There's no place like home...

When I was much younger (by 18 years to be exact) my mother made a dish we referred to as "pork and beans". This is what I would call poor people's food - a package of hot dogs, a can of baked beans with five or six diced potatoes. My mother's food is never lacking for flavor, so the meager ingredients did not reflect in the taste of the meal. Her hot dogs were sauteed and generously seasoned. Her beans were simmered with a mixture of onions and green peppers. When I think of this meal I remember not how little money we had then, but instead how happy we were together, how sweet, spicy and savory the meal was, how warmed I was by the food. When I hear the term "comfort food" this is the dish that comes to mind.

Arriving home after a long day of class last night and surveying the contents of my fridge, the defrosted package of Argentinean sausage inspired me - perhaps I could revisit this "classic" family dish.

- 6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 1 Package of Argentinean Sausage (5/6 links)
- 1 Package of Turkey Polska Kielbasa (2 links)
- 1 can Publix Organic Corn Niblets
- 1 can 365 Organic Maple & Onion Baked Beans
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion

The potatoes were chopped and placed in a pot of water with freshly ground sea salt and peppercorns. I typically boil them until right before they are done. Given the way baked beans tend to kind of melt in your mouth this meal tends to taste better when the potatoes are a little robust. I added the corn right before taking the potatoes off the stove. The onions I sauteed until right before they were translucent and then put to the side. In the same pan I fried the sausage in extra virgin olive oil until they were a pretty brown on the outside and then took them out, cut them into thin slices and put them back on the stove with the kielbasa. Argentinean sausage has in my mind an acquired taste and look. There is something about the consistency of the meat that is different from other kinds of pork sausage. It's a little bit tougher, and also tends to stay fairly pink even after it's been thoroughly cooked. I usually have to talk myself into believing they really are finished :-)

To make the sauce I put the onions back on the stove in a saute pan and added the beans until it all reached a simmer. After about 5 minutes I added the meat for another 10 and finally I folded in the potatoes and corn until they were almost entirely coated with the beans and meat. The result was the tasty reincarnation of a childhood favorite - familiar enough to bring back treasured memories with a bit more substance and quality than the original.