I am, of course, talking about Alexander Hamilton, the inspiration for the current Broadway show, “Hamilton.” 
Pie pal Jan and I saw this award-winning musical during our trip to Manhattan last May, when Lin-Manuel Miranda portrayed the Founding Father, statesman, and first Secretary of the Treasury in this dramatic musical. 
Just before seeing the show, we took a boat tour around Manhattan and saw the original site of Hamilton’s estate perched on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River in an area of Upper Manhattan which was first established in 1658 by Dutch settlers, and, at that time, known as Haarlem.
During a subsequent trip to Manhattan that year, I spent a day in Harlem, which is now a thriving residential, cultural, and foodie center. I had originally thought I would go on a bus tour, but after a random conversation with a woman who was familiar with the area, I took her advice and changed my dining and touring plans.
I started by walking along Malcom X Boulevard, the bustling commercial center of this area. For lunch, as recommended, I ate at Manna’s Soul Food Restaurant. The restaurant has two long buffet lines of hot and cold food which permitted sampling a great variety of Harlem’s famous cuisine. For dessert there was a navy bean pie! I really do not like beans, (and looking at it, thoughts of the pie featured in “The Help” entered my mind,) but this was the pie being served today, and I am one who tries all pies! I diverted my taste buds to imagine how it might have been made during Hamilton’s day. Actually, it was not all bad.
After lunch, I walked toward St. Nicholas Park to visit the restored home of Alexander Hamilton, which had been moved from its original location a short distance away, and is now maintained by the National Park Service. Three rooms are restored to showcase the period furnishings, and the lower level houses historical documents and Hamiltonian memorabilia.
People:
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton.
• Alexander Hamilton as himself.
• Friendly New Yorkers with great ideas of where to eat and what to see and do.
Places:
• Manna’s Soul Food Restaurant, 486 Malcolm X Blvd, Harlem. This is a great place to people watch, and enjoy great soul food. http://soulfood.com
• Abu’s Homestyle Bakery, 1184 Fulton Street Brooklyn, NY. This is where Manna’s sources their pies, and Abu’s is well known throughout the area for their Navy Bean Pie. https://abusbakery.com/
• Hamilton Grange National Memorial, operated by the National Park Service. 414 West 141st Street, New York, NY 10031. This is a modest, but well done, collection of Hamilton’s home and furnishings. https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm
Pie:
Navy Bean Pie. As with pies made from cooked and mashed pumpkin, sweet potato, or squash, the navy beans in this pie have a similar consistency, and serve as the base for the sugar and spices, which carry the flavor. My pie cookbooks do not have a recipe for Navy Bean Pie, so I searched the Internet and found recipes from notable chefs and cooking magazines. Here is one from Saveur. I do think the Hamiltons then and now could enjoy this pie. 
- For the Crust
- Your favorite recipe for a single crust (artofthepie.com)
- For the Filling
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup canned navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp. flour
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1⁄2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- Make the crust as per your recipe. Wrap the disc for a single crust in plastic wrap; chill 1 hour.
- Make the filling:
- Heat oven to 350°.
- Purée evaporated milk, beans, sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggs in a blender until smooth.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12″ round. Fit into a 9″ pie plate; trim edges and crimp.
- Pour filling over dough; bake until golden brown on top and filling is set, about 1 hour. Let pie cool completely before serving.
