My Prairie Cookbook (26 page)

Baked beans from scratch, although traditional, can take a really long time. There's all that rinsing, soaking, and draining—and waiting. I prefer to take advantage of the modern convenience of canned baked beans. Besides, it's really fun to mix up the different flavors that are out there. You can use any flavors you like. Mix it up each time, and the dish will always be different but just as yummy!

Serves 6 to 8

3 (15-ounce/430-g) cans assorted flavor baked beans

½ cup (120 ml) ketchup

½ cup (120 ml) yellow or brown mustard

½ cup (120 ml) barbecue sauce

2 slices bacon

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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

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Mix the beans, ketchup, mustard, and barbecue sauce in a large bowl. Pour them into a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking pan. Cross the bacon slices on top. Bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly. Serve hot.

One of the staple foods on
Little House
was corn bread. You'll see Ma taking it out of the oven often. You'll see it in picnic scenes, dinner scenes, and even in our lunch pails for school. This corn bread is great with anything, and especially with my Smoky Spicy Beefy Chili (
this page
). Be sure to serve this with butter, but bring the butter to room temperature first. That'll keep the corn bread from falling apart when you spread it.

Serves 8

1⅓ cups (165 g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (140 g) coarse stone-ground yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1¼ cups (300 ml) low-fat milk

2 tablespoons honey

2 large eggs, beaten

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (90 ml) corn oil

8 scallions (white and tender green parts only), thinly sliced

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Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Place a 10-inch (25-cm) cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat.

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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, honey, eggs, and ⅓ cup (75 ml) of the oil. Add the wet ingredients to the cornmeal mixture and whisk just until combined. Stir in the scallions.

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Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the hot skillet and swirl to coat. Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool slightly, then invert the skillet and turn the corn bread out onto a wire rack to cool. Alternatively, serve the corn bread hot directly from the skillet.

Who doesn't love popovers? They are the epitome of light, fluffy, yummy goodness. We didn't eat popovers on
Little House
, but we definitely eat them in my own Little House. Slather these with butter and, if you like, lots of jelly or honey.

Make 12 popovers

Vegetable oil or shortening, for popover tins

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1¼ cups (300 ml) milk, at room temperature

1¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

•
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Oil every other cup (to prevent the popovers from touching each other when they rise) in two 12-cup popover or muffin pans lightly but well.

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Whisk the eggs until lemon-colored and foamy. Add the milk and stir in until well blended. Don't overbeat. Add the flour and salt all at once. Beat by hand until foamy and smooth on top.

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Pour the batter into a pitcher and fill the oiled cups in the pan with batter. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 30 minutes longer. Don't open the oven door to check or they'll fall!

•
Remove the popovers from the pan with a sharp knife, being careful not to pierce them, and serve immediately.

What's yummier with a great roast dinner than light and fluffy dinner rolls? Now, don't get me wrong—I am a big fan of biscuits. And biscuits are indisputable prairie food (as well as homemade bread). I've just always loved going out to dinner and breaking into a warm, crusty roll with a soft, light center. I adore a simple Parker House dinner roll. I spent years testing and experimenting with different recipes until one day—voilà—I had come as close as possible to the originals. I always have to double this recipe so that there are some for the next day.

Make 14 rolls