recipes: green bean casserole and steak sauce

my mom was not one of those traditional american food moms. growing up, we ate pesto, whole grains, and stir fries. as a result, i am now completely obsessed with foods like deviled eggs and sweet potato casserole and jello salad and hot dogs. my mom's plan for lifetime healthy food habits was foiled!

i remember the first time i was first introduced to green bean casserole. i was in high school, probably 10th or 11th grade. i was invited over to dinner at my friend amanda's house. her mom had prepared ham steaks (i had never heard of that before), stovetop stuffing, and this amazing combination of canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and french fried onions. i could not get enough! what was this amazing delicacy and how had i lived without it? ever since that day, i have been a lover of the dish.

now i kind of forgot about my green bean casserole obsession until march, when i was in LA. the stars aligned and it just so happened that gretchen, who is vegan, decided to make her own version of the casserole. i was intrigued... wasn't cream of mushroom soup essential? no, gretchen explained, she had found a replacement: imagine creamy portobello mushroom soup (which is totally vegan). she shared a taste of her creation and my taste buds came alive. somehow, this was even better than the green bean casserole of my high school days!

once i got home, i had to recreate the dish. gretchen, who really does not care much about cooking, could not give me a specific recipe. "just use mushroom soup and green beans," she said. once again luck smiled upon me and i found a recipe on the trader joe's fried onion can. joy!

what follows is my own recipe, made up based on gretchen's and the trader joe's recipes. i served this to beth t. earlier this week and she loved it. it is absolutely delicious. i have been eating it all week and i am not tired of it. enjoy!

essential ingredients for my green bean casserole

liz's grown up green bean casserole

2 lb. french cut green beans (frozen is ok- i used trader joe's)
2 c. creamy mushroom soup (i recommend imagine's, they are the brand in the square boxes)
3-4 T. butter (if you want to make this recipe vegan, use 2-3 T. vegetable oil instead)
1/2 large or 1 small onion (any kind is ok), chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. flour
8 oz. canned fried onions
salt and pepper to taste

boil green beans for about 2 min in salted water. you want them a little more cooked than blanched, but not fully boiled. drain and rinse them off to cool them down.

melt butter in a big pot. cook onions and garlic in the melted butter with a little salt until onions are soft, about 3-4 min. add flour and whisk until it starts to brown a little, about another 1-2 min. add some more salt and pepper. whisk in mushroom soup and cook for about another 1-2 min, until everything combines. add some water or chicken broth if it gets too thick. you want it the consistency of gravy.

turn off the heat and add the green beans to the pot. mix it all until the green beans are coated. dump the whole mess into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish (i used butter to grease it, but you could also use pam spray or whatever). cover the dish in foil and put under the broiler (about 8 inches away from the heat) for 10-12 minutes. then remove the foil and broil for another 1 minute, or until the top gets slightly golden brown. remove casserole, cover the top with fried onions, and serve.

dinner tonight: leftover green bean casserole served with steak with caper and mustard sauce

i grilled the steak and got the steak sauce recipe from everyday food this morning on pbs, and slightly modified it:

caper and mustard sauce

melt 1 T. butter in a pan. add 1 c. white wine. boil over medium-high heat until syrupy, 3 to 4 minutes. whisk in 1 T. dijon mustard. stir in 2 T. capers, a little bit of their juice, and any juices from resting steaks. season with salt and pepper.

i like to cook myself really exciting and special meals every week or so, and especially on a sunday night it is nice to give yourself something to look forward to before going to work on monday. bon appetit!