprinkle of the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme on top of the filling. Place each squash on a plate, and enjoy!

Estimated Nutrition Information: As prepared each squash has 260 calories, 6 grams of fat, 384 milligrams of sodium, and 8 grams of protein.

After a quick trim of the tops and bottoms, the artichokes steam in a white wine broth for about 45 minutes, making this a simple recipe with delicious results. We tore off the outer leaves and dipped them in a basic blend of butter and lemon juice. The flavor was artichoke perfection- sweet, meaty, earthy, and dipped in buttery goodness. If you happen to encounter a beautiful artichoke don’t think twice about bringing it home for a hands on dinner.