Making baked beans from scratch isn’t fast, but it is easy. Though the dry beans do need to be soaked overnight, then baked for a couple hours, actual hands-on cooking time is just about 15 minutes. And the taste of the finished product is worth it.

This recipe from Marie Simmons’ “Things Cooks Love” is a great excuse to haul out your heavy Dutch oven. Dress these beans with sauteed cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh Italian parsley and pitted Kalamata olives.

Oven-baked cannellini beans

Start to finish: 2 hours 45 minutes, plus overnight soaking (15 minutes active)

Servings: 8

1 pound (about 21⁄2 cups) dried cannellini beans (or other dried white beans)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, halved

1 bay leaf

2 to 3 cups water or unsalted chicken broth, or as needed

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Place the beans in a large bowl, then add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Alternatively, place the beans in a large saucepan, add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches, then bring to a boil, cover and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the beans stand in the water, covered, for 1 hour.

Use a colander to drain the beans.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium to large Dutch oven (4 to 8 quarts), combine the beans, garlic, olive oil, onion and bay leaf. Add enough water or broth to cover the beans.

Cover the pot and bake for 11⁄2 to 2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove from the oven and let stand, covered, for 30 minutes. As the beans cool, they will absorb most of the excess cooking liquid.

Scoop out and discard the onion halves and bay leaf. Use a mesh strainer to drain and discard any liquid not absorbed by the beans. Season the beans with salt and pepper.

(Recipe from Marie Simmons’ “Things Cooks Love,” Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008)

Dutch ovens do sweet as well as savory

Pears, wine and sugar have a happy marriage inside a Dutch oven, creating a tender, sweet dessert. Topped with applesauce and whipped cream, these pears make an excellent autumn dessert.

Roasted red pears

Start to finish: 1 hour

Servings: 6

1 tablespoon salted butter

11⁄4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

5 Jonagold (or other sweet, crisp variety) apples, peeled, cored and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 cup red wine

1 cinnamon stick

1 strip of lemon zest

6 Bosc pears, peeled but not cored

1 pint heavy cream

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the butter and 1⁄4 cup of the sugar. Heat until the butter has melted. Add the apples, cover and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the walnuts. Set aside.

In a 51⁄2-quart Dutch oven, bring the red wine and 1 cup of the remaining sugar to a boil.

Add the cinnamon stick and lemon zest. Reduce heat to simmer. Slice off the bottom of each pair, cutting only enough to create a flat surface so the pears can stand upright.

Stand the pears in the Dutch oven. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Transfer the pears to a platter.

Increase the heat under the Dutch oven to medium and simmer the liquid until reduced to a thick glaze, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whip the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Divide the apple mixture between 6 serving plates. Stand a pear on top of the apples on each plate, then spoon some of the glaze over each. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

(Recipe from Julie Kramis Hearne and Sharon Kramis’ “The Dutch Oven Cookbook,” Sasquatch Books, 2006)