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Best-Ever Baked Beans

I have a stepdaughter who would not have a television in her house. Maybe her aversion to television came from her mother, whom I have met three times in five decades. I think she didn’t like television. Neither did my husband, but we had one. I think people who say there is nothing worth watching on television are elitists.

I now have friends who are not on Facebook. They think they have better use for the time spent on Facebook. I don’t think they are elitists, but I think they are missing all those cat and dog videos and don’t care to find old friends from high school or want to read Esquire’s Charlie Pierce. They also miss a lot of recipes.

Last week on Facebook my editor Pem McNerney thought she might make baked beans for a Memorial Day party. Lots of people on Facebook wrote about making it with canned beans. I have done that and also made them from scratch. The first time I made franks and beans over our fireplace the beans were like pebbles. I was embarrassed. I have made it many times since, with canned beans and with dried ones. Today I am making it today on my slow cooker with dried beans (soaked for nine hours) and using as a liquid a barbecue sauce I found on Real Simple magazine. I tripled the recipe. If you are reading this, it worked out beautifully.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Baked Beans in a Slow Cooker

One-half pound of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound dried navy beans, Soaked and drained

1 single recipe of Barbecue Sauce (below)

For beans: Pick through beans to make sure there are no stones. Pour beans in a bowl and add about three inches of water. Soak for at least eight hours or overnight. Drain the beans in a colander. In a saucepan, add the drained beans and fresh water to cover by three inches or so. Simmer for an hour; drain beans from the water.

Place beans in a slow cooker. Sprinkle bacon on top, then pour barbecue sauce on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours on low until beans are tender.

Barbecue Sauce

From Real Simple, June 2017

Yield: Makes two cups

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup ketchup

¼ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, often, until soft but now brown, about six minutes. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until slightly thickened, six to seven minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.