I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. Now I want to
cook 'em as a main dish. Anyone have some words of wisdom to share?

After looking around the web for a while, I thought I might try pressure
cooking them with beef bullion, perhaps with some sauteed onions and a ham
hock. I'm not a big tomato fan, but beyond that have no particular biases.

Art

On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:28:30 GMT, (Arthur
Shapiro) wrote:

> I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. Now I want to
> cook 'em as a main dish. Anyone have some words of wisdom to share?
>
> After looking around the web for a while, I thought I might try pressure
> cooking them with beef bullion, perhaps with some sauteed onions and a ham
> hock. I'm not a big tomato fan, but beyond that have no particular biases.
>

Have you ever made Cholent (pronounced tshoolnt)?
http://noblepig.com/2009/12/08/beef-...--cholent.aspx



--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Nov 20, 12:45*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:28:30 GMT, (Arthur
>
> Shapiro) wrote:
> > I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. *Now I want to
> > cook 'em as a main dish. *Anyone have some words of wisdom to share?
>
> > After looking around the web for a while, I thought I might try pressure
> > cooking them with beef bullion, perhaps with some sauteed onions and a ham
> > hock. *I'm not a big tomato fan, but beyond that have no particular biases.
>
> Have you ever made Cholent (pronounced tshoolnt)?http://noblepig.com/2009/12/08/beef-...--cholent.aspx
>
> --
> Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

In article >, wrote:

>Have you ever made Cholent (pronounced tshoolnt)?
>

Thanks (and likewise to everyone else for the responses) - I'd never heard of
it. If I can paraphase an old slogan, "it's better with barley".

Art

On Nov 20, 3:50*pm, "l not -l" > wrote:
>
> * 1 * * * * tablespoon *shortening -- bacon drippings are best
>
Even though you suggest bacon drippings, using the word, "shortening,"
brands you as a slob. There are lots of folks out there who are
stupider than you, who would go to a grocery store and buy partially
hydrogenated shortening, based on a recipe they saw wherever. And
you're the guy who eschews egg yolks. What a pathetic excuse for a
cook you are.

--Bryan

On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 6:37:39 PM UTC-5, Bryan wrote:
> On Nov 20, 3:50*pm, "l not -l" > wrote:
>
> >
>
> > * 1 * * * * tablespoon *shortening -- bacon drippings are best
>
> >
>
> Even though you suggest bacon drippings, using the word, "shortening,"
>
> brands you as a slob. There are lots of folks out there who are
>
> stupider than you, who would go to a grocery store and buy partially
>
> hydrogenated shortening, based on a recipe they saw wherever. And
>
> you're the guy who eschews egg yolks. What a pathetic excuse for a
>
> cook you are.
>
>
>
> --Bryan

Bryan - not a big fan, but you're being a special kind of dick lately. I know your back hurts a lot. Maybe walk away for a while? We'll all still be here to poke you with sticks when you get back.

On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:37:38 -0800 (PST), Bryan
> wrote:

> On Nov 20, 3:50*pm, "l not -l" > wrote:
> >
> > * 1 * * * * tablespoon *shortening -- bacon drippings are best
> >
> Even though you suggest bacon drippings, using the word, "shortening,"
> brands you as a slob. There are lots of folks out there who are
> stupider than you, who would go to a grocery store and buy partially
> hydrogenated shortening, based on a recipe they saw wherever. And
> you're the guy who eschews egg yolks. What a pathetic excuse for a
> cook you are.
>

Take a chill pill, man. Aspirin might work for you.


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 11/20/2012 2:45 PM, sf wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:28:30 GMT, (Arthur
> Shapiro) wrote:
>
>> I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. Now I want to
>> cook 'em as a main dish. Anyone have some words of wisdom to share?
>>
>> After looking around the web for a while, I thought I might try pressure
>> cooking them with beef bullion, perhaps with some sauteed onions and a ham
>> hock. I'm not a big tomato fan, but beyond that have no particular biases.
>>
>
> Have you ever made Cholent (pronounced tshoolnt)?
> http://noblepig.com/2009/12/08/beef-...--cholent.aspx
>
>
>
When I was a single mom and poor, I made cholent with beans, barley,
potatoes and a single lamb shank. When it was cooked, I pulled the meat
from the lamb shank.

Kept a big container of it in the fridge and the kids could heat it in
the microwave if I was late getting home from work.

The best part about it was that the beans kept them warm at night when I
had to turn down the furnace to afford the gas bill. :-)

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
> I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. Now
> I want to cook 'em as a main dish. Anyone have some words of wisdom
> to share?
>
> After looking around the web for a while, I thought I might try
> pressure cooking them with beef bullion, perhaps with some sauteed
> onions and a ham hock. I'm not a big tomato fan, but beyond that
> have no particular biases.
>
> Art

Someone posted a recipe awhile back for Frijoles Charros. It is really
good.

I like to make my own "refried" beans but I add a lot of onions and pepper
to lower the carb count a bit. I add olive oil and mash with a potato
masher.

I will make tacos with the refried beans or even the plain cooked pintos.
Can use the crispy shells or just plain warmed tortillas. Add cheese if you
like, sour cream, gaucamole, lettuce, onion, whatever else you like.

I also like to make enchilada casserole. The way I make it does involve
some sort of tomato product but you could use salsa verde instead. Put a
layer of sauce in a casserole dish, then a layer of corn tortillas. You
can rip the tortillas into pieces if you want. Then a layer of cooked
beans, then if you wish some cheese. Then a layer of green peppers and
onions cut in strips. Then more sauce, then more tortillas, etc. You want
at least two layers, ending with plenty of sauce. You want the tortillas
totally covered. Bake until heated through and then if you want, top with
more cheese and some black olives. You can also make this in a Crock-Pot
but you should only heat it for about 20 minutes to maybe 2 hours at the
most. Any longer and your tortillas will just sort of melt. It will still
taste good but the texture will be off.

Bryan wrote:
> On Nov 20, 3:50 pm, "l not -l" > wrote:
>>
>> 1 tablespoon shortening -- bacon drippings are best
>>
> Even though you suggest bacon drippings, using the word, "shortening,"
> brands you as a slob. There are lots of folks out there who are
> stupider than you, who would go to a grocery store and buy partially
> hydrogenated shortening, based on a recipe they saw wherever. And
> you're the guy who eschews egg yolks. What a pathetic excuse for a
> cook you are.

Spectrum is not partially hydrogenated.

Julie Bove > wrote:

>Arthur Shapiro wrote:

>> I purchased a pound or so of dried pinto beans from a bulk bin. Now
>> I want to cook 'em as a main dish. Anyone have some words of wisdom
>> to share?

>Someone posted a recipe awhile back for Frijoles Charros. It is really
>good.

>I like to make my own "refried" beans but I add a lot of onions and pepper
>to lower the carb count a bit. I add olive oil and mash with a potato
>masher.

I completely agree that pinto beans are very good as refried beans --
much better than refried black beans (I have no idea why that is
popular).

They are also a good choice for bean-based chili, assuming one does
not scoff at the idea.

Steve

On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:40:51 -0800, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>Bryan wrote:
>> On Nov 20, 3:50 pm, "l not -l" > wrote:
>>>
>>> 1 tablespoon shortening -- bacon drippings are best
>>>
>> Even though you suggest bacon drippings, using the word, "shortening,"
>> brands you as a slob. There are lots of folks out there who are
>> stupider than you, who would go to a grocery store and buy partially
>> hydrogenated shortening, based on a recipe they saw wherever. And
>> you're the guy who eschews egg yolks. What a pathetic excuse for a
>> cook you are.
>
>Spectrum is not partially hydrogenated.

In culinary parlance every fat is shortening, no one said hydrogenated
except the Bwrrryan kitchen imbecile.

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 06:47:10 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

> They are also a good choice for bean-based chili, assuming one does
> not scoff at the idea.

I love them in chili, in fact I love chili with beans so much that
I've taken to the type with three beans: pinto, black and small white.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

I tried an ad-hoc recipe last nihgt based on some of the input here.

I boiled the beans for a couple minutes and let them soak for an hour. Then I
sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil. I added the beans, some ham
hocks (I appreciated the other recommendations but already had them in the
refrigerator), barley, about a quarter cup of tomato paste, a can of beaf
bullion, and water.

As I saw times ranging from six minutes to two hours for pressure cooking
pinto beans (quite a ridiculous range!) I pressure-cooked them for 25 minutes.
I checked, and they were almost done but somewhat bitter, so I added a
quarter cup of brown sugar, sealed up the cooker, and went for another ten
minutes.

I thought it was reasonably tasty BUT: none of the meat had come off the ham
hocks yet. I was hoping they would have disintegrated in that amount of time.
I think I'll continue to cook the ham hocks, alone, for a while tonight until
they do their thing, and add the resultnt meat into the remaining beans.

Art

Shelley belly-flops again.

> In culinary parlance every fat is shortening, no one said hydrogenated
> except the Bwrrryan kitchen imbecile.

BZZZZZT! Wrong!

"Culinary parlance" absolutely DEMANDS precise identification of
ingredients. The notion your drug-addled mind is struggling with is
CHEMICAL parlance. You could just as well claim that "lipidinous
substance" is the catch-all term for shortening/fat/oil/etc.

If a RECIPE calls for "shortening" without qualification, that is a
very strong indicator that the writer means VEGETABLE SHORTENING.

Now go crawl back under your bridge, you blithering idiot.

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:19:32 -0500, George M. Middius
> wrote:

>Shelley belly-flops again.
>
>> In culinary parlance every fat is shortening, no one said hydrogenated
>> except the Bwrrryan kitchen imbecile.
>
>BZZZZZT! Wrong!
>
>"Culinary parlance" absolutely DEMANDS precise identification of
>ingredients. The notion your drug-addled mind is struggling with is
>CHEMICAL parlance. You could just as well claim that "lipidinous
>substance" is the catch-all term for shortening/fat/oil/etc.
>
>If a RECIPE calls for "shortening" without qualification, that is a
>very strong indicator that the writer means VEGETABLE SHORTENING.
>
>Now go crawl back under your bridge, you blithering idiot.

Another kitchen imbecile heard from... cooking IS chemistry. Unless
stipulated in a recipe the only way to decide which fat to use is from
context and/or personal preference... in most cases vegetable and
animal fat is interchangeable. Hydrogenated hasn't a whit to do with
anything. In fact in most cultures the shortening of choice is lard.
George Mindless should stay out of the kitchen and stick to something
in which he possesses expertize, masturbation.