Sides: Grilled Corn and Slow Baked Beans

Spring continues to make appearances, and so the grill must come out. I woke up yesterday thinking of corn, thinking of hamburgers, and thinking of my special baked beans.

Now, these beans are out of the can, I'll admit that right up front. But, it's the things you add and the way they are cooked that will make them special. The end result is caramelized, concentrated with flavor, and a great foil to the freshness of the corn. Try them out at your next backyard barbeque.


Slow Baked Beans
serves 4

1 18-oz. can or jar baked beans (I used B&M Originals)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
.25 c. diced onion
2 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp sorghum molasses
2 slices bacon

Prehat oven to 300 degrees.


Pour the beans into a small baking dish, including the juices. Remove the chunk of pork floating around in there, unless you are using vegetarian beans.

Add the sugar, sauce, onions, and molasses, stir well to combine. Place strips of bacon on top.


Bake for at least 2 hours, or until the beans are a very dark, sticky, caramalized color. If you have a hot oven (like my parents), you may want to turn down to 250 degrees halfway through. Serve warm.

Grilled Corn
serves 2

This is more of a technique than recipe. To grill corn I like to gently pull back the husks and remove all of the silks. I then tie the husks up into a handle-like fashion and rub them generously with some herbed butter (1 clove garlic, 1 small handful parsley, butter, salt, and pepper).


I place them on a medium grill with the husk-handles hanging off the side, so they don't burn. Grill for 10 minutes, turning and applying more butter often, then enjoy!