Perfect Green Beans

I heard this recipe on The Splendid Table on NPR last week.  I listen to the podcast when I go jogging in the morning; something about Lynne Rossetto Kasper's soothing voice as she talks about the best way to pour port or the joys of making your own soft tofu is the happiest way to start my days.  Last night I made her Greek-Style Green Beans, and they were unbelievably delicious.  As to avoid making yet another trip to the grocery store I substituted the whole tomato for a few squeezes of tomato paste right on top of the green beans (again not stirring), and they turned out perfectly.  They, and they alone, were my dinner last night, and I was a very happy girl.  I'll copy the recipe below...

Greek-Style Green Beans

by Crescent Dragonwagon

I’d tell you to stick a Post-It right here because, once you try these, you’ll be making them often -- but they’re simple enough that after one time through, you’ll probably remember how to make them forever. These green beans are cooked to falling-apart-ness in what’s essentially a garlic-tomato confit. Every bite is imbued with flavor -- garlicky, a little hot, meltingly tender; the kind of good that, with your first bite, you close your eyes and grow silent.

[Lynne Rossetto Kasper's interview with Crescent Dragonwagon]

The traditional Greek recipes in which this method is rooted use as much as three quarters of a cup of olive oil -- too much for me. The few tablespoons here give flavor and allow the green beans to caramelize. Pretty they are not, but with one bite that is moot. Back in my restaurant days, I once received a proposal of marriage from a guest on the basis of these green beans.

Pay careful attention to the details here. Technique is all.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans, tipped and tailed
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• About 1 tablespoon medium to finely chopped garlic (5 or 6 cloves)
• 1 large fresh tomato, chopped (I go ahead and leave the skin on and seeds in; if you are fussier than me, remove both and use only the chopped pulp of 2 tomatoes)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A few dashes of cayenne
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried dill

Instructions
1. Blanch the green beans: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling, add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Drain them well, then rinse with cold water, and drain them again.
2. Spray a large, heavy (preferably cast iron) skillet with a tight-fitting cover with oil, and set it over very low heat. Add the olive oil, scatter the garlic over it, and add the blanched green beans (in contrast to most sautes, the green beans are added when neither pan, nor oil, nor garlic, is yet hot). Scatter the tomato over the beans. Don’t stir.
3. Still keeping the heat as low as possible, cover the beans and let them just barely cook, without stirring, for about 40 minutes. I know it’s hard, but keep on not stirring; leave the heat low enough so that nothing burns. If you like, you can push a few beans back to check on the garlic at the bottom of the skillet. It should not be browning, merely cooking very, very slowly. Some of the beans will be browned on oneside, which is good. If this hasn’t happened yet, cover again and cook for 10, even 15, minutes more.
4. When the beans are soft, lift the lid and stir gently. It is unlikely, but if there’s a noticeable amount of liquid in the skillet, turn the heat up and, stirring gently but constantly, evaporate the liquid off. You want soft, barely-holding-together green beans. They should be slightly shriveled-looking and browned lightly here and there, with a bit of the garlic-tomato jam sticking to them.
5. Turn off the heat. Salt and pepper the beans, sprinkle them with the cayenne and dill, stir one more time, and serve. No, no, you don’t have to thank me.

Risotto with Shrimp, Snow Peas, and Mint

Yumm you just have to love a big bowl if risotto on a Snowy March night! And it really is the easiest thing to make. I made shrimp tacos the night before and turned my shrimp shells into the most basic of stocks by simmering them in salted water.

To make my risotto, I sweated a small diced onion plus a couple of cloves of garlic in a medium sauté pan with a little olive oil. Then I added and toasted 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice. Once I could smell the nice toasty rice, I started the process of adding the simmering shrimp stock: add a ladle, stir until fully absorbed, repeat. This process will take between 20 and 30 minutes but is sooo worth it! At the end, I follow the same steps but with a nice glug of white wine. I then finish the risotto with a little lemon zest, salt, and lots of black pepper.

On the side, I sauté together shrimp and snow peas and finish this with a chiffonade of mint. Plate this on top if risotto!! It is perfect!!

**side note--many people would cook their shrimp and vegetables in the same pan as their risotto--I do this with mushroom risotto, for example--but in this case, you want to be careful not to over cook the shrimp and to keep the snow peas slightly crisp, so cooking them separately just makes sense. Also...it just looks prettier, and that really Is important!

Feeling Like a Kid Again

With school cancelled for snow, I am happily holed up in my apartment, feeling like a kiddo. Fortunately ABC Family agrees with me that Christmas classics like Home Alone should be played until spring. But without our moms around to make a kid-worthy meal, William and I had to fend for ourselves. And what did we decide to eat while watching Kevin's crazy antics? Creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!

Creamy Tomato Soup
In a Dutch oven, roast one large can of whole tomatoes (juice reserved for later use) and half of a large white onion sliced for 30 minutes at 415 degrees. In the last few minutes of roasting, throw in 3 crushed garlic cloves. Remove pot from oven and place on eye of stove set on medium high heat. Add the reserved tomato juice, a little chicken stock, and a touch of heavy cream or coconut milk if you love William and don't want to make him sick. Blend the whole thing in food processor and season to taste.

This really was delicious!! Roasting the tomatoes and onions adds so much rich caramelized flavor to a very simple soup.

Chicken Wangs!

Have I mentioned that I have the best boyfriend in the whole world? Tonight William made gluten free dairy free deep fried chicken wings....and they were the best thing Ever!!! Here's the skinny: brine them over night, dip em in egg wash, roll them in a combo of rice flour, corn starch, and corn meal, and fry em up! Then all you have to do is top them with the best sauce ever (made by bill of course) and devour!

Mississippi Inspired

I seriously can't tell you how much I loved being in the Deep South over the holidays. A lot of my time was spent in Apalachicola with William's family, where we essentially lived on these...

But spending a little time in Hattiesburg always leaves me craving more creole food in my life! My mom sent me back up to Boone with 2 pounds of Camelia red kidney beans, the cream of the crop when it comes to making red beans and rice. I followed John Besh's recipe and added some sausage (really, John, what were you thinking?) and ended up with the biggest, most delicious pot of creole comfort food you've ever seen. We ate it for days and have enough in the freezer to feed a Cajun army (I think recipe could easily serve 20).

Old Ways

Ok, I'm not a vegan anymore.  In fact, I think it only lasted for 2 weeks.  My love of all things pig and William's late night Jimmy Johns cravings quickly overcame our desire to be a little bit healthier.  While we were a little ashamed to give up so quickly, we comforted ourselves with the thought that compared to most people in America we are pretty damn healthy!

To prove this to myself, I recently bought a giant box of clementines and am determined to eat my way through them before any go bad---cooking has been on the back burner.  But before my latest feat of conquering citrus, I was doing a little Thanksgiving cooking!  I have to say, my gluten free, dairy free dressing was pretty delicious.  William's family seemed thoroughly impressed with it--I didn't let them know that the amazing taste was due to the pound of spicy sausage used in the one tiny pan of dressing.  Can't get enough pig.

How Pompous Can You Get?

Friends, with this new school year William and I have made a big decision.  We've decided to become...vegans.  Gluten free vegans.  I know, we sound horrible.  If I met someone who was a self-proclaimed gluten free vegan, I would run away before being lectured endlessly to.  We are NOT doing this because of animal rights... Maybe that sounds a little insensitive, but I love my fur vest, and while I think animals should be treated better, I also love a rare steak as much as every good red-blooded Amurican!  More to come on our big decision, but if you want to check out an informative, albeit dull, documentary on the subject, watch Forks Over Knives.