Homemade Green Bean Casserole

One of the most popular side dishes for Thanksgiving is the traditional green bean casserole.  This is usually made with a cream of mushroom soup and dehydrated onions.  I have never found this very appetizing - until I saw the Alton Brown episode where he made a homemade version of this.  I thought it looked really great and much healthier than the traditional recipe.  And it didn't really seem any more difficult.  So I decided to give his recipe a try.  The recipe can be found here.

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Serves 6.

Ingredients

For the topping:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bread crumbs (panko recommended, but I used regular)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick spray

For beans:

1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
1 gallon water
2 tablespoons salt

For sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

2.  Combine the onions, flour, breadcrumbs and salt in a bowl.  Toss until the onions are coated.  Spray a cookie sheet with the nonstick spray.  Then place the coated onions onto the cookie sheet and arrange in a single layer.  Bake for 30  minutes or until golden brown.  Make sure you turn the onions over approximately every 10 minutes.  You really need to watch that these don't burn.  When the onions are golden brown, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.

 

 

3.  Turn oven down to 400 degrees F.

4.  Bring a pot of water large enough to cover beans to a boil with the salt.  Cook these for 10 minutes.  Drain in a colander and plunge into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.  Then drain the beans.

5.  Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick pan.  Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute - make sure you stir so that the garlic doesn't burn.  Now sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir.  Cook for approximately 1 minute.  Add the broth and stir for 1 minute, making sure to remove any lumps.  Now add the half and half and cook until mixture thickens, about 6 to 8 minutes.

 

6.  Remove the sauce from the stovetop and stir in the green beans and 1/4 of the onions.  Add this to a casserole dish that was sprayed with the nonstick spray.  Top the green bean mixture with the remaining onions.  Bake in the oven until bubbly, about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve warm.

 

My husband gave this two thumbs up and declared it better than the traditional recipe for Green Bean Casserole.  He said it tasted fresher.  I think this would be perfect to try for Thanksgiving to impress you mother-in-law!

Pumpkin Spice Two Layer Cheesecake

This blog is the third in my pumpkin series on ThisChemistCanCook!  I really love cheesecake and thought it would be fun (and delicious) to make a pumpkin cheesecake.  I decided to layer it to make it a little more interesting.  This recipe is for a really quick and easy cheesecake using a regular pie plate.  If you wanted to get more fancy, you could double the recipe and then put it in a springform pan for a thicker cheesecake. I based my recipe on the Kraft recipe for the 3 step cheesecake.

Ingredients

2 packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin (canned or homemade puree - see previous blog post)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
(dash of cloves, if desired)
8 graham cracker blocks, crushed to crumbs (each block is 4 rectangles of crackers)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
(or instead of the graham crackers and butter, you can use a ready made graham cracker crust)
whipped topping, if desired

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2.  Take your graham crackers and put them in a big ziplock bag.  Use a meat tenderizer mallet or rolling pin to crush the graham crackers until in crumbs.

  

3.  Mix in the melted butter and stir until moistened.

  

4.  Push the graham cracker mixture onto the bottom of your pie plate.  The amounts that I listed in the ingredient list make a very thin crust.  If you want a thicker graham cracker crust, you could double both the number of cracker blocks and butter.

5.  Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until smooth.  Make sure the cream cheese is softened before you do this!  Add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing in between additions.

6.  Reserve one cup of this cream cheese mixture and set aside.

7.  Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over the graham cracker crust in the pie plate.

8.  Using the reserved cream cheese mixture, add the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg (and cloves, if using).

 

9.  Pour the pumpkin batter over the plain cheesecake batter in the pie plate.

10.  Bake 40 minutes until center is set.  Cool, then refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.  When serving, top with whipped topping, if desired.

 

This recipe was a big hit with my family.  And it was so easy to do!  Sometimes cheesecakes can be so tricky to make with the springform pans and water baths.  But this one is so easy you could make it on a weeknight.  The family has already asked that I make this again soon.

Pumpkin Spice Pull Apart Bread

Pumpkin Spice Pull Apart Bread

This is Part II of my series on How to Cook Fresh Pumpkin.  I wanted to start with a simple way to use the fresh pumpkin puree I made in my last blog entry.  In one of the plethora of emails I received regarding fall recipes from various companies, this one caught my eye.  It was from Pillsbury and the recipe looked super yummy and very easy!  I thought the kids would enjoy it, so I decided to make it the first use of my new pumpkin puree.  Here is the original recipe.  I made some slight alterations to fit with my family's tastes.

Pumpkin Spice Pull Apart Bread

1 can Pillsbury Grands flaky biscuits (8 biscuits)
3/4 cup fresh pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin pie mix, if no fresh puree)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
(nutmeg)  You can throw in some nutmeg, but my family doesn't care for it, so I left it out.
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

2.  Open the can of biscuits and separate into the 8 biscuits.  Now take each biscuit and cut it in half horizontally (i.e. across the "equator").  You should now have 16 biscuits.  The Grands biscuits are very flaky and easily come apart in half because of all the flaky layers.

3.  Place these 16 biscuits on a flat cookie sheet or a clean counter.  Spread the pumpkin puree over each biscuit.  Top each with some of the melted butter.  In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar, cinnamon and ginger (plus nutmeg, if you are using it).  Sprinkle this sugar mixture over all the biscuits.

 

4.  Now stack these biscuits into 4 stacks of 4  biscuits each.  Place each stack into the loaf pan on their sides.  However, make sure that you orient them so that on each end, you put the biscuit withOUT the filling.

5.  Bake 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown and done in the center.

6.  Let the loaf cool a little.  Remove the loaf from the pan.

7.  Mix together the powdered sugar and milk and vanilla until there are no lumps.  Drizzle over the loaf.

The night I made this it came out of the oven around 9 pm.  I believe it was nearly gone by 10 pm!  I know certain people, whom shall remain nameless, that had at least 4 pieces!!  I think the Grands biscuits really make this recipe.  The biscuits have a slight sweetness to them that makes this bread extra good.  This recipe was very delicious and oh so easy!  I recommend this one highly!

How to Cook Fresh Pumpkin

Part I:  Making Pumpkin Puree

This blog is for my great-nephew, Ethan.  A few weekends ago, the extended family was sitting around the table eating a pumpkin cake that Aunt Sally made.  Someone asked what kind of cake it was and Aunt Sally told them it was pumpkin.  Ethan looked stunned and said, "You can make food out of pumpkins????"  So I thought I would show him how to make some food from a pumpkin!!


First you need to get some pie pumpkins.  These are small pumpkins made for eating, not for carving.  Theoretically you CAN make pumpkin puree out of jack-o-lantern type pumpkins, but you are risking taste and texture.  Here are the pumpkins I used:

Make sure you clean them off, then cut the tops off (just below the stem).  After that cut the pumpkins in half from top to bottom.  It should look like this:

Here comes the fun part, scraping out all the goop inside the pumpkin.  I found it best to use a sturdy spoon and just scrape around the inside of the pumpkin.  The little stringy stuff is difficult to separate from the wall of the pumpkin, but it will eventually break away.  Toss all of the guts into a separate bowl and save for roasting the pumpkin seeds (see Part II of this series, coming soon).  Once cleaned out, it should look like this:

Now cut each half into several pieces and put them on a cookie tray, like this:

Bake these in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  The pieces should be fork tender when done.

Let the pieces cool until you can handle them with your hands.  At this point, the skin of the pumpkin should peel right off the flesh.  If it needs a little help, use a knife to scrape the flesh from the skin.  

All that is left to do is put this through a food processor or a food mill.  I actually used my immersion blender because I didn't feel like dragging out the food processor.   

The trick is to get a good consistency.  You don't want it too watery or it won't bake up right in recipes.  If your puree is too watery, just strain it through cheesecloth or a fine strainer.

I will be using this pumpkin puree to make some pumpkin goodies in my next blog!!  Keep an eye out for it.

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup

Continuing on my quest to make some recipes from the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine, I decided to try my hand at the French onion soup next.  It was a cool, fall weekend day, so soup seemed the perfect fit!  Also, my husband Ryan likes French onion soup and I have never made it for him before.  So I was planning the surprise.  

This recipe appeared in the latest issue of the magazine, but can also be found here.  I made a few changes to meet our needs.  Plus the original recipe gave a few options to choose from (like using dry vermouth or white wine, and a choice of comte cheese or gruyere).

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter

6 large onions, about 5 pounds, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth if you want to make this vegetarian)
8 slices French bread, thickly sliced
8 ounces Gruyere cheese, sliced

   

Directions:

1.   Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.

2.  Add the onions and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until softened and brown, about 60-70 minutes.  Make sure you stir occasionally so that the onions do not burn.

Color of onions at beginning

Color of onions after 75 minutes on very low simmer

3.  Add the white wine and vinegar and bring to a boil.  Once it hits the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

4.  Add the chicken broth, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf to the pot.  Bring to a boil.  Once it reaches the boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced to about 8 cups.  This will take about 35-40 minutes.  Make sure you stir frequently to prevent burning.

5.  Remove the bay leaf from the pot.

6.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  

7.  Place ovenproof bowls on a cookie sheet with a rim.  Divide soup among the bowls.  Top with the toasted bread.  Then top with a slice of the cheese.

8.  Bake until cheese is bubbling and golden brown.  This will take about 6 - 8 minutes.

This recipe was surprisingly easy and doesn't take many ingredients.  The main issue with the recipe is the time it takes to cook!  So when you have a nice, cool weekend day - think about making this.  It was really very delicious.  Or, this soup can be made up to 2 days ahead.  So make it on a Sunday and enjoy it on Tuesday after work.

Lasagna Bolognese

It is Sunday afternoon and I am looking forward to doing a little cooking.  Recently I had received the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine and there were so many things that looked delicious.  I wasn't sure what to make first but I finally settled on making a pan of the lasagna bolognese!   That seemed like a great Sunday afternoon meal.  It reminds me of my childhood when there was always a pot of sauce boiling on the stove on a Sunday.  I love the smell of sauce cooking!  Ahhh!  So, let's get started.

I found this recipe on the Bon Appetit site that is exactly like the one in the magazine.  I modified the recipe a little to fit our needs.

Lasagna Bolognese

Bolognese Sauce

1 sweet yellow onion
1 carrot, peeled
1 stalk celery
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
3 oz. pancetta
salt
pepper
1 cup white wine
1 cup 2% milk
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth

1.  Coarsely chop the onion, carrot and celery then put them in a food processor until finely chopped.

• 2.  Heat the oil in a large pot, then add the 3 meats and the chopped vegetables.  Cook for about 25-30 minutes until the meat is browned and the moisture is nearly evaporated.  Season with salt and pepper.
•  
  
  
  3.  Add the wine and milk to the pot, then bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and then simmer until moisture is nearly evaporated, approximately 8-10 minutes.  Then add the can of tomatoes and 2 cups of the chicken broth.  Simmer the sauce for 2-1/2 - 3 hours.  Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth (1/2 cup at a time) as the sauce simmers.
• 
  
  
  4.  You can let the sauce cool, then cover and chill up to 2 days, if desired.  I used the sauce right away.

Bechamel Sauce

5 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups 2% milk

pinch of nutmeg

salt

1.  Heat the butter in a saucepan until melted. 

 2.  Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking continuously.  

3.  Add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time.  Simmer, whisking often, for 8 - 10 minutes.  The sauce will thicken.  Be careful not to burn it!

4.  Season the sauce with the nutmeg and salt.  Remove from heat.  If you want to use it later, you can let it cool, then put plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce.  The sauce can be made a day ahead.

Put it all together

To complete the recipe you will also need:

2 boxes no-boil lasagna noodles

Parmesan cheese 

I used no-boil lasagna noodles.  However, if you use regular noodles, you will need to cook the noodles first.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9" x 13" casserole dish with butter.
  
  
  1.  Put 1/4 cup of the bechamel sauce into the casserole dish.  Place a layer of noodles over the sauce.  
  
  
  2.  Begin building the layers by adding 3/4 cup of the Bolognese sauce, 1/2 cup of the bechamel sauce, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, then topping with a layer of noodles.  Continue 7 more times, ending with a layer of parmesan cheese.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3.  Put the casserole dish on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch anything that may bubble over.
  
  
  4.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Then remove the foil and continue cooking for 20 more minutes.
  
  
  
  
  
  If desired, you can assemble the lasagna ahead of time for up to 12 hours.  However, let sit at room temperature for 2 hours before baking.