Greek Green Bean Salad

What happens when you have a professional photographer over for dinner?  You get professional shots of your food!  SCORE!  My friend Stacy met me at our old house to take some new photos for the listing.  As a pro, she's got the equipment to take some wide angle shots so she was able to really do justice to the old place.  After photos, we were off to the new house for a tour.  She loved the kitchen and the master bathroom in particular.  So do we.  And, all the windows and all the trees.  Yes, we do love our new home!!! 

I'd had Connie pick up some salmon, green beans, strawberries and cherry tomatoes.  The basis for a really fun meal.  We made our favorite  Salmon with Marmalade Glaze

and my mom's parmesan noodles.  Except, I used truffle cheese in place of the parmesan.  Oh, la la! 

Along side that I made a salad with strawberries and a green bean tomato salad. 

Let's start with the salad with strawberries.  There's a place called Queen Creek Olives outside of Phoenix in Queen Creek.  Addictive.  Highly addictive olives.  And, olive oil.  And, balsamic vinegar.  And lots of other wonderful things like barbecue sauces and cheese spreads and chutneys.  Oh, yes.  I order their stuff by the case.  And, we inhale it.  Last time I was in Phoenix I went to one of their stores and taste tested.  One of the combos I bought was rosemary olive oil with a cranberry balsamic glaze.  I heated a bit more than a tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet and added cored, halved strawberries.  When they'd warmed through a bit, I poured some of the cranberry balsamic glaze in.  Connie had thinned the mesclun in the garden so I mixed that with some chopped beet greens.  The warm strawberries and dressing were poured over and served. 

The noodles are medium egg noodles cooked then tossed with butter, fresh parsley and shredded cheese.  Couldn't be simpler.  And, every time I make them Connie tells me how much he likes them.  Me too!

Last but not least, the green bean and tomato salad.  I'd read a blurb in a magazine recently about green beans, tomatoes and feta cheese.  This was served with a bottled Greek vinaigrette.  Um, thanks but no thanks.  There are very few bottled dressings I'll use.  Most of them taste old and stale to me.  Probably thanks to all the preservative crap they put in them...  Oh, well, I'd make my own.  I went on food.com and found a recipe by Sue Lau.  She mentioned using her dressing on kalamata olives.  Bingo, I'd add those.  And, we had a jar of pickled garlic that was just screaming to be opened.  Now, the recipe called for oregano.  But, I wanted to use basil.  Don't ask me why because oregano is the quintessential Greek seasoning.  But I did so I did.  LOL.  That's the benefit of being the chief cook around here.  My kitchen.  My rules.  To quote a coffee mug from fine young stepson Matthew. 

We loved the whole dinner.  Ate it out on the deck.  Watched the hummingbird come and drink many times.  Loved the view.  And, loved the break from the heat and humidity.  I know it'll be back but for one evening it was delightful. 

So, here's the recipe:

Greek Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

for the salad:
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 c Kalamata olives, chopped

For the dressing:

2 T red wine vinegar
2 T fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t oregano (I subbed 6 basil leaves, minced - added to the salad, not the dressing)
1 t kosher salt
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t sugar
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  Blanch the green beans for a couple of minutes.  Drain them and dump them into an ice bath.  You want them dark green and slightly crunchy.  Quarter the cherry tomatoes.  Crumble the feta cheese.  Drain the green beans and toss the salad fixings together.  You might want to add pickled garlic (chopped) or pepperoncini (chopped) or if you're adventurous, minced jalapeno.  Mix all of the dressing ingredients except the olive oil.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil so the dressing will emulsify.  Pour the olive oil over the salad ingredients.  Toss well and serve.

adapted from food.com by Sue Lau

Green Bean Casserole

Well, if you read my last post, you know my sister-in-law, Barb, was here visiting.  Her first evening here, we took her to Chef Joseph's.  She finally got to meet our dear friend who is such an incredible chef.  She loved her chicken parmesan.  And, Connie and I loved our lamb confit tacos!!! 

The next evening we headed to Mom's and from there went out to Zionsville for dinner at the Friendly.  That evening there was a drag race on Main Street to raise money for Alzheimers.  I wish I'd gotten photos of the guys in drag coming in the bar to collect donations.  They were wonderful! 

Saturday, it was State Fair time!  David and Kara and Bradley and Rosie came over from Columbus to see Auntie Barbs.  The kids got to feed the sheep, eat enough sugar to last a month (or more) and just generally have a great time.  One of the highlights for me was getting to see the sculpture that won my friend, Kathy Cunningham, first place in the professional division.  Then, I turned around and said, "Oh, look at that cool piece!"  Turned out it was another by Kathy...  

The fair was followed by a run through the sprinkler at home.  Picking flowers for Momma.  Playing with Annie.  PIcking tomatoes.  Climbing the tree.  Then, it was time for dinner - and helping Grammie.  Barbecued chicken on the Big Green Egg, corn on the cob, homemade green bean casserole and two pies - one chocolate, bourbon pecan and the other mince walnut. 

Our friends Barb and Tom had been in the office and brought us three bags of goodies.  Corn on the cob, green peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans...  Connie took one look at the green beans and asked if I'd make green bean casserole.  He meant the stuff with the cream of mushroom soup topped by the store-bought fried onions.  I had other ideas.  Shocking, I know.  I set out to create REAL green bean casserole.  Now, I did not write down official measurements as I went...  so, these are estimates!

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

for the casserole:

2 lbs green beans, trimmed and halved
1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 T butter
4 T butter
4 T flour
1 1/2-2 c milk (I use 2%)
1/4 - 1/2 c dry sherry
salt and pepper

for the onion rings:

one small red onion, peeled and halved
flour
Cajun seasoning (we make our own Emeril's)
milk
vegetable oil

Directions:  

You're going to feel like a three ring circus while making this...  In a large, heavy pot, pour about an inch of vegetable oil.  That's for frying the onions...  It needs to heat slowly and you need to stay with it.

In a medium skillet, melt the two tablespoons of butter and sauté the mushrooms and shallots.  As they cook, they will give off moisture.  You want to sauté them until the pan is almost dry.  Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. 

Start the roux for the sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan.  While it's melting, cook the green beans in a small amount of salted water.  Because I want the beans relatively soft, I cover the saucepan and leave the beans to steam a bit.  Once the butter is melted, add the flour and stir for a few minutes.  You want the flour to cook but you don't want it to color much if at all.  Next, add the milk slowly, stirring constantly.  Once you've added the milk, add the sherry.  Now, you can stir the sauce occasionally while you fry the onions.    

Slice the onion VERY thinly.  Pour about an inch of milk into one shallow bowl.  Put flour and Cajun seasoning in another.  One the oil is hot enough to sizzle when you put an onion ring in it, you're ready to go.  Put a handful of the rings in the milk, then into the flour.  Toss them with the flour until they're well coated.  Put them in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes a side.  They need to be nicely browned.  Drain them on paper towels or a paper bag.  

Now, it's time to put the casserole together.  Drain the beans.  Mix them with the mushrooms, shallots and sauce and pour them into a baking dish.  Top with the fried onions and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  

Yes, it's considerably more trouble than canned soup and canned fried onions.  It's also about 1000% better :-)      

Whirlwind

Three new restaurants in three days.  Company visiting for four days.  Tax day with the last contribution to a SIMPLE for about 10 employees arriving about 10 minutes before the cutoff time.  Perfect spring weather then a freeze warning.  A new computer for the family room that's almost ready to go.  A conference table computer that's on its way out.  All in all, it made for a wild week!


Saturday, as you'll recall, our dear friends Mary and Fred arrived for a visit.  Their daughter, Julie, was going to be in town to attend a conference and she was going to bring their grandson, Keaton.  You heard about Saturday evening's meal with Giada's asparagus soup.  We tried another new recipe that evening but I found it fussy to make and not my favorite way to eat asparagus so I'll not post it...


Sunday, we were lazy bums.  The intent was to get up in time to go have breakfast before they headed to the airport at 10:30 to pick up Julie and Keaton.  Not happening.  Connie and I headed to the office and they were off to the airport by the time we all got up and showered and turned into humans.  Connie needs coffee in the morning.  Just saying. 


That evening, dinner was at our house for the whole crew.  I'm totally crazy about my grandkids but have never been all that fond of other kids.  Never wanted any of my own and am so glad I didn't have any!  So, spending a bunch of time around Keaton wasn't something I was looking forward to.  Boy was I wrong.  That kid is one smart young man.  He's got great manners and a wonderful personality.  He and his mom were a total joy and delight to have at our home.  I just wish they lived closer so we could see them more!

(really and truly, Mary smiles a LOT - just not in these photos!)

I used my favorite pork marinade of 1/3 each spiced pear liqueur, brown sugar and Kikkoman teriyaki sauce for pork specials.  Those went with individual sweet potato gratins and Doris's green beans.  Those are the green beans that we had at Doris and Jeffrey's house and I thought about for four days after.  They were spectacular.


Doris' Green Beans

Ingredients:


 1 1/2 pounds haricots verts
1 1/2 T olive oil
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2" dice
3 T butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Lightly steam the haricot verts. 

You can use any slender green beans.  Take it from the voice of experience here... This doesn't taste nearly as good with big, clunky green beans.  Set the beans aside and prepar the toppinigs.  Saute the red bell peppers in the olive oil in a large skillet. 

When the peppers are just getting tender, add the butter and garlic.  Saute all of that for about a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Finally, add the haricot verts and saute everything until the beans are heated through.  When I served this, I put the cooked beans on the plates then topped them with the pepper mixture followed by the toasted pine nuts.  It allowed for a more even distribution of the topping... 

adapted from Doris McKee, originally from Epicurious.com





Dessert was a new recipe.  I"ve talked a lot about what a wonderful baker my friend, Liz, is.  She wrote a post a bit ago about a favorite kidhood dessert she'd been unable to recreate to her satisfaction.  Then, she got a recipe from a friend and viola.  I'm here to tell you that if you love coconut, your eyes will roll back in your head.  I watched everyone else when they took their first bite of these fabulous bars.  Everyone leaned their head back and closed their eyes and went, "MMMMMMM."  This is my new favorite dessert.  And, it's easy.  It doesn't require measuring so many ounces of flour and mixing just until.  No, it prety much requires the dump it in method.  My kind of dessert to make and eat!  Please head over to Liz's blog to see a fantastic photo of these:  ThatSkinnyChickCanBake.


Liz's Mounds Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

1 can (14 ounces) Eagle Brand sweet and condensed milk

7 ounces coconut

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli bittersweet because I prefer that to semi- sweet)

2 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces

1/2 cup cream


Directions:


Preheat your oven to 325F.  Mix the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and butter.
Pat them in the bottom of an 8x8 cake pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Mix the coconut with the condensed milk.  Liz's recipe called for warming the condensed milk.  Due to no available burners on the stove I skipped this step...  Pour this mixture over the baked crust.  Bake for another 15 minutes.  While the bars cool, make the frosting.  Put the chocolate, butter and cream into a microwave safe bowl.  As I noted above, I used bittersweet chocolate not only because I prefer dark bittersweet chocolate to milk or semi-sweet, but because the real Mounds bars are covered with dark chocolate.  Microwave on low in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted.  It'll look rather like a mell of a hess once it all melts.  Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir like crazy.  All of the sudden, you'll have this gorgeous ganache.  Pour that over the cooled bars and pop the pan into the refrigerator (if you've got a few hours until you serve them) or into the freezer (if you've only got an hour or so.)  Cut into squares and serve.  (And, hide some for yourself for later because you'll want some so badly!)

adapted from ThatSkinnyChickCanBake - Thank you Liz!

Our adventures will be continued...

Steaks with Martini Butter

The primary benefit to being the cook is not having to do the dishes.  Well, that and the fact that I get to choose the menu.  This last weekend, we headed to Columbus, OH to see David and Kara and Bradley and Rosie.  David is my stepson, Kara is his wife and Bradley and Rosie are our grandchildren.  They are wonderful folks and the best parents around. I'd volunteered to cook - lunch and dinner.  I knew we were having sloppy joes for lunch.  Dinner, well, that was another story.  No clue.  I'd seen a recipe for martini butter for steaks but had no other ideas.  David loves meat slabs.  We typically don't.  Be they beef or pork or lamb slabs, they're typically not on our menu.  We'd prefer to get the majority of our calories from vegetables or starches.  On the way out of town, we stopped at the farmer's market and I bought corn on the cob, green beans and red potatoes. They sounded like they'd be fine with steaks. I'd brought several cooking magazines for the ride but they didn't yield anything wonderful.  Ok, fine.  I'll make it up.

Cut to the chase here.  Dinner turned out very well.   The steaks were perfect.  The martini butter.  Well I may never make another steak without making a bit of martini butter.  It enhanced the flavor without overwhelming anything.  I did saute some onions to add to the steaks.  For the green beans, I sauteed some grape tomatoes with oregano and browned some bacon and shredded a bit of parmesan cheese.  Rather than rambling on, let's go thru the whole menu:


Steaks with Martini Butter
Corn on the Cob
Rosemary Potatoes
Green Beans with Roasted Tomatoes
Crescent Rolls with Shallots, Oregano and Parmesan


Steaks with Martini Butter

Ingredients:
4 m- 8-10 oz strip steaks about 1" thick
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t truffle oil
salt and pepper
1/2 c drained pimiento stuffed Spanish olives
1/4  c gin or vodka (we used vodka)
2 T dry vermouth
2 t Dijon mustard
8 T unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Put the worcestershire sauce and truffle oil in a 9x13 glass pan.  Coat both sides of the steaks with the sauce mixture.  Grind some fresh pepper over the steaks.  Allow them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to grilling.

Process the olives, gin or vodka, vermouth and dijon in a food processor.  When you've got a slurry, mix in the butter.

Grill the steaks to your preferred internal temperature.  Plate them immediately after you remove them from the grill and put a dollop of martini butter on each.  Once you've plated the steaks, add the rest sides to the plates.  This will accomplish two things.  One the steaks will have a few minutes to rest and allow the juices to redistribute and two, the butter got on them when they were very hot. 


Green Beans with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 lb green beans
olive oil
2 T vermouth
1 lb grape tomatoes
6 slices bacon
1/2 c shredded parmesan
1 T olive oil
4 sprigs fresh oregano

Directions:

Chop the bacon.  Use a small skillet and brown it.  Remove the bacon from the skillet and pour off the bacon fat.  Do not wipe the skillet because the browned bits (fond) will add some wonderful taste to the tomatoes.  Put a little olive oil in a larger skillet and heat it to shimmering.  Add the green beans.  When they've cooked for a couple of minutes - and before they've started to brown, add the vermouth.  Put the cherry or grape tomatoes in the small skillet with a little more olive oil and the oregano.  Saute them until they're bursting.  Plate the dish with the green beans on the bottom, topped with the tomatoes then the bacon then the grated cheese.


Stuffed Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:
1 package crescent rolls
3 shallots, minced and sauteed
oregano, chopped fresh
parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Unroll and separate the crescent rolls.  On the wide end of each put some of the sauteed shallots, some oregano and some grated cheese.  Roll as usual and bake following the package instructions.



martini butter recipe adapted from Fine Cooking

Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl

2010 is the 50th anniversary of the I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken.  The forward says, "The genesis of this book was a luncheon with several good friends, all of whom hate to cook but have to.  At that time, we were all unusually bored with what we had been cooking and, therefore, eating.  For variety's sake, we decided to pool our ignorance, tell each other our shabby little secrets, and toss into the pot the recipes we swear by instead of at.  These recipes have not been tested by experts.  That is why they are valuable.  Experts in their sunny spotless test kitchens can make anything taste good.  But even we can make these taste good."  If you're not familiar with this hilarious cookbook, that gives you a great idea of the delightful adventure that awaits upon reading it.

My mother used the heck out of the I Hate to Cook Book.  Not that she hates to cook.  Au contraire, she's a fantastic cook.  But, the recipes are almost all wonderful.  Sole Survivor, Risk it on a Brisket, Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl, Cockeyed Cake.  Those are the names I remember without opening the book.  My copy is very well worn.  I think it was the first cookbook I ever got.  And, yes, I can tell you the Cockeyed Cake recipe is on page 92.  It was Dad's favorite.  And, it's the easiest cake ever.  Moist, chocolatey.  MMMM. 

Babbling on about this cookbook makes me think I should go back and make some more of the old faithful's and try some new things from it! 

So, how did I come to fix Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl this week?  Connie's bridge partner, Marsha, just made life master.  For those of you who aren't bridge players, life master is a big deal.  A VERY BIG DEAL.  It takes a lot of work and a lot of skill.  Connie's got the 300 points but needs to win at a regional to get the rest of his gold points.  Marsha's celebration is at the bridge center this week.  And, I volunteered to take some casseroles and salads.  There'll be about 80 people there.  Thankfully, I'm not feeding the whole crew!  Others are bringing lasagna, chicken casserole, fruit salad.  A cake's been ordered.  And, I'll have to miss the party because I've got to tape the radio show...  Ah, work before pleasure.  Bummer.  Last night I put together two 9x13 pans of Chicken Green Bean Casserole.  We've got the hamburger browned and the tomatoes dumped in for the Glop.  Tonight, we'll make the mac and cheese to mix in.  Tortellini is cooked and chilled for Lana's Salad.  I'll put that together tonight.  And, I'll make the dressing for Casa D'Angelo salad tonight.  The morning of the party I'll get up way early and put that salad together.  Last, but not least, I thought of Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl.  It's easy, good and needs to be made in advance.  Even better.  It comes from a chaper titled, "Potluck Suppers, How to Bring the Water for the Lemonade."

Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl

Ingredients:
1 can Del Monte Blue Lake Green Beans
1 can wax beans
1 can kidney beans
1 onion
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
2/3 c cider vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Drain the green beans and wax beans and dump them in a storage container.  Drain and rinse the kidney beans.  Add them to the bowl. 

Dice the onion and add it.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  This needs to marinate in your refrigerator for at least 24 hours.  As Peg says in her instructions, "Stir it a few times if you happen to think of it while it marinates."  I always put it in a plastic storage container and just give that a few good shakes whenever I open the refrigerator door...  You can get all fancy schmancy and put the drained salad in a lettuce lined bowl or you can be plain pipe rack and serve it straight out of the container.  Whichever you do, this is fantastic bean salad.

Green Beans with Mustard Seed Butter

I know.  You're thinking MUSTARD SEEDS?  Let me tell you, they were awesome.  Nutty, crunchy, awesome.  If this dish wasn't so full of bad for us things like butter and cream, I'd be whipping this up on a monthly basis.  Where is Mother Rimmy when I need her?  There's got to be a way to low cal this a bit.  I used half a stick of butter so that's four tablespoons.  We used about half of the butter and had two servings of the beans each.  (Dinner and lunch the next day.  And, let me tell you, they were equally awesome reheated!)  So, that's a tablespoon each.  The cream is 1/4 c and going through the same math since 1/4 cup has 4 tablespoons, we each had a tablespoon of cream.  That's actually HALF a tablespoon each per serving.  So, the question is, what could I replace some of the butter and some of the cream with to have the same end result?  I'm hoping one of you, my readers, will come up with a brilliant idea. 


This is from foodandwine.com.  I was hunting for recipes to use up some of our summer produce and this one jumped out at me.  We've done the green beans and tomatoes and onions routine.  And, the steamed beans on a salad.  And, the asian treatment.  This recipe jumped out at me because it was SO different.  I've not used sherry vinegar before and just happened to have picked up a bottle last time I was at Frasiers (my favorite gourmet foods emporium.)  The pan was still hot from toasting the mustard seeds when I poured the vinegar in.  The aroma just exploded.  Connie was out on the screened porch and walked into the house a couple of minutes later.  He said, "What in the world smells so good?"  Vinegar.  Oh, come on.  Yup, vinegar.  The sherry vinegar gave the sauce just a little edge.  Unless you knew what it was, you'd probably never be able to figure it out.  And, the mustard seeds.  Oh, my.  Fabulous.  I'm already trying to figure out new ways to incorporate those guys into some other recipes. 

Green Beans with Mustard Seed Butter


Ingredients:
1 T yellow mustard seeds
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1/3 c sherry vinegar
2 T water
1/4 c heavy cream
4 T unsalted butter, softened
2 T whole grain mustard
salt and pepper
2 lbs green beans, trimmed


Directions:


In a small skillet, toast the mustard seeds until they're nice and brown.  Pour them into a small bowl and let them cool. 

Pour the vinegar and water into the skillet.  Add the shallots and cook until the liquid is reduced to less than a tablespoon. 

Pour the vinegar into a bowl or measuring cup.  Pour in the cream and mix. 

Mix the butter, the whole grain mustard,

the vinegar/shallot mixture and the mustard seeds.  I found it was easier to incorporate the mustard then add the other ingredients. 

Blanch the green beans. 

Serve the green beans with a dollop of the butter.


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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD and WINE archive. As a FOOD and WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD and WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD and WINE for my participation.