I’m not going to finish that little fourth-grade ditty for you. Suffice to say, however incredible this baked bean recipe is, some of my guests who were flying out the next day would not eat them.

What? Did they think a couple well-placed beans took out Air Malaysia? Man, just take your Bean-O and get over it.

I was so miffed I served them for breakfast the next day on a slice of wheat toast topped with a fried egg. Delicious. This dish is not difficult, but every time I serve it people ask me for the recipe, which I pretend I don’t really know (“a little this and that”) because, hello, we go to the same potlucks.

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Do we need two of my baked bean extraordinaires? In fact, that is what I am going to call it.

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Baked Bean Extraordinaire

This recipe serves 10 easily, unless they are scheduled to fly out of town.

Ingredients:

3 (28 ounce) cans Van Camp’s Pork and Beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup powdered instant coffee

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbls. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup green taco sauce

2 tbls. dry mustard

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to baking dish with cover. If you do not have a covered bake dish then use a casserole pan and cover with foil. Place in oven and bake, covered, for one hour. Remove. You need to stir it up after baking before your serve it because the sugar gets crusty on the sides.

Simone Grandmain is an internationally published travel and food writer who currently calls Truckee-Tahoe home. She welcomes your recipes, kitchen “must-haves” and food news at simonegrandmaim@gmail.com.