Green bean casserole

Kurt, if you're reading this I think it's time you upgrade us to get rid of all these weird formatting issues.  We can't have an ugly blog--that's just embarrassing. And if you're not reading this, then please start.

Ingredients

2 cups fried shallots or onions

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

Kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds white button mushrooms, rinsed and spun in a salad spinner

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice from 1 lemon

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated on a microplane grater

1/4 cup flour

Freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 2 inch segments

Directions

Roughly chop mushrooms into pieces approximately 1/8th to 1/4-inches large. Set aside. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, chicken stock, and heavy cream in 1 quart liquid measure or medium bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil and butter to 12-inch non-stick skillet. Heat over high heat until butter is melted and foaming subsides. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms begin to sizzle, 6 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium high. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until light golden blond, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add stock and cream mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until mixture achieves a texture between pancake batter and heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Bring 1 gallon of water and 1/4 cup kosher salt to boil over high heat. Add green beans to water and boil until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Drain through colander set over sink and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water or rinse under cold water until completely cooled. Drain green beans and set aside.

Combine green beans, mushroom sauce, and 1 cup fried shallots. Transfer to 9 by 13-inch rectangular casserole or 10 by 14-inch oval casserole. Bake until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Top with remaining cup fried shallots and serve.

Green Beans and Zucchini

So far we have focused on the main course. Sides and vegetables (at least in our kitchen) are often considered a necessary evil. This doesn't need to be the case. Since green things are generally loathe in this house, I don't yet have much in the "fun vegetable" department. I realize that they can be made to taste fairly good, and would like more ideas. I'm hoping that this post will serve as a launching pad of sorts. Post comments with any good ideas you may have. The only favor I ask is that no one post anything like "oh my, but broccoli is so delicious just by itself!!" It isn't. If that's your (wrong) opinion, you don't need a recipe and you should just keep your thoughts to yourself.

Tonight we had our standby. Green beans with garlic and balsamic vinegar. There isn't even a recipe, you just steam or boil some green beans until they are not quite done, then fry some diced garlic in olive oil for about 30 seconds. Toss in the beans, cook for another minute on low heat. Put it all on a plate and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar. It's about as easy as it gets, and even Hannah likes it.

Another fun thing to do with beans is to cook them with butter and lemon juice. Again, steam the beans until they are nearly done but still a bit crisp. While they steam, melt some butter in a pan. The amount is about 1 tablespoon of butter per fistful of beans, but it doesn't much matter. any extra will just be left in the pan. When the butter is hot, add a diced clove of garlic. Cook on medium heat for about 30 seconds, then add the beans and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for each tablespoon of butter. Add a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper and cook until the beans are done to your liking, probably around 2 minutes.

Another go-to is zucchini. Anyone who knows me would have a hard time believing that I eat zucchini, but it's true. The first time I made this Hannah ate the entire zucchini and asked for more. And, as usual, it involves vinegar. It goes like this: wash and slice a zucchini as thin as possible. Line a cookie sheet with foil and smear some olive oil all around. Arrange the slices on the foil and drizzle some olive oil over the top (not much, maybe one drop per slice.) Bake in the oven until they are tender, about 5 minutes. A toaster oven is perfect for this, but I am too lazy to find one on Craigslist.

When they are tender, use a spatula to move them to a plate. They are going to overlap on the plate, which is fine. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar (again, about one drop per) and grate some parmesan cheese over them. Done.

So there are my two thoughts for the day, now come on all you people who aren't even reading this! Let's hear your ideas.