As much as Thanksgiving revolves around old traditions, it
is an exquisite opportunity for making new traditions. Growing up, I loved my
family’s Thanksgiving traditions---Margarette Ave, two large dining tables, a
walk down to Loch Raven Reservoir, Auntie C’s sweet potatoes, A’s scones,
Grandma’s stuffing, and Top Gun blaring in the background (don’t ask). Thanksgiving
wouldn’t have felt like Thanksgiving without all these things. As life and
stages of life started to change, the traditions suddenly did not seem as
important. The first year we missed Thanksgiving was to visit my sister who was
studying abroad in Galway (wasn’t going to turn that down for turkey). The next
year, I missed it because I was studying abroad in Galway (and managed to put
together a celebration courtesy of Marks and Sparks). The next year, I was a
vegetarian (and also someone that doesn’t particularly care for mashed potatoes).
The next year, I was working in the UK (although I did manage to enjoy three
expat turkey day celebrations).
The year I returned from abroad, Thanksgiving was still on
Margarette Ave, complete with seating for over twenty, Kenny Loggins booming,
and all the familiar foods, but my Grandmother was gone. We still held the celebration in her house as
it was being prepared to be sold, but it was the beginning of the end of
Thanksgiving traditions as I had known them all my life. In the past couple years, the large ranch house
on Margarette Ave was sold, “the children” have become married adults with
in-laws, and cousins redistributed themselves on both coasts. It’s been back to the drawing board as we have
all had to rethink our fourth Thursday of November game plan.
This year, my sister and her husband offered to host in
Philadelphia. Thanksgivings of the past
were a mix of up to forty family, friends, and the occasional strays, eating
done in shifts. Our celebration this year was six people seated at the dining
table all at once. We did all the cooking day of. We started the day with breakfast sandwiches
and fresh squeezed blood orange mimosas (perks of living within walking
distance to Whole Foods) instead of a trip to the Columbia gym. T smoked a turkey and made a fresh herb rub. There was no celery in the stuffing. The
mashed potatoes were homemade (talk to A about that one). Buzz made pecan bars.
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| Cheers to new traditions! |
I think one of the best parts of being able to form new
traditions, besides the introduction of a family member that is capable of
smoking a turkey and my brother taking an interest in baking, is the
opportunity to try new recipes. I first made these green beans for the “Second
Thanksgiving” my family would hold at our house so we could actually have
leftovers. It was one of those straight
from the couch watching Food Network to going to the grocery store for
ingredients kind of moments. We never had green beans, or green bean casserole
at our traditional Thanksgiving (nor did we have marshmallows on our sweet
potatoes), but I was confident this recipe would pass muster with my family.
After all, it had fried shallots of top! What could be classier than fried
shallots?
This year, after a couple years of following Alex
Guarnaschelli’s instructions more or less to a T, I found myself missing
ingredients and without any motivation to make a run to the grocery store. I
had purchased the green beans, mushrooms, and shallots (the main bits) a few
days before, but I failed to double check for sour cream or Dijon mustard. I had just been in Whole Foods that morning
picking up breakfast supplies, and despite the signs all over the store reminding
shoppers, “don't forget the cream!” or asking, "do you need rolls?”, the previous
evening’s hangover and crippling anxiety over choosing a variety of organic breakfast
meat prevented thorough thinking.
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| Fuel for the day |
Here is the original recipe:
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| Post hot tub |
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| Not your momma's green bean casserole |
You should try the original recipe, but if you happen to be
lacking sour cream, or Dijon mustard, here is my solution. I ended up using mayonnaise instead of sour
cream and the last scrapes of a jar of Dijon plus some hot and sweet
mustard. Also, instead of cayenne, red
pepper flakes. I used more green beans
than the recipe calls for, because I believe there is too much sauce for just
one pound of green beans.
Non-Traditional
Stove Top Green Bean Casserole
1 ¼ - 1 ½ lbs Green beans, trimmed
1 lb white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into ½ in slices
2 tbs mustard – any kind except yellow mustard which simply
won’t cut it
2 cloves garlic, 3 if you like
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbs flour
1 cup chicken stock
¾ cups heavy cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3 medium shallots, thinly sliced
Another ¼ cup flour
2-4 cups oil
Salt and pepper
Set up a bowl of ice water with a strainer in it. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the green
beans for 3-4 minutes. Once the beans are blanched, transfer them to the bowl
of ice water so they stop cooking. Allow to cool, then remove from ice water
(using the strainer will make this easier, but you can also just add straight into a bowl of ice water and use a slotted
spoon to remove them directly from a bowl of ice water) Set aside.
Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, and heavy cream together in a
bowl and set aside. Melt a couple tbs of butter in a pan and add the slice
mushrooms. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5
minutes. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and sauté for a couple more
minutes. Add the flour, and fully incorporate. Add the stock, stir to mix in with flour and mushrooms, and bring to a
simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir in the mayo, mustard, and heavy cream mixture
and bring back to a simmer, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring
regularly. Season to taste. Keep warm over low heat while you prepare the
shallots.
While the sauce is simmering, heat up oil to fry the
shallots. Toss the slice shallots with flour, salt, and pepper. Once the oil is
hot enough for frying (test it with a shallot, it should bubble and pop), add
the shallots. Make sure to shake off the excess flour as you put the shallots
in, and try to break them up and separate them before adding to the pan, and
monitor the heat of the oil (might want to turn down to medium). When they turn
golden/medium brown, remove from oil with a slotted pan and place on a plate
covered with a paper towel.
Add the green beans to the sauce, stir, and heat over low
heat until heated through. Serve topped
with the fried shallots.
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