Bourbon and Brown Sugar Stove Top Baked Beans

After making stove top baked beans before, I decided to play with the recipe and make a bourbon and brown sugar version, kind of like the one you purchase in a can at the store.

Ingredients:
1 tube prepared polenta, cubed
1 cup dry white beans
1 cup dry kidney beans
1 Tbsp oil
1 sweet onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup Bourbon
3 Tbsp molasses (not blackstrap)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cook beans either soaking overnight and boiling in a pot for 20 minutes, or use a pressure cooker to cook from dry or soaked.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Bake cubed polenta for 5-10 mins, until golden and crisp (no need to flip).
4. Sauté onions and garlic in oil until translucent.
5. Add cooked beans, Bourbon, molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce, and maple syrup.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until    liquid reduces, about 20 minutes.
8. Serve over baked cubed polenta.

Notes:

• Serves 4.
• You can sub 1 can of white beans and 1 can of kidney beans for the dry beans and skip cooking step.

Dessert: Pumpkin Cheesecake

This dessert was made several years ago over the holidays (for New Year's Eve, if I recall correctly.) I liked it. I didn't like it enough to plan to make it again. However, it was another one of those special desserts that makes it to the blog due to effort. I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. 

Frustratingly, I cannot access the recipe anymore, but due to the restrictive levels of the Cook's Illustrated website, I'd probably get a cease and desist. If you are a Cook's Illustrated subscriber, search for Pumpkin-Bourbon Cheesecake with Graham-Pecan Crust to get the recipe for this yummy pumpkin cheesecake.