Walnut Baked Beans

Name: Walnut Baked Beans
Yield: serves 12
Ingredients: 6 slices applewood-smoked bacon; 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped; 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 medium cloves); 2 teaspoons chili powder; 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans (preferably Bush’s); 1 cup Bourbon Mustard Barbecue Sauce (page 101) or your favorite bottled barbecue sauce; 3/4 pound chopped walnuts

December 14, 2011

Last year, my cousin Gloria showed up at our homecoming reunion with a huge pan of baked beans topped with a layer of walnuts. Walnuts? Walnuts are my least favorite nut, and I’ve never seen them paired with baked beans. But Gloria is a fine home cook, so I asked her where she got the idea. “I dreamed it last night,” she said. I tried her beans, and those crispy, toasted walnuts added a lovely crunch to an old standby. By adding walnuts to beans, Gloria has given a delicious new meaning that old maxim: “Live your dreams.” I can’t wait to see what she “dreams up” for next year’s homecoming.

Recipe notes

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