That sounds really yummy!
My inlaws tend to carbo load at Thanksgiving, which, although I'm not totally complaining, leaves me hankering for an actual veggie.
The menu this year? turkey, taters, stuffing, corn souffle, mac and cheese (seriously? Is this really necessary?), bread, and FOUR kinds of pie. They asked me to bring another side dish.
There are only 15 of us.
Not to mention, I have two that can't have wheat, so they're left with turkey and taters, and not much else.
So, being the rebel that I am, I decided to make green beans with bacon instead of green bean casserole.
Can anyone tell me how to make it? I am in love with the green beans at Texas Roadhouse, and the ones that we've had a Shoney's while in the South seem to be the same. I'm thinking of crockpotting canned green beans with slightly cooked bacon and some onion, salt and pepper. Maybe a tad of cayene, because I like to include it in a lot.
Thoughts?
I don't know about that recipe, but there was a recipe for green beans with pancetta & mint in the food section this week that sounds pretty good. I'm thinking of trying it:
2lbs green beans
4 cups milk
2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 lb pancetta (not prosciutto)
3 Tbsp unalted butter
4 Tbsp chopped mint, divided
4 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley, divided
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
Trim ends from green beans and cut into 2-3 inch lengths. Set aside. Fill a bowl with ice & water and set aside.
Bring milk, 4 cups water, salt & sugar to boil in a 6qt saucepan. Add green beans and cook over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes, until green beans are crisp-tender. Adjust heat if necessary to keep milk mixture from boiling over) Remove green beans with a slotted spoon and drop in ice water. Drain and roll in paper towels. Reserve about 1/3 cup of cooking liquid, discard the rest.
Place pancetta in a 12 inch skillet with 1 1/2 cups water. cook over medium heat until water evaporates and pancetta crisps, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally as the water diappears to brown all sides. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving about 1 Tbsp fat in the skillet. (Can be made ahead to this point. Refrigerate green beans, cooking liquid and pancetta separately. You'll need to add a little fat to the skillet to finish the dish)
Place skillet over high head and add the reserved cooking liquid and the green beans. Cook about 5 minutes, until cooking liquid evaporates. Add butter and 2 Tbsps each mint and parsley. Cook until the butter melts. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Add pancetta and pecans and toss unil everything is heated through. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp each mint & parsley. makes 6-8 servings
note: Adapted from Saveur magazine. Cooking the green beans in the mixture of milk and water is a good way to revive mid-winter green beans, which aren't always crispy fresh.