Tasty Planner - Recipe - Green Bean Casserole by Mothershed

Instructions

**If cooking right away pre-heat oven to 425

Bring the water to boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. While it comes to a boil, prep the beans. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green. Drain beans in a colander, then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain a bit in the colander again. Place a double layer of paper towels on a baking sheet, arrange beans in single layer to dry, top with a double layer of towels. (If doubling/tripling the recipe means cooking the beans in batches, start each batch with fresh water; at minimum, re-salt the water with each new batch. Don’t skip the drying process.)

Clean the mushrooms; break off and discard the stems. Break the mushroom tops into pieces. (Breaking the tops is important to the texture). Melt the butter in a skillet until shimmery. (Or to save a pan, use the pot used for cooking the beans.) Add the mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper. Stirring often, cook until mushrooms begin to soften and exude their liquid, about 6 minutes. Stir in flour and cook a minute. Add the chicken stock, sherry and bring to a simmer. Add the half & half, simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 – 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in the cooked beans until they’re evenly distributed throughout the sauce.

IF COOKING RIGHT AWAY — Transfer bean mixture to a greased quiche pan or baking dish. Top beans with fried onions and bake for 15 minutes.

IF COOKING LATER — Transfer bean mixture to a greased quiche pan or baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to cook, remove from refrigerator and allow it to return to room temperature. (It takes about 3 hours for a triple batch to reach room temperature.) Remove plastic wrap. Heat in 425F oven for about 15 minutes. Add fried onions and bake for another 15 minutes.