Boston Baked Beans (The Real Thing)and Baked Indian Corn Pudding (Both from Durgin-Park, Boston, MA)

Boston Baked Beans

Recipe By : Durgin-Park Restaurant, Boston, MA

  1   2 1/2-quart bean pot or covered casserole

  1 pound beans*

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 pound salt pork

  1/2 medium onion -- peeled and uncut

  4 tablespoons sugar

  1/3 cup molasses

  1 teaspoon dry mustard

  1 teaspoon salt

  1/4 teaspoon pepper

 
 *Use California pea beans, York State beans or small white beans.
 
 Soak beans overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 325° F. Place the
 baking soda in a Dutch oven and fill half way with water. Bring to a boil
 and add the beans. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain beans in a colander and run
 cold water through them. Set aside.
 
 Dice the salt pork (available in the bacon section of the grocery store)
 into 1-inch squares. Put half of the salt pork on the bottom of the bean
 pot, along with the onion. Put beans in the pot. Put the remaining salt
 pork on top of the beans.
 
 Mix the sugar, molasses, mustard, salt and pepper with 3 cups of hot water
 and pour over the beans. Cover pot with lid and place the pot into the
 preheated oven. Bake for 6 hours. Check pot periodically to check the
 amount of liquid. Add water to the beans slowly as needed to keep them
 moist; do not flood them. Remove the pot from the oven and serve. Makes
 about 7 cups.
 
 NOTE:  Durgin-Park, a Boston restaurant whose origins date back to the
 American Revolution, is famous for its Boston baked beans, baked Indian
 pudding and apple pan dowdy, Cod dinners and Roast Beef dinners.
 
 Durgin-Park serves 1,000 diners on an average Saturday evening. The
 waitresses have a reputation for their long memories: the second time you come in, you get the same thing you ordered the first time--unless you speak fast.

Baked Indian Pudding
Recipe from: The Durgin-Park Cookbook
by Jane Stern, Michael Stern
Cookbook Heaven at Recipelink.com 
(Taken from the aforementioned book:)

"Durgin-Park's Indian pudding is the best there is. Dark brown with substantial gravity, it smells like roasted corn and tastes like the first Thanksgiving. The long cooking time is necessary to soften the corn and for the flavors to meld. Although some restaurants add raisins or other flavorings, the only traditional way to doll it up is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting fast atop each hot serving. Tommy Ryan (Durgin-Parks Baker) loves telling the story about the time he was eating in a restaurant in New Hampshire-just a regular customer, unknown to the staff. He asked the waitress if they had Indian pudding for dessert. "Well, we do," she said reluctantly, but then she bent close and clued him in to a secret: "Sir, if you want really good Indian pudding, I suggest you go to Durgin-Park." Just to keep the record straight: this is not a Native American dish adapted by colonist cooks. Its name comes from the fact that early settlers considered virtually anything made with corn to be Indian in nature."

Servings: 6

1 1/2 plus 1 1/2 cups milk 

1/4 cup black molasses 

2 tablespoons sugar 

2 tablespoons butter 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon baking powder 

1 egg 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 


In a bowl mix 1 1/2 cups of the milk with the molasses, sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, egg, and cornmeal. Pour the mixture into a stone crock that has been well greased and bake until it boils. 


Heat and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. 


Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for 5 to 7 hours. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

*personal note: Both recipes taste like warm rich history in a bowl, humble, sweet and good for the soul.