As Ke$ha might say, "Get your drunk on!" (Drunken BEANS, that is!)

This year, I decided to give many of my dear friends the gift of BEANS for Christmas! As I have blogged before, I am completely smitten with Rancho Gordo's heirloom beans, and I just wanted to share the love and get others hooked...like a culinary crack dealer. Tee hee. Plus, with New Year's right around the corner, I figured my friends might want to cook up some beans for good luck in 2011. (You're not limited to just black-eyed peas, ya know! The luck applies to anything you eat a great number of, symbolizing the amount of wealth--or pieces of gold--you'll acquire in the New Year, or some such nonsense.)

As I was placing my gift orders (that included Christmas limas and snowcaps, naturally!), I got to wondering if I had any Rancho Gordo beans left in my own supply. So I dug around in the pantry and unearthed one solitary package of Ojo de Cabra (goat's eye) beans.  But what to do with them? The description said that they were sort of like pintos, and a quick Google search took me to a recipe from Relish Magazine (provided by Rancho Gordo themselves) called "Drunken Beans." Yet another reason to make such a dish for New Year's when there is often much imbibing of spirits, and surely an open beer bottle to be found lying about! ;-)

So I got my beans properly drunk, served them over some rice, and garnished them with some of the corn relish that I just made. I must tell you, if you like things like red beans and rice, this will be TOTALLY up your alley! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! (It's gotta be better than 2010...just sayin'.)



Rancho Gordo Drunken Beans
(Source: Relish Magazine)
"Not sweet or tomato-y like canned baked beans, these are great over rice or served with fresh corn tortillas. Use a dark, sweet beer such as Killian’s or Michelob Amber Bock."

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided (I used at least four!)
2 cups dried beans Ojo de Cabra (Goat’s Eye) or pinto beans
3/4 cup dark, sweet beer (I used a lighter lager--the whole bottle)
1 thick slice bacon (um, or eight slices, as I did?!)
3 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Limes wedges
teaspoon salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Limes wedges

1. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan; add 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1 minced garlic clove. Sauté about 5 minutes. Add beans and enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours or until beans are tender, adding water as necessary to keep beans covered.
2. Add beer and simmer about 15 minutes.
3. Cook bacon large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pan, reserving bacon. Add peppers and remaining onion and garlic to pan; sauté until tender. Add mushrooms; cook until tender. Chop reserved bacon and add to pan.
4. Combine bacon mixture with bean mixture. Cook 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve with lime wedges. Serves 6.

Recipe courtesy of Rancho Gordo, Napa, Calif.
"Relish a New American Farmer," Feb. 2007