Green Bean Casserole (Gourmet Style)

When we were thinking of this having this we started waxing poetic about that infamous green bean casserole that has been synonymous with Thanksgiving dinners since Campbell's started canning soup. Our Andrew is an excellent chef, and the thought of opening a tin of cream-of-mushroom soup sort of killed his soul. So he went hunting on the interwebs and found a gourmet version of the casserole. And I won't lie to you when I tell you that it was DELICIOUS!!

Ta-DAH!

Andrew's Gourmet-style Green Bean Casserole (a la Alton Brown)

For the topping:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp panko bread crumbs

1 tsp koshe salt

Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:

2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt, divided

1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

12 ounces mushrooms, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 Tbsp all purpose-flour

1 Cup chicken broth

1 Cup half and half

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Let me leave you with this action shot. As you can see, people were committed to the consumption of this amazing group effort.

And THEN we ended the night with a cake. A Triple Fudge Chocolate Cake to be precise. In honour of Andrew's birthday.

I can give you this sneak peek and promise you a recipe for this delicious morsel of chocolaty goodness in a day or so!