Green Beans with Garlicky Shiitakes

A common theme among posts these days seems to be recreating things I've eaten while at restaurants. I don't think I go out to eat that much, maybe once a week, but with all of the travel I've done lately, it's been more than usual. I had the great opportunity to spend some time with my best friend from high school while I was crashing at my parents' house in Cincinnati. We met for lunch each Friday for 5 weeks, and this was definitely the highlight of those meals out. While looking up places near the office, I found Brown Dog Cafe. The menu looked great, and the food was exceptional.

I had the grilled vegetable sandwich and got the green beans as my side dish. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, and this preparation took them over the top! It was super garlicky with earthy shiitake mushrooms in a light vegetable broth, but the green beans were still the highlight of the dish. I will definitely be making these again and again, they're easy enough for an average dinner side, but fancy enough to serve for a holiday or fancy dinner party.

Green Beans with Garlicky Shiitakes

adapted from Brown Dog Cafe

Serves 4 as a side

1 lb. green beans or haricot verts, trimmed

1 tbsp. butter

4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

6-8 oz. shiitake mushrooms

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 c. vegetable stock

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt and drop in green beans.

Cook to al dente, then drain and rinse in cold water to preserve color and crisp.

In a large saute' pan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic and mushrooms.

Saute' for 5-7 minutes, until mushrooms begin to brown and garlic is soft - do not let garlic burn!

Add green beans and stock, cover and bring to a simmer, remove from heat.

Pour green beans into a serving dish, top with grated parmesan cheese.

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole

I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's of 2010 quite sick due to my pregnancy, and was unable to enjoy the delicious meals and treats throughout the season. That was my reasoning for pigging out this past holiday season. However, I tried to keep it semi-healthy, beginning with this dish! I'm a huge green bean casserole fan. The canned beans and condensed soup version just don't cut it though, fresh beans, a quick cream sauce, and a sprinkle of fresh onions are a million times tastier! 

I used Alton Brown's "Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole" as my starting point, but green bean casserole really isn't rocket science. This side dish will definitely be gracing our table all year long, not just at the holidays. Here's an extra tip - make double, or triple the onions - you won't be able to stop snacking on them while making the rest of the dish! 

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole

from Alton Brown (slightly adapted from link above)

2 yellow onions, sliced 1/4" thick, separated into rings

1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. Italian style breadcrumbs

1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs

2 lbs. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" segments

1 tbsp. butter

8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

2 tbsp. flour

1-2 c. 2% milk

Preheat oven to 450*

Add onions to a bowl, toss in flour, remove and place in another bowl, toss in buttermilk, remove and place in a final bowl of breadcrumbs, toss gently to coat.

Spread out on a lined cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even crisping.

Remove from the oven, set aside.

Bring 1" of water to a boil, place a steamer basket over water and steam beans for 7-10 minutes, until tender and still bright green.

In a deep saute' pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic.

Saute' for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft.

Sprinkle with flour, stir to coat, add 1 c. milk and nutmeg, whisk and bring to a bubble, cook to desired thickness of sauce, adding more milk as necessary.

Add green beans, toss to coat in sauce, taste and adjust seasonings.

Remove from heat, pour into a dish, top with onions and serve immediately.

Succotash Salad with Black Bean-Squash Patties

I typically do my grocery shopping on Saturday afternoons, so Saturday at lunch I try to do a clean out the fridge lunch. I hate to bring home groceries when there's anything in the fridge because I like to start the week with a clean slate, and make sure I don't throw away anything. The only things left in there when I head out to the store are condiments. 

This blog is starting to sound more like therapy and confessions each day, huh? 

So anyway... while cleaning out the fridge on a Saturday afternoon, I came across a few ears of corn (because now it's on sale 10/$2!), tomatoes from the garden, haricots verts, a couple small summer squash, and half a log of goat cheese. I decided to make a random succotash type salad and top it with bean cakes. The meal was a definite winner. Not only did it clean out the fridge, but it's healthy, filling, and fresh. 

Succotash Salad with Black Bean-Squash Patties

Salad:

2 ears of corn, husked

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 lb. haricots verts, trimmed and cut in 1" segments

Dressing:

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp. honey  

2 tbsp. EVOO

Salt and pepper

Black Bean Patties:

1 c. summer squash, finely diced

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. oatmeal, ground (or breadcrumbs)

1 egg white, beaten

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper

Accompaniments:

2 oz. crumbled goat cheese

Torn cilantro leaves

Clean corn cobs of strings, cut off kernels.

Bring 2" of water to a boil in a pot, add haricots verts and corn kernels, boil for 1 minute, drain and set aside.

Heat a griddle over medium.

In a large mixing bowl, combine squash, black beans, ground oats, egg whites, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, mash together with a fork to break up beans.

Use a spatula and divide mixture into patties (I made 5, pictured 3) and place on the griddle. 

Cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add all dressing ingredients to the serving dish, whisk together.

Add corn, haricots verts, and tomatoes. Gently toss to mix in dressing.

Top with squash patties, crumbled goat cheese and cilantro. 

Garlicky Almond and Sun-Dried Tomato Green Beans

For our office Christmas lunch, my co-worker and I tried to think of a good vegetable to pair with lasagna and turkey. We figured green beans would be a safe bet. He said he has a favorite way of preparing them, which is with lots of garlic, sun dried tomatoes and almonds. I made mine in a more brothy sauce, where his were in a bit more EVOO. Either way, these greens beans have lots of flavor, and are an easy side to any main course.

Garlicky Almond and Sun-Dried Tomato Green Beans

4-6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp. EVOO

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 lb. trimmed green beans or Haricot Vert

1/2 cup julienne sun dried tomatoes

1/4 cup almonds, slivered or chopped

Heat a saute' pan over medium-low heat.

Add EVOO and garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 8-10 minutes, until garlic is soft and just starting to brown.

Add vegetable stock and green beans, toss and cover.

Turn heat to medium, cook green beans for 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness, until al dente.

Uncover, toss in sun-dried tomatoes and almonds, serve.

Minestrone Stew

Today when I was driving home from the library, it was snowing. Seriously?! Snow?! This cold weather needs to go away, but until it does, I'll keep making soups and stews rather than turn the heat on in our house! I love minestrone, but I wanted something more substantial and hearty, so I turned it into a stew. This is a photo of the leftovers reheated, so it was a bit more thick here than originally, but I just added a bit more stock later on to make it a little more like soup. This made a HUGE batch, it completely filled my dutch oven.

Minestrone Stew

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow onion, diced

1/4 lb. haricot verts, cut in 1" pieces

1 zucchini, quartered and sliced

1 yellow summer squash, quartered and sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin

Salt and Pepper

1/2 c. red wine

1 5 oz. can organic tomato paste

1 28 oz. can organic crushed tomatoes with basil

6 c. vegetable stock

1 tbsp. dried Italian seasoning blend (or chopped fresh)

1/4 lb. ditalini

1 15 oz. can organic kidney beans, drained

1 15 oz. can organic cannelini beans, drained

Parmesan, for garnish

Crushed red pepper flakes, for garnish

Heat a dutch oven over medium, add 1 tbsp EVOO. Saute' onions, garlic, beans, zucchini, squash and carrots for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn to medium high, add tomato paste, stir to combine. Add wine and herbs, cook to reduce until veggies and tomato paste are thick. Add crushed tomatoes, stock, beans and pasta. Bring to a simmer, stir, cover and turn to low.

Cook for 30 minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings. Make sure pasta is cooked and veggies are tender.

Serve with parmesan, crushed red pepper and crusty bread.

A Year Ago: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Haricots Verts in Ginger Sauce

I love ginger and green beans, so I knew this recipe would be great along side my dan dan noodles. They're very clean and fresh tasting.

Haricots Verts in Ginger Sauce

jiang zhi jiang dou

salt

1 lb. haricots verts

4 tsp. grated ginger

3 tbsp. chicken stock

2 tsp. Chinese black vinegar

4 tsp. sesame oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously.

Drop in green beans, boil for 3 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.

Let the beans dry and cool in the colander while preparing the sauce.

Combine the ginger with stock, vinegar and sesame oil. Whisk to combine.

Plate the beans, pour the sauce over top.

Serve.

Parmesan Crabcakes and New Potato Salad with Green Beans

For dinner this week, I’ll be cooking from Norway. I am taking the same approach I did with Ireland, using a newer cookbook that creates gourmet dishes, using Norwegian ingredients, because traditional recipes just aren’t as appealing to me.

For our first night, I found a recipe for crab cakes that looked good. JJ’s obsessed with crab cakes, so I knew they’d make him happy. The few other times I’ve made them, I used a Creole recipe from Emeril, but this recipe was quite different, really showcasing the actual crab. I didn’t eat them, but JJ said they were outstanding.

I was drawn to the potato salad because it screamed summer to me, all of the fresh herbs in a lemon vinaigrette, it was delicious! It really cleaned out my areo garden! It was extremely herb-y, but not overkill, in my opinion. The lemon really balanced it, and the capers added a nice bit of salt.

These recipes are both from Kitchen of Light by Andreas Viestad.

Parmesan Crab cakes with New Potato and Green Bean Salad

Crabcakes:
6 oz. lump crab, picked over for shells
1 egg white
¼ c. panko bread crumbs
¼ c. chopped parsley
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ c. parmesan cheese, shaved
EVOO for frying

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, form into 4 patties.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high, add EVOO to coat, drop cakes in. Brown on first side, about 5 minutes, and flip. Brown on the second side for 4 minutes. Plate with extra parmesan and parsley.

New Potato Salad with Green Beans:

1 lb. new potatoes, quartered
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends snapped
2 cloves garlic, pasted with salt
2 tbsp. capers
¼ c. fresh herbs, chopped, such as parsley, mint, dill, basil, and thyme
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. EVOO
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot of cold water, cover and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes, until just under fork tender. Add green beans to the pot and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain beans and potatoes into a colander, set aside and bring to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic, capers, herbs, lemon, vinegar, EVOO, and salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Add potatoes and beans, fold dressing mixture over and mix, be careful to not break potatoes. Serve at room temperature.

fistfuls of fresh herbs...yum!