Well, we all know how I do love a cowboy so, and these vaquero beans from Rancho Gordo were so stinkin' cute that I can't imagine anything better to serve to my imaginary cowboy dinner guest. I first spoke of them in the post: A Good Friend Will Ship You a 6 lb Box of Beans. Since that time, my dear sister-in-law shipped me additional beans (actually purchased before she knew I'd gotten beans from Kel) and, well, I've been afraid to cook them.
Truthfully, I just didn't want to mess with that great bean pattern. Since I had two bags, I decided it was time to try them. It was a simple preparation, basically, I just threw them into the crock pot with 3-4 times water, some sautéed onion and garlic and some smoked pork chops that had been deglazed with some red wine. They were creamy yet firm and not all of the "cow" cooked out of them--though they now were cows of a more chocolate appearance, still beautiful, hearty and with a really great flavor.
These are the second of the Rancho Gordo beans heirloom beans that I have tried, the first being a cannellini bean that I prepared with my sister-in-law's recommendation of chicken stock and rosemary. Really good--in fact, I have never eaten a bean that was a creamy as those. Rancho Gordo's got it goin' on. Yeee Haw ~
