KIDNEY BEANS À LA CRÉOLE
Soak overnight a quart of kidney beans and cook until tender in boiling salted water. Drain, put a layer into a baking-dish with half a pound of bacon in one piece which has been boiled until tender and skinned, and a chopped onion. Cover with beans, season with salt and red pepper, fill the baking-dish with cold water, and bake slowly until the liquid is nearly absorbed.
BOSTON BAKED BEANS
Wash and pick over a quart of navy beans. Soak overnight in cold water to cover. In the morning drain, cover with fresh water, and heat slowly, keeping the water below the boiling point until the skins will burst when a spoonful is gently breathed upon. Drain the beans. Scald and scrape the rind of half a pound of fat salt pork, cut off one slice, and put into the bottom of the bean-pot. Fill the pot with the beans and bury the rest of the pork in it, scoring the rind deeply. Mix one teaspoonful of salt with one tablespoonful of molasses and three tablespoonfuls of sugar, add a cupful of boiling water, pour over the beans, and add more boiling water if necessary to fill the pot. Cover the bean-pot and bake in a slow oven for six or eight hours, adding boiling water as needed. During the last hour of cooking, remove the lid so that the top will be brown. A teaspoonful of mustard may be added with the other seasoning. This is the genuine Boston recipe. A sliced onion put in with the pork is considered by many to be an improvement.