Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Chocolate Pudding
The real thing...
I have lots of kids, and while I love to cook, I don't necessarily love grocery shopping. I despise lugging around the cart, dealing with checkout and hauling and unloading all the bags. So my way of avoiding this as much as possible is to make a once (sometimes twice) a month run to the giant wholesale club up the road. I quite often get asked at checkout there if I run a daycare or some sort of restaurant, because of the amount of milk, cereal and eggs I have on one of those pallet loaders.
Now - one of my favorite things to do for breakfast is to make omelettes with mostly whites. I love the high quality protein, without too much fat or cholesterol. It fuels everyone from the little ones to the teenage athletes. I do however end up with lots of leftover egg yolks, and I cannot stand throwing away food. A lot of the amazing vitamin and mineral content of an egg is found in the yolk, so I like to use them up.
Custards and mousses are perfect. A single batch takes a LOT of yolks - so it often takes me a few days to collect enough. I quite often double or triple my custard recipes. I just stash the yolks in a plastic container with a tight lid until I need them. And they are easy - the number one tricks for these are to keep the heat relatively gentle, and to stir, stir, stir. If you do that, you can pretty much guarantee a beautiful silky texture.
This is by far the favorite with my horde. It's pretty hard to get something better than chocolate pudding. And if you've never had anything but the boxed stuff (especially the instant!), this will ruin you for good. The flavor is just that much better. If you wish, try using very high quality cocoa and chocolate - it turns a simple comfort food into pure lusciousness. Try it - it's as easy as it gets, and the results are well worth the minimal effort.
You'll Need:
•3/4 cups sugar
•3 tablespoons cornstarch
•1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•pinch of salt
•2 1/2 cups milk (whole milk works best)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•4 large egg yolks
•1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
Note: You can use unsweetened baking chocolate - the kind that comes in one ounce squares. Just chop it finely before using. I almost never have the right amount for a recipe, so I do this most often with plain old chocolate chips. Using better chocolate most certainly changes this desert. I personally like the homey, old fashioned taste from just Hershey's cocoa and chocolate chips - it's hard to beat. But if you wish, you can use much higher end products - and you'll be surprised at how it takes this to another level.
The Method!
1.In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stir together 2 cups of the milk and the cream. Bring this mixture barely to a boil and remove from heat.
2.Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until you have a smooth thick paste. Make sure there are no lumps from the cornstarch or cocoa at this stage, and it will help insure a silky final result.
3.Add egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the cocoa mixture, whisking constantly until fully combined and smooth. Transfer the mixture back into a clean saucepan.
4.Place over medium low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, and pour through a strainer to remove any lumps.
5.Add the chocolate, vanilla and butter. Stir vigorously until butter and chocolate is melted and fully combined. Transfer to 6-8 ramekins, glasses or small cups.
Notes: I think the initial recipe I adapted this from called for using clean bowls/saucepans at each transfer. Frankly that takes this recipe from a very simple and pretty quick one to one that creates far too many dirty dishes. I do however take a moment to rinse the saucepan after heating the milk, and give it a quick wipe with a paper towel.
I can't think of more than a couple of times when I bothered straining the pudding - even though I listed that step above. If you make sure the cocoa paste is very smooth, and you stir constantly during the cooking, you'll have no (or almost no!) lumps anyway. Straining the pudding makes a mess - it's thick and doesn't want to flow. However, if you want to serve this to company, or are very concerned with texture - go ahead and strain it.
You can serve this warm (my sister's favorite) or cold. Either way if you add a bit of whipped cream it's amazing. If you want to avoid a 'skin' forming on top, cover the pudding with plastic wrap and press the wrap gently down on the surface of the pudding. I don't bother - the kids don't stop (usually) to critique the custard. If I were serving it to others however, I'd take a minute for this little extra step - it also keeps the surface glossy and beautiful.
I have lots of kids, and while I love to cook, I don't necessarily love grocery shopping. I despise lugging around the cart, dealing with checkout and hauling and unloading all the bags. So my way of avoiding this as much as possible is to make a once (sometimes twice) a month run to the giant wholesale club up the road. I quite often get asked at checkout there if I run a daycare or some sort of restaurant, because of the amount of milk, cereal and eggs I have on one of those pallet loaders.
Now - one of my favorite things to do for breakfast is to make omelettes with mostly whites. I love the high quality protein, without too much fat or cholesterol. It fuels everyone from the little ones to the teenage athletes. I do however end up with lots of leftover egg yolks, and I cannot stand throwing away food. A lot of the amazing vitamin and mineral content of an egg is found in the yolk, so I like to use them up.
Custards and mousses are perfect. A single batch takes a LOT of yolks - so it often takes me a few days to collect enough. I quite often double or triple my custard recipes. I just stash the yolks in a plastic container with a tight lid until I need them. And they are easy - the number one tricks for these are to keep the heat relatively gentle, and to stir, stir, stir. If you do that, you can pretty much guarantee a beautiful silky texture.
This is by far the favorite with my horde. It's pretty hard to get something better than chocolate pudding. And if you've never had anything but the boxed stuff (especially the instant!), this will ruin you for good. The flavor is just that much better. If you wish, try using very high quality cocoa and chocolate - it turns a simple comfort food into pure lusciousness. Try it - it's as easy as it gets, and the results are well worth the minimal effort.
You'll Need:
•3/4 cups sugar
•3 tablespoons cornstarch
•1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•pinch of salt
•2 1/2 cups milk (whole milk works best)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•4 large egg yolks
•1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
Note: You can use unsweetened baking chocolate - the kind that comes in one ounce squares. Just chop it finely before using. I almost never have the right amount for a recipe, so I do this most often with plain old chocolate chips. Using better chocolate most certainly changes this desert. I personally like the homey, old fashioned taste from just Hershey's cocoa and chocolate chips - it's hard to beat. But if you wish, you can use much higher end products - and you'll be surprised at how it takes this to another level.
The Method!
1.In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stir together 2 cups of the milk and the cream. Bring this mixture barely to a boil and remove from heat.
2.Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until you have a smooth thick paste. Make sure there are no lumps from the cornstarch or cocoa at this stage, and it will help insure a silky final result.
3.Add egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the cocoa mixture, whisking constantly until fully combined and smooth. Transfer the mixture back into a clean saucepan.
4.Place over medium low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, and pour through a strainer to remove any lumps.
5.Add the chocolate, vanilla and butter. Stir vigorously until butter and chocolate is melted and fully combined. Transfer to 6-8 ramekins, glasses or small cups.
Notes: I think the initial recipe I adapted this from called for using clean bowls/saucepans at each transfer. Frankly that takes this recipe from a very simple and pretty quick one to one that creates far too many dirty dishes. I do however take a moment to rinse the saucepan after heating the milk, and give it a quick wipe with a paper towel.
I can't think of more than a couple of times when I bothered straining the pudding - even though I listed that step above. If you make sure the cocoa paste is very smooth, and you stir constantly during the cooking, you'll have no (or almost no!) lumps anyway. Straining the pudding makes a mess - it's thick and doesn't want to flow. However, if you want to serve this to company, or are very concerned with texture - go ahead and strain it.
You can serve this warm (my sister's favorite) or cold. Either way if you add a bit of whipped cream it's amazing. If you want to avoid a 'skin' forming on top, cover the pudding with plastic wrap and press the wrap gently down on the surface of the pudding. I don't bother - the kids don't stop (usually) to critique the custard. If I were serving it to others however, I'd take a minute for this little extra step - it also keeps the surface glossy and beautiful.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Irish Coffee
Hot coffee, Irish Cream, Irish whisky, sugar and heavy cream...come on y'all. It can't get much better than that. Unless of course you have a couple, and then you start calling it Caife Gaelach,which just sounds like it's awesome. It originated in Ireland, where there are a variety of claimants for the crown of inventor. But it's generally agreed that nearly frozen American tourists were given a nice friendly jot of Irish Whisky in a cup of coffee to warm them up. Can we give a big hurrah for Irish hospitality?
Unless...and here's the kicker with this lovely little adult beverage - you use cheap ingredients. This is one of those times when there are so few ingredients, that each one needs to be the best you can obtain. I personally like this with a heavy French Roast coffee, homemade Irish cream, brown sugar and a layer of nice heavy cream. One trick to this? Make sure you use sugar in the coffee - otherwise the cream won't float on top. And when adding the cream, pour it carefully over the back of a spoon so it will layer correctly on top of the coffee. If you don't, the cream will just mix into the coffee, and then you've messed it up. The penalty is to drink it yourself and start over. Uh...yeah.
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Caffeine and Whisky! Woo hoo!
Hot coffee, Irish Cream, Irish whisky, sugar and heavy cream...come on y'all. It can't get much better than that. Unless of course you have a couple, and then you start calling it Caife Gaelach,which just sounds like it's awesome. It originated in Ireland, where there are a variety of claimants for the crown of inventor. But it's generally agreed that nearly frozen American tourists were given a nice friendly jot of Irish Whisky in a cup of coffee to warm them up. Can we give a big hurrah for Irish hospitality?
Unless...and here's the kicker with this lovely little adult beverage - you use cheap ingredients. This is one of those times when there are so few ingredients, that each one needs to be the best you can obtain. I personally like this with a heavy French Roast coffee, homemade Irish cream, brown sugar and a layer of nice heavy cream. One trick to this? Make sure you use sugar in the coffee - otherwise the cream won't float on top. And when adding the cream, pour it carefully over the back of a spoon so it will layer correctly on top of the coffee. If you don't, the cream will just mix into the coffee, and then you've messed it up. The penalty is to drink it yourself and start over. Uh...yeah.
Ingredients
Might as well brew a whole pot of coffee. No telling how many times you'll have to do this to get it right.
You'll need:
•1 (1 1/2 ounces) jigger Irish cream liqueur
•1 (1 1/2 ounces) jigger Irish whiskey
•1 cup (6-8 ounces) hot brewed coffee
•1 teaspoon heavy cream
•1 tablespoon heavy cream
•1 dash ground nutmeg
2.Fill mug with coffee. Add sugar and stir well.
3.Carefully, using the back of a spoon as a break, pour cream on top of the coffee.
4.Top with a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
The Irish of a hundred years ago wouldn't recognize this dish - it's an American adaptation. That doesn't mean it's not delicious - and it consistently hits "Top Ten" lists of comfort foods. But when the Irish arrived on American shores, they were looking to recreate a more traditional, truly Irish dish - Irish Boiled Bacon and Cabbage. Because American bacon was far different from what was known on the Emerald Isle, they turned to a close equivalent. That was corned beef - and therefore Americans came to associate this dish with the Irish.
Now - if you want the best Corned Beef ever - brine it yourself. It really doesn't take much effort, and you'll be amply rewarded for the bit of extra effort with the payoff in flavor. You really will be delighted. If not, of course you can use commercial corned beef. Either way, this dish is hearty and comforting, and the flavors pop - you'll be proud to share this one!
Ingredients
You'll Need:
•3 pounds corned beef brisket, rinsed
•2 bay leaves
•2 teaspoons peppercorns
•4 whole allspice
•2 whole cloves
•8 small red potatoes, halved
•4 large carrots, cut 1" thick pieces
•2 pounds cabbage, cut into wedges
•2 quarts water (more or less, just to cover corned beef)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2.Place the corned beef in a large Dutch oven, and add the bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice berries and cloves. Cover with water.
3.Bring pot to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Cover the pot, and place it into the preheated oven.
4.Braise until the corned beef is very tender, about 4 hours. Alternately, you can transfer the corned beef brisket and liquid to a slow cooker and cook for about 8 hours.
5.Place the corned beef on a cutting board, and cover tightyly with foil to allow it to rest, and to keep it warm. Place Dutch oven with cooking liquid onto the stovetop. Add cabbage, potaotes and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
6.Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter. Thinly slice the corned beef across the grain. Ladle some of the cooking liquid over the corned beef and season with pepper. Serve immediately with the mustard, parsley or horseradish sauce.
Nutritional Information
507.5 Calories, 33.7g Total Fat, 11.0g Saturated Fat, 58.1% Calories from Fat, 166.7g Cholesterol, 1,977.5mg Sodium, 294.9 Calories from Fat, 19.2g Carbohydrate, 5.47g Dietary Fiber, 33.8g Protein
Parsley Sauce
You'll need:
•4 tablespoons unsalted butter, Irish Butter if you can find it!
•4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•1/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the corned beef
•1 1/4 cups milk, heated
•Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
•1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1.In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for about three minutes, whisking well to form a smooth paste.
2.Whisk in the cooking liquid from the bacon, stirring constantly. Whisk in the milk, stirring constantly.
3.Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for five minutes, or until thickened.
4.Taste, and adjust for salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley. Serve hot with boiled bacon or corned beef and cabbage.
Nutritional Information
89.7 Calories, 7.1g Total Fat, 4.4g Saturated Fat, 70.3% Calories from Fat, 20.9g Cholesterol, 62.0mg Sodium, 63.1 Calories from Fat, 18.3g Carbohydrate, 0.11g Dietary Fiber, 1.8g Protein
Mustard Sauce
You'll Need:
•3 tablespoons butter
•1 small onion, diced
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
•1 cup dry white wine, I use a Chardonney
•1 cup corned beef cooking liquid, plus more as needed
•1 1/2 cups half-and-half, plus more as needed
•Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1.In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, and saute the onion and garlic for five to seven minutes, or until onion is translucent.
2.Stir in mustard and wine, and bring to a boil. Whisk in bacon cooking liquid and half and half and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook whisking constantly, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is reduced by half.
3.Taste, and adjust for salt and pepper. If you wish to adjust texture, add a touch more half and half. Serve with the Irish Boiled Bacon or Corned Beef and Cabbage.
Nutritional Information
126.1 Calories, 9.6g Total Fat, 5.9g Saturated Fat, 67.0% Calories from Fat, 28.4g Cholesterol, 65.8mg Sodium, 84.5 Calories from Fat, 3.8g Carbohydrate, 0.23g Dietary Fiber, 1.7g Protein
Horseradish Sauce
You'll Need
•1 cup mayonnaise
•1 cup sour cream
•1/3 cup horseradish, grated
•1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
•2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
•1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust for salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Nutritional Information
176.8 Calories, 15.9g Total Fat, 5.2g Saturated Fat, 79.3% Calories from Fat, 20.3g Cholesterol, 1,003.0mg Sodium, 140.2 Calories from Fat, 8.4g Carbohydrate, 0.08g Dietary Fiber, 1.2g Protein
St. Patrick's Day Cake, Guinness Cake or the Car Bomb Cake
While both the cake and the frosting contains alcohol, you'll be surprised at the finished result. The Guinness in the cake batter provides for a moist and tender crumb in the finished product, and the cocoa really shines through. The Irish Cream frosting is the perfect compliment to the cocoa cake - with just the merest hints of caramel and whisky coming out. Matter of fact - you won't want to save this for the once a year St. Patrick's Day thing. Whip this out anytime you want something absolutely delicious and beautiful to look at - and you'll be Bombshell! Pun intended this time...
•1 cup Guinness
•1 cup (2 sticks) butter
•3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
•2 eggs
•2/3 cup sour cream
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 cups sugar
•1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
•3/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 2 nine inch cake pans, and line with parchment paper.
2.In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer. Once all butter is melted, remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside and allow to cool.
3.In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream together until fully combined. Add the Guinness misture and beat until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
4.In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Pour the Guinness mixture into the dry ingredients and fold together gently with a rubber spatula. Divide the mixture among the prepared pans.
5.Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the tops are slightly springy to the touch. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for ten minutes, then turn out onto wire cooling racks. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
6.Frost with Irish Cream Frosting, and garnish with Chocolate Ganache Glaze (recipes following).
You'll Need
•3 cups powdered sugar
•1/2 cup butter, room temperature
•3 tablespoons Irish Cream liqueur (such as Baileys)
1.In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl until fully incorporated.
2.One tablespoon at a time, beat in Irish Cream Liqueur until the frosting is the desired consistency, spreadable but not too thin.
You'll Need:
•8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
•2/3 cup heavy cream
•2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1.Place the chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl.
2.In a small saucepan, bring cream to a full boil. Pour cream over the chopped chocolate, and stir in the butter.
3.Stir the mixture until the chocolate and butter are fully melted, and the chocolate is smooth and glossy.
4.Allow to cool until the mixture is just a bit over room temperature. Pour in drizzles over the frosted cake.
Jam Muffins
Pick any type of jam you wish for these little beauties - at our house the Precious Darlings love strawberry jam, and it's usually what I have on hand. But you can choose anything you like. Raspberry, blackberry or apricot work wonderfully too - so feel free to choose whatever your own favorite it.
As with any muffins, the trick to these is to not over mix the batter - that will toughen up the muffins and ruin the texture. Stir the dry ingredients in just until they are moistened, but no more. They'll be lumpy - but that's a good thing. And when you pull these out of the oven, make sure you let them rest for a couple of minutes before you pull them from the pan, or the jam will run out all over instead of staying put inside. That's all there is to it!
You'll need:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/2 cup white sugar
•1 tablespoon baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•3/4 cup buttermilk
•1/3 cup vegetable oil
•1 egg
•6 tablespoons any flavor fruit jam, divided
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
•½ cup sweetened flaked coconut (optional)
1.Preheat oven to 400F. Grease the bottoms only of a 12 cup muffin pan or line the pan with muffin cups.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3.In a small mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and four tablespoons of the jam. Blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once, and fold together just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy, but don't over mix or muffins will be tough.
4.Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full - the easiest way to do this is with an ice cream scoop or disher so each muffin is exactly the same size. Drop 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining jam on top of each muffin, pressing jam into batter. Sprinkle tops of the muffins with nuts or coconut if you wish.
5.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 2 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.
Store leftovers tightly covered. If you wish, you can microwave cold muffins for just a few seconds before serving.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Green Bean Casserole
My mother didn't make green bean casserole. There - that skeleton is finally out of the closet.
I never had this stuff until I was at least college age, and possibly older, so it wasn't part of the set of memories or beloved dishes that appeared on our holiday tables. I honestly can't remember exactly where I was when I first encountered it, but I do have to say I wasn't enamoured. The onions on top were ok, but tasted artifical (I think the canned ones might be), and while creamy mushroom sauce is usually terrific on anything, the beans had been frozen and the texure was just not lovely.
A few years ago I started experimenting with recipes that typically used canned or prepackaged ingredients, among them the cream of mushroom soup that really is rather indispensible in so many casseroles. I came up with a way to make a really quick and easy mushroom sauce that I started throwing in all kinds of dishes. It just tastes better. Don't get me wrong - I keep the canned soup in my own pantry. But if I have fresh mushrooms, and I usually do, than I much prefer making the quick sauce than popping the top on the canned stuff. And fresh vegetable are always better than frozen or canned ones. The result for this casserole is so much better tasting - so much creamier and satisfying, that the few extra steps are well worth it. Give this version a try - I'm pretty confident you'll decide this one is the new comfort food you want on your table!
Ingredients
You'll Need:
For the Onion Topping:
•1/2 cup very thinly sliced onion
•1/4 cup flour
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Casserole:
•1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•1/2 cup onion, diced
•8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, chopped
•2 teaspoons kosher salt
•½ teaspoon garlic powder
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1 cup chicken broth
•1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
•¼ cup half and half
•1 cup sour cream
•2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. To make the onions for the topping, combine the onion slices, flour, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss to coat.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat vegetable oil. Sauté onions until golden, about ten minutes. Remove onions from skillet and set aside.
4. While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare an ice water bath. Season the water with salt, and add green beans. Cook beans until tender but still crispy, about five minutes. Drain beans and immediately place in ice water bath. Allow green beans to chill fully, then drain and set aside.
5. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add vegetable oil, and sauté onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté onions for three minutes.
6. Add the chicken broth and thyme, and bring mixture up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until nearly all the liquid is gone, about ten minutes.
7. Turn off heat, and add half and half and sour cream. Whisk well to combine. Pour mushroom mixture over green beans.
8. Transfer green bean mixture to a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until heated through and beginning to bubble at the edges. Place onions on top of casserole, and cook an additional five minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
I never had this stuff until I was at least college age, and possibly older, so it wasn't part of the set of memories or beloved dishes that appeared on our holiday tables. I honestly can't remember exactly where I was when I first encountered it, but I do have to say I wasn't enamoured. The onions on top were ok, but tasted artifical (I think the canned ones might be), and while creamy mushroom sauce is usually terrific on anything, the beans had been frozen and the texure was just not lovely.
A few years ago I started experimenting with recipes that typically used canned or prepackaged ingredients, among them the cream of mushroom soup that really is rather indispensible in so many casseroles. I came up with a way to make a really quick and easy mushroom sauce that I started throwing in all kinds of dishes. It just tastes better. Don't get me wrong - I keep the canned soup in my own pantry. But if I have fresh mushrooms, and I usually do, than I much prefer making the quick sauce than popping the top on the canned stuff. And fresh vegetable are always better than frozen or canned ones. The result for this casserole is so much better tasting - so much creamier and satisfying, that the few extra steps are well worth it. Give this version a try - I'm pretty confident you'll decide this one is the new comfort food you want on your table!
Ingredients
You'll Need:
For the Onion Topping:
•1/2 cup very thinly sliced onion
•1/4 cup flour
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Casserole:
•1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•1/2 cup onion, diced
•8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, chopped
•2 teaspoons kosher salt
•½ teaspoon garlic powder
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1 cup chicken broth
•1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
•¼ cup half and half
•1 cup sour cream
•2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. To make the onions for the topping, combine the onion slices, flour, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss to coat.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat vegetable oil. Sauté onions until golden, about ten minutes. Remove onions from skillet and set aside.
4. While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare an ice water bath. Season the water with salt, and add green beans. Cook beans until tender but still crispy, about five minutes. Drain beans and immediately place in ice water bath. Allow green beans to chill fully, then drain and set aside.
5. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add vegetable oil, and sauté onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté onions for three minutes.
6. Add the chicken broth and thyme, and bring mixture up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until nearly all the liquid is gone, about ten minutes.
7. Turn off heat, and add half and half and sour cream. Whisk well to combine. Pour mushroom mixture over green beans.
8. Transfer green bean mixture to a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until heated through and beginning to bubble at the edges. Place onions on top of casserole, and cook an additional five minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
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