I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my late
MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean soups
I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do recall
an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little more of
THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be aware the
cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not be the
same.

MIL Beans

1 lb dry pinto beans
1 lb hamburger
1 med onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 oz of tomato paste
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t black pepper
Salt to taste

Yes, it's as simple as it looks, but there's a catch. All the major food
groups must be cooked separately. Start by crumbling and thoroughly
browning hamburger. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic and set aside. Wash
and boil dried beans (no soaking!) until done. This should be done at a
minimal rolling boil, so all beans are being circulated by the boil and not
sitting on the bottom. Takes 2-4 hrs, depending on elevation. When beans
fully cooked, add tomato paste (can sub 8oz tomato sauce), cayenne, and salt
and pepper and cook for 30 mins more to marry flavors. As usual, will be
better next day.

I can't explain why this works so well, but if done right it is sublime.
You really get the essence of what pinto beans are about and it is so rich
and flavorful, you could eat yourself sick. Not too hot, yet jes enough
spice (adjust cayenne to your own taste). My ex-BIL loved 'em with malt
vinegar. I'm partial to butter covered saltines.

enjoy =D
nb

"notbob" > wrote in message
...
>I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my late
> MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
> family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean soups
> I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do recall
> an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
> tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
> attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
> recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little more of
> THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be aware
> the
> cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not be
> the
> same.
>
> MIL Beans
>
> 1 lb dry pinto beans
> 1 lb hamburger
> 1 med onion chopped
> 2 cloves garlic
> 3 oz of tomato paste
> 1/8 t cayenne pepper
> 1/8 t black pepper
> Salt to taste
>
> Yes, it's as simple as it looks, but there's a catch. All the major food
> groups must be cooked separately. Start by crumbling and thoroughly
> browning hamburger. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic and set aside.
> Wash
> and boil dried beans (no soaking!) until done. This should be done at a
> minimal rolling boil, so all beans are being circulated by the boil and
> not
> sitting on the bottom. Takes 2-4 hrs, depending on elevation. When beans
> fully cooked, add tomato paste (can sub 8oz tomato sauce), cayenne, and
> salt
> and pepper and cook for 30 mins more to marry flavors. As usual, will be
> better next day.
>
> I can't explain why this works so well, but if done right it is sublime.
> You really get the essence of what pinto beans are about and it is so rich
> and flavorful, you could eat yourself sick. Not too hot, yet jes enough
> spice (adjust cayenne to your own taste). My ex-BIL loved 'em with malt
> vinegar. I'm partial to butter covered saltines.

OK, I have to try this. Does the separate cooking of the ingredients bring
out each one's own flavor? I'm with you on the buttered saltines, too.

Felice

On 2009-02-13, Felice > wrote:

> OK, I have to try this. Does the separate cooking of the ingredients bring
> out each one's own flavor?

Hard to say. I just know it tastes great. I think it's more the cooking
the beans to doneness on their own. I'm a big pinto bean fan and no other
recipe tastes so beany rich. So much so, very few spices are needed to
enhance the flavor. I'll try it with other bean dishes like hamhocks and
butter beans.

> I'm with you on the buttered saltines, too.

I've recently discovered Nabisco Multi-Grain saltines. I like 'em even
better than using Fritos in my beans. Yum!

nb

On Fri 13 Feb 2009 10:32:57a, notbob told us...

> I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my
> late MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner
> (meet family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best
> bean soups I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans.
> I do recall an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid,
> but I never tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends
> and I used to attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church.
> Anyway, here's the recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to
> taste a little more of THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call
> 'em MIL beans. Be aware the cooking instructions are crucial. Do not
> ignore or the dish will not be the same.
>
> MIL Beans
>
> 1 lb dry pinto beans
> 1 lb hamburger
> 1 med onion chopped
> 2 cloves garlic
> 3 oz of tomato paste
> 1/8 t cayenne pepper
> 1/8 t black pepper
> Salt to taste
>
> Yes, it's as simple as it looks, but there's a catch. All the major
> food groups must be cooked separately. Start by crumbling and
> thoroughly browning hamburger. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic and
> set aside. Wash and boil dried beans (no soaking!) until done. This
> should be done at a minimal rolling boil, so all beans are being
> circulated by the boil and not sitting on the bottom. Takes 2-4 hrs,
> depending on elevation. When beans fully cooked, add tomato paste (can
> sub 8oz tomato sauce), cayenne, and salt and pepper and cook for 30 mins
> more to marry flavors. As usual, will be better next day.
>
> I can't explain why this works so well, but if done right it is sublime.
> You really get the essence of what pinto beans are about and it is so
> rich and flavorful, you could eat yourself sick. Not too hot, yet jes
> enough spice (adjust cayenne to your own taste). My ex-BIL loved 'em
> with malt vinegar. I'm partial to butter covered saltines.
>
> enjoy =D
> nb

Sounds good, notbob. A must try for me!

--
Wayne Boatwright
e-mail to wayneboatwright at gmail dot com
************************************************** **********************
Date: Friday, 02(II)/13(XIII)/09(MMIX)
************************************************** **********************
Countdown till President's Day
2dys 11hrs 47mins
************************************************** **********************
'When war is declared, Truth is the first casualty.'--Arthur Ponsonby
************************************************** **********************

notbob wrote:
> I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my late
> MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
> family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean soups
> I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do recall
> an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
> tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
> attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
> recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little more of
> THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be aware the
> cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not be the
> same.
>
> MIL Beans
>
> 1 lb dry pinto beans

Okay, I realize I'm taking my life into my hands by asking this, but
have you ever made it with drained, canned pintos?

gloria p

PS: I'm Portuguese and have never heard of this recipe
on the east coast either from mainland, Azorean, or Madeiran
Portuguese immigrants. It does sound worth a try, but at
altitude dried beans take forever to cook.

On 2009-02-13, Gloria P > wrote:

> Okay, I realize I'm taking my life into my hands by asking this, but
> have you ever made it with drained, canned pintos?

No. I doubt it would be the same.


> PS: I'm Portuguese and have never heard of this recipe
> on the east coast either from mainland, Azorean, or Madeiran
> Portuguese immigrants. It does sound worth a try, but at
> altitude dried beans take forever to cook.

I agree. I knew half the Portuguese population in the town where I lived.
My landlord was 1st gen US Portuguese and my oldest friend. Despite all the
killer Old World food my friend's mom used to serve, I never ever once had
beans. That's why I renamed them MIL beans. OTOH, and although I never
went (I was 8), that Portagee Bean Fest (the gringo term in the 50s) in
Oakdale went on for years. It was an annual open-to-public fundraiser held
in the park next to the old Oakdale Plunge, a major looked-forward-to event
back then.

I did a google search and see no current mention of it, despite still large
active Portuguese community in Oakdale:

http://tinyurl.com/dfkuxu

And yes! .... long time at altitude. I used to boil my beans no more than 2
hrs in the SFBA. Took almost 4 hrs here at 7200 ft.

nb

Gloria P wrote:
> notbob wrote:
>> I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my
>> late
>> MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
>> family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean
>> soups
>> I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do
>> recall
>> an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
>> tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
>> attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
>> recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little
>> more of
>> THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be
>> aware the
>> cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not
>> be the
>> same.
>>
>> MIL Beans
>>
>> 1 lb dry pinto beans
>
> Okay, I realize I'm taking my life into my hands by asking this, but
> have you ever made it with drained, canned pintos?
>
> gloria p
>
> PS: I'm Portuguese and have never heard of this recipe
> on the east coast either from mainland, Azorean, or Madeiran
> Portuguese immigrants. It does sound worth a try, but at
> altitude dried beans take forever to cook.

Not if they're pressure cooked, we had to do that when we lived in
Saa'na, Yemen at 8200 feet. Pain in the rear but it did get the beans
tender.

In article >,
notbob > wrote:

> I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my late
> MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
> family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean soups
> I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do recall
> an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
> tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
> attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
> recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little more of
> THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be aware the
> cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not be the
> same.
>
> MIL Beans
>
> 1 lb dry pinto beans
> 1 lb hamburger
> 1 med onion chopped
> 2 cloves garlic
> 3 oz of tomato paste
> 1/8 t cayenne pepper
> 1/8 t black pepper
> Salt to taste
>
> Yes, it's as simple as it looks, but there's a catch. All the major food
> groups must be cooked separately. Start by crumbling and thoroughly
> browning hamburger. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic and set aside. Wash
> and boil dried beans (no soaking!) until done. This should be done at a
> minimal rolling boil, so all beans are being circulated by the boil and not
> sitting on the bottom. Takes 2-4 hrs, depending on elevation. When beans
> fully cooked, add tomato paste (can sub 8oz tomato sauce), cayenne, and salt
> and pepper and cook for 30 mins more to marry flavors. As usual, will be
> better next day.
>
> I can't explain why this works so well, but if done right it is sublime.
> You really get the essence of what pinto beans are about and it is so rich
> and flavorful, you could eat yourself sick. Not too hot, yet jes enough
> spice (adjust cayenne to your own taste). My ex-BIL loved 'em with malt
> vinegar. I'm partial to butter covered saltines.
>
> enjoy =D
> nb

Why bother with the hamburger and onion and garlic if you never use them
again? They're just set aside.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
http://gallery.me.com/barbschaller

On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:32:57 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>I thought I'd pass on a recipe for beans that I've loved ever since my late
>MIL cooked up a batch for the family and I was invited for dinner (meet
>family of ex!). It's deceptively simple and is one of the best bean soups
>I've ever eaten. She called it Portagee or Portugeuse beans. I do recall
>an annual Portagee Bean Feed over in Oakdale CA, as a kid, but I never
>tasted anything like it from any of my Portugeuse friends and I used to
>attend a lot of their feeds at the Catholic church. Anyway, here's the
>recipe for you chili/bean lovers that might want to taste a little more of
>THE BEAN and less of the CHILE. I'll jes call 'em MIL beans. Be aware the
>cooking instructions are crucial. Do not ignore or the dish will not be the
>same.
>
>MIL Beans
>
>1 lb dry pinto beans
>1 lb hamburger
>1 med onion chopped
>2 cloves garlic
>3 oz of tomato paste
>1/8 t cayenne pepper
>1/8 t black pepper
>Salt to taste
>
>Yes, it's as simple as it looks, but there's a catch. All the major food
>groups must be cooked separately. Start by crumbling and thoroughly
>browning hamburger. Set aside. Saute onion and garlic and set aside. Wash
>and boil dried beans (no soaking!) until done. This should be done at a
>minimal rolling boil, so all beans are being circulated by the boil and not
>sitting on the bottom. Takes 2-4 hrs, depending on elevation. When beans
>fully cooked, add tomato paste (can sub 8oz tomato sauce), cayenne, and salt
>and pepper and cook for 30 mins more to marry flavors. As usual, will be
>better next day.
>
>I can't explain why this works so well, but if done right it is sublime.
>You really get the essence of what pinto beans are about and it is so rich
>and flavorful, you could eat yourself sick. Not too hot, yet jes enough
>spice (adjust cayenne to your own taste). My ex-BIL loved 'em with malt
>vinegar. I'm partial to butter covered saltines.
>
Thanks, I'm saving this recipe!

I love pinto beans cooked in a similar way with no meat (it's a thick
soup). The trick is adding lots of salt... it tastes like you added
meat to the pot.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

On 2009-02-14, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> Why bother with the hamburger and onion and garlic if you never use them
> again? They're just set aside.

Ssssshhh.......... no one else noticed.

nb

On Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:52:25 GMT, notbob > shouted
from the highest rooftop:

>On 2009-02-14, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>
>> Why bother with the hamburger and onion and garlic if you never use them
>> again? They're just set aside.
>
>Ssssshhh.......... no one else noticed.

I won't tell a soul ...


--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~