A Massachechetts Dinner in Oregon

I found the original recipes for this dinner in an 1880's cookbook nearly 40 years ago. It is one of our all time favorites.  I have been wanting to go on a picnic, but the weather is so lousey I thought I'd make an indoor picnic.  No bears.
Baked beans are so easy to make. I have been taking them to potlucks since I found this recipe and tweaked it to make it my own. I bake them overnight in a slow oven with the bedroom door closed. That's because they smell so appetizing we wake up in the middle of the night for a little snack before the beans are done. Hence, the closed door. Why cause anymore temptation?

We also love to eat Boston Brown Bread with the beans. By just using ham hocks or broth as seasoning in the beans, we get a full protein with the cornmeal in the bread. And it is a great way to use up the last little bit of a variety of flours before they go stale. The sweetness of the bread is just right for a ham sandwich, don't forget the mustard!

Mom's Potato Salad is my favorite in the whole world. My sisters, Peggy Ann and Debjo, have that real Mom taste in their salads. I limit the amount of eggs in mine due to a non-affinity to egg whites. Don't care for the texture at all.  I also limit the amount of mayonaise, subbing a bit of milk.
I learned much about cooking from my ex-sister-in-law, Marilyn. (She also taught me how to properly cast-on and off when knitting and how to embroider without knots.) She told me about ham hocks as a sensible solution when you want to flavor beans and split peas. In case you don't know about ham hocks: They are the end of the shank half of a ham. If you are looking at the walking pig, they are just above the ankle where the lower leg muscles attach to the bones. They generally don't have much meat, do have some fat, and do have full ham flavor. I keep them in the freezer as part of my stocked pantry. (More about that later.)