Barbecue Baked Beans w/ Crushed Pineapple & Quorn Grounds

Have you noticed the earthy hues of leaves slowly and meticulously painting the landscape like the delicate brushstrokes of a painter's brush?  Have you been unexpectedly hit in the face by a cold north wind?  Are you rearranging your schedule to accommodate Sunday night football?  Maybe so, maybe not.  Regardless, these are all telltale signs of autumn unfolding here in Maryland.  I am feeling mixed emotions as I long for the dog days of summer and crave for the warming comfort of fall foods.  Thankfully, baked beans are the perfect antidote for my momentary blues, perfectly marrying summer cookouts and fall bashes.  

I have a kind of special relationship with baked beans.  It was my first signature dish and, growing up, I was the Chief Engineer of Baked Beans in my house.  I can vividly recall my intrigue with mom's process as she sauteed onions and bell peppers and cooked them in a cast-iron skillet with ground beef on the stovetop.  The ground beef mixture was then transferred to a pot with canned baked beans, brown sugar, barbecue, honey, and yellow mustard and slowly simmered into a sticky, sweet reduction of beans. Hmmm, delish!  I always knew if I could cook these delicious baked beans, I'd never have to worry about going hungry.

This version is a vegetarian homage to the baked beans that my mother taught me to cook many years ago.

Barbecue Baked Beans w/ Crushed Pineapple & Quorn Grounds

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1-12 oz bag Quorn Meatless & Soy-Free Grounds
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1-14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, partially drained
• 1-28 oz can good quality Vegetarian Baked Beans
• 3/4 cup hickory smoke barbecue sauce 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275º.  In a large dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauteed the red onions, red bell peppers, and garlic until soft, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the Quorn meatless grounds and cook an additional 4-5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  If using a pot, transfer the mixture to a large ovenproof dish.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. 

Balsamic Caramelized Onions & How to Make Food Less Spicy

Did you get heavy handed with the pepper?  Is your favorite ethnic take out food unusually spicy this week?  Did that jalapeno pepper turn out to be a lot hotter than you originally thought?  Well, fret not! Cooking is an art and you can fix just about anything that isn't burnt.

After having quite a bit of Mexican Pesto leftover from the Hominy and Corn Chowder with Mexican Pesto, I thought I'd remix it by throwing it in the blender with some chipotle peppers and sun dried tomatoes.  I then used the pesto as a sauce for a box of whole wheat spaghetti.  When I tasted the final product, it was hot!  Like, so hot that my nostrils were tingling and I had to add cheese, drink milk, and take breaks to finish eating it.

That night, I went back to the drawing board and thought about how I would salvage this dish. As mentioned in this article, How to Make Hot Peppers Stop Burning, I knew I had the following options:

• Add dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, or sour cream: The casein in dairy products breaks down the capsaicin in spicy food.
• Dilute:  Adding more food will change the ratio of spice to food and reduce the spiciness of the dish.  
• Acid: Acids such as citrus fruits, vinegar, and tomatoes will help to neutralize the alkaline activity in capsaicinoid.
• Carbohydrates: This includes bread, rice, pasta, crackers, tortillas, beer (it's made from grains), potatoes, corn, and sugar.  According to Dr. Helmenstine, "Carbs provide a barrier between your mouth and some of the capsaicin so less of it contacts your tongue, lips, etc. The sugars in the carbohydrates may also help to lessen the activity of the capsaicinoids" (2012, How to Make Peppers Stop Burning).

For my pasta, I decided to add balsamic caramelized onions for sweetness and acid.  I added about 3/4 cup of grated carrots glazed in a tablespoon of vanilla Greek yogurt for my dairy component and to dilute the dish with vegetables.  I added another box of whole wheat spaghetti to dilute the dish with more pasta (carbohydrates).  I added a large can of crushed tomatoes for more acid.  I also added sauteed spinach, diced olives, diced artichokes, and julienned red bell peppers to further dilute the dish.  The final dish was hearty, flavorful, and it wasn't even the least bit spicy.  I offered some to a friend who dropped by my house.  She added hot sauce to hers and raved about how good the spaghetti was.  Oh, the irony...

The methods applied here have universal application for making food less spicy. 

Balsamic Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt the butter and olive oil.  Add the onion and oregano, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add 2 tablespoons of water to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until the onion is caramelized, about 10 minutes (add a few extra tablespoons of water to the skillet if necessary).  Add the balsamic vinegar and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until has evaporated, about 10 minutes.  Season the onion with salt and pepper.

Note: Balsamic caramelized onions are great in sandwiches and pasta, on pizza, mixed in with vegetables, or as a side dish.