HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

MONDAY RECIPE POST - MAKE-AHEAD GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Even though there are many recipes available for this particular dish, my recipe comes from Food Network.  (I forgot to take a photo of this dish.  I will add one the next time it is made.  In the meantime you can see a photo on their website here.)  

Make-ahead Green Bean Casserole 
6 to 8 servings

1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 pound of button mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want to keep this vegetarian)
1/2 cup of half-and-half
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups prepared fried onions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add the green beans and cook until crisp-tender, but still a bright green.  This takes about ten minutes.

Drain and shake off any excess moisture; set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook, stirring until soft, about 8 minutes.  

Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, and continue to cook, stirring until they are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, about ten minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until all the flour has been absorbed, about 1 minute.

Add the chicken broth, half and half, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper.

Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  This will take about 5 minutes.

Remove pot from the heat, add the green beans and stir into the sauce until they are well-coated.  

Transfer the mixture to a 3-quart baking dish.

Let it cool to room temperature, and then wrap well with aluminum foil.  Label and date.  You can freeze up to 2 weeks.  (I didn't have to do this as I made it up the day before, and left it in the fridge overnight.)  

To serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

If frozen, discard the foil from the casserole.  Cover with new foil and bake until warmed through, about 45 minutes.  Uncover and top with the fried onions.  Continue to bake until the casserole is hot and bubby, and the onions have crisped slightly.  This will take about 20 minutes more.  

Serve and enjoy.

Cook's Note:

You can serve right away instead of freezing.  Just top the green bean mixture with the fried onions just before putting in the oven, and bake until the casserole is hot and bubbly, and the onions have crisped slightly, 25 to 30 minutes.  

This was on the table at Thanksgiving, and is a Gregg favorite.  His mother was a great cook and she used to make it for him when he was growing up, along with many other delicious meals.

I also learned a lot from my own mother, and I wish I could tell her now how I thought her a terrific cook.  Our mums are unsung heroes in many ways.  My Mum's Sunday Roasts were incredible, and I will be thinking of her when I make her Standing Rib Roast and Yorkshire Pudding, along with all the fixings for our Christmas meal.  

(Mum would have enjoyed this green bean casserole, especially if they were made with Dad's fresh-from-the-garden green beans.  We had one of those little cutters which fashioned them into French-style, the only way I like beans now really.  I enjoyed working at the kitchen table as she fixed the rest of our dinner. These simple chores she gave me are good memories.  It may also be a childhood nostalgia memory for me, but I have never tasted anything better than Mum's cooking, nor Dad's fresh-from-the-garden vegetables.)

Gregg gave me a big thumb's up when I asked if he would like me to make this again for our Christmas Meal.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your week is a great one.

PANDA MURAL AT THE MOSAIC DISTRICT - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2018

As we were leaving the multi story parking lot in the Mosaic District last week, I came across a floor to ceiling mural depicting panda bears walking around DC.  I haven't been able to find anything about the artist and I couldn't find a signature in any of the photos I took.  It certainly appealed to my whimsical side.  

(Top left is the Iwo Jima Memoral, in the middle is the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and then the three-prong structure is the Air Force Memorial, the buildings behind it is The Pentagon, and behind that is Crystal City, then bottom right is Mount Vernon (George Washington's home), and bottom left Arlington National Cemetery.  It isn't geographically laid out to scale but I think it is a really neat mural.)

(In the above mural picture, top left shows the Washington National Cathedral, to the left of it is the Basilica, the planes may be the Blue Angels and Marine One, the presidential helicopter.  Next The White House, the United States Capitol, and the Washington Monument.  The dinosaurs are on the top of the National Museum of Natural History.  The fountain can be found in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.  This area is turned into an ice skating rink in the winter months.  Food trucks can be found in many parts of the city.  The Lincoln Memorial can be seen middle left.  The others are described under the first mural picture, and I may have missed something out in all of these.  

Pandas on the many bicycle trails in DC, and those practicing the art of Tai Chi. We often see kayakers rowing on the Potomac River, and tucked in the bottom right-hand corner, one of the signs at a metro stop.

Above a cropped version of the first mural photo, and part of the National Zoo can be seen middle left and also below, which is in part in the above photo as well.

Hope you've enjoyed your quick tour of Washington DC.  I will be sharing more of the Mosaic District in another post.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one.