CHECKOUT By Laurin Stamm

In early December of 1977, food editor Laurin Stamm began a weekly recipe column titled “From the Kitchen of The Cypress House.” The column ran continuously through November of 2000, featuring one or two recipes each week, and totaling more than 1,150 recipes over the 23 years.

Checkout, a current weekly column that features various food stories, events and recipes, today begins to look back at some of the most popular recipes from The Kitchen of the Cypress House, and perhaps a newly discovered one every now and then.

Well-seasoned baked beans are truly an all-around food for your summer dining. They are delicious served with hamburgers, hot dogs, and even a thick, juicy steak. And when summer ends, you can turn the recipe into a hearty accompaniment to year-round meals featuring fried chicken, pork tenderloin, hamburgers, hot dogs and such.

Leftover baked beans are good also; just warm up the beans or serve them cold right out of the fridge or at room temperature. Here’s our recipe for baked beans from The Kitchen of the Cypress House, May 17, 1978.

Last week my mother-in-law drew rave notices when she served baked beans with ham and potato salad. This past weekend Hazel Lominick and I found them a good accompaniment for hamburgers at a senior party. Mother’s Day we made them for a gathering at Lake Bruin and they rounded out a menu of smoked roast beef, salad and hot homemade rolls. The folks from Redbone will serve them Saturday with barbecued chicken.

There are many good recipes for baked beans. The one we use comes from Tallulah from my sister-in-law, Dorothy Neill. We call her Tweety and the recipe, Tweety’s Baked Beans. They are delicious, and the aroma wafting from your kitchen when you cook them will certainly whet appetites.

Tweety’s Baked Beans1 teaspoon dry mustard1/2 tablespoon thyme1 large can pork and beans1/4 cup molasses (or pancake syrup)1 cup ketchup1 tablespoon vinegar1 small onion, minced1 clove garlic, minced4 slices bacon4 tablespoons barbecue sauce (we prefer hot) or liquid smoke to taste

Mix the dry mustard and thyme together. Stir into the beans. Add the molasses, ketchup and vinegar.

Mix in the onion and garlic. Chip 1 slice of bacon and stir this into the beans along with the barbecue sauce or liquid smoke, if using.

Place the remaining strips of bacon on top of the beans. Bake uncovered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a 350* oven.

P.S. Big Dorothy: Glad you mentioned how much the “girls” liked our beans. Hope they enjoy the recipe.