This recipe I am sharing with you today is a variation on the traditional Green Bean Casserole which you will find on many Holiday tables at this time of year!! I think the first time I tasted the original Green Bean Casserole it was at my mother's cousin Polly's home in Vermont one year. We all thought it was positively delicious.
The Original casserole consists of mixing together tinned beans, milk, cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. I have also seen soy sauce added. You either love it or you loathe it. I am from the love camp myself.
This recipe varies in the fact that I have chosen to make a sauce from scratch. Flavoured with celery, onion and dried dill weed.
This is rich and creamy and the flavours of the dill go very well with the beans.
The crunchy topping is a nutty buttery crisp mix of dry bread crumbs, flaked almonds and butter.
Together they make for one very delicious side dish . . . rich and creamy, and nutty. This work well with all roasted meats, poultry and fish.
Another good thing is that you can make it ahead of time, right up to the point where you sprinkle the nutty topping over all. Simply make the sauce, and stir in the beans. Spread in the casserole dish . . .
Cover lightly and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day when you want to bake it, bring it out of the fridge, uncover and bring to room temperature, about half an hour or so.
Sprinkle on the nutty topping and then bake as per the recipe instructions.
Easy to make, simple and yet at the same time very elegant, it is sure to please your family and any guests you might have gracing your holiday table this year!
Yield: 8
Green Bean & Almond Casserole
prep time: 35 minscook time: 50 minstotal time: 85 mins
This is a fabulous side dish for the holidays with wonderful flavours. It goes with all kinds of roasted meats and fish.
ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled
480 ml of milk (2 cups)
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled
480 ml of milk (2 cups)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
3 TBS of butter
2 TBS plain flour
150ml of single cream (slightly more than half a cup)
2 TBS plain flour
150ml of single cream (slightly more than half a cup)
1 tsp dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
You will also need:
2 tins (400g) cut green beans, drained well (2 14 oz. cans)
60g dried bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
170g flaked almonds (1 cup)
2 TBS butter, melted
instructions:
First
make the sauce. Stud the bay leaf to the onion with the clove,
pressing the clove through the bay leaf and into the onion. Place in a
saucepan along with the milk and the cream. Warm the milk mixture slowly
to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to infuse with the
flavours of the studded onion for 15 minutes. At the end of that time,
strain the onion out.
Melt the butter for the sauce in a
saucepan. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently over
medium heat until softened. Whisk in the flour and cook over low heat
for several minutes.
Whisk in the warm milk and cream, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a
smooth sauce. Allow to cook, over low
heat for 20 to 25 minutes. At the end of that time it should be lovely
and thick. Season to taste
with some salt and pepper. Whisk in the dill weed. Set aside and keep warm.
Note -
You can prepare ahead of time, right up to the topping with the crumbs,
and baking in the oven. Bring to room temperature when you want to
bake it. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top and proceed as above.
make the sauce. Stud the bay leaf to the onion with the clove,
pressing the clove through the bay leaf and into the onion. Place in a
saucepan along with the milk and the cream. Warm the milk mixture slowly
to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to infuse with the
flavours of the studded onion for 15 minutes. At the end of that time,
strain the onion out.
Melt the butter for the sauce in a
saucepan. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently over
medium heat until softened. Whisk in the flour and cook over low heat
for several minutes.
Whisk in the warm milk and cream, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a
smooth sauce. Allow to cook, over low
heat for 20 to 25 minutes. At the end of that time it should be lovely
and thick. Season to taste
with some salt and pepper. Whisk in the dill weed. Set aside and keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish. (about 7 by 11 inches).
Drain
your green beans very well. Fold into the sauce to combine well. Pour
into the prepared baking dish, spreading out in an even layer. Mix
together the bread crumbs, almonds and melted butter. Sprinkle over top
of the green beans.
your green beans very well. Fold into the sauce to combine well. Pour
into the prepared baking dish, spreading out in an even layer. Mix
together the bread crumbs, almonds and melted butter. Sprinkle over top
of the green beans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until heated through and golden brown. Serve hot.
You can prepare ahead of time, right up to the topping with the crumbs,
and baking in the oven. Bring to room temperature when you want to
bake it. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top and proceed as above.
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I have never tried to freeze this so I cannot recommend doing so. I feel the sauce may split if you do. I really hope you will give this delightful side dish a go over this holiday season! Bon Appetit!
This delicious Tomato Soup is one that I first shared with you back in 2011. It is also one of the recipes which will be included in my new book A Year In The English Kitchen, which is coming out in January. This new book reads a bit like a diary, and contains not only recipes but some of my seasonal writings and yes, even crafts, on a month by month basis.
I wanted to update the photos a bit for the cook, so had the opportunity to cook it again last week and was reminded once again of how very delicious it was, and so I thought I would tempt your palate and interest a bit and share it with you again!
Just a tiny glimpse of all the lovely things you have to look forward in the new book. It was originally supposed to be published in November of this year, but they got behind on everything and so there has been a slight delay. Hopefully it won't harm anything in the long run. I am pretty proud of it.
This is a lovely soup, and that is the same with every recipe I have included in the new book. Each one is a delicious, tried and true favourite of mine. I adore tomato soups. They spell comfort like no other soup, save chicken noodle, and this version is especially nice.
In my original post I accompanied it with cheddar and Onion Marmalade Panini, which were mighty tasty also. This time I just accompanied it with some cheese and bacon open faced toasties.
They were very simple to make. I simply cut out snowflake shapes from buttered slices of sour dough bread, and then lightly toasted them on both sides under a hot grill/broiler. Then I piled each one with a mix of grated strong cheddar cheese and chopped partially cooked bacon before sliding under the grill again just to melt the cheese and finish cooking the bacon.
Totally scrumptious and something you needn't feel too guilty about indulging in as the soup is very low in fat and calories. Unbelievable you say?
I like the little drizzle of tinned milk on the top that pretties it up even more.
I like to run a toothpick through it to make a squiggly design. It would be nice if I could have figured out how to do a heart, but alas . . . I could not. Heart or not, it is delicious all the same!
Yield: 4
Honeyed Tomato Soup
prep time: 10 minscook time: 20 minstotal time: 30 mins
A deliciously simple tomato soup, slightly sweetened with honey. I find the honey helps the tomatoes from being too acidic. It just tastes wonderful. Who would guess that is is low in fat!
ingredients:
2 (390g) tetra packs of chopped Italian tomatoes
with onions and garlic (about 4 cups)
2 ribs of celery chopped
splash of white wine
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 TBS runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
240ml of skimmed evaporated tinned milk (1 cup)
240ml of 2% milk (1 cup)
with onions and garlic (about 4 cups)
2 ribs of celery chopped
splash of white wine
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 TBS runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
240ml of skimmed evaporated tinned milk (1 cup)
240ml of 2% milk (1 cup)
instructions:
Place the tomatoes, celery, white wine, sage and rosemary into a
saucepan. Bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat to a low
simmer. Stir in the honey and season to taste with some salt and black
pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the celery is soft. Blitz
until smooth with a stick blender if you have it, or very carefully in a
regular blender. Alternately you can put it through a moulee. Return
to the heat. Whisk in most of the tinned milk, reserving a bit for a
garnishing. Whisk in the milk. Heat through. Ladle out into 4 heated
soup bowls. Drizzle a bit of the reserved tinned milk on top and drag
through it with a toothpick to make a lovely swirl.
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Note, if you can't find tomatoes with onions and garlic added, just saute one large onion, minced along with a few cloves of garlic, peeled and minced as well. You can do this in a bit of stock to save on fat and calories, or in the microwave to save on even more. However you choose to do it, you are in for a real treat. This simple soup is fabulous and makes a beautiful light lunch! Bon appetit!
One thing I really missed when I loved over here to the UK, was a good all purpose poultry seasoning mix. I used to bring some back with me whenever I went over to visit, but I have not been home in over 6 years now. When I lived in New Brunswick we used to buy Bell's all natural seasoning whenever we went shopping in Maine. Its pretty much a New England/Maritime constitution!
It was especially great this time of year when we would be cooking turkeys and making stuffing's etc. I recently ran across a copycat recipe for it here on Chow Hound.
It was very easy to make. As easy as measuring the different herbs into my spice grinder and pushing a button.
It uses dries rosemary, oregano, sage, marjoram, thyme, ginger and black pepper, and with just a few pulses of the spice grinder . . .
Like magic, there it was. Bell's seasoning, or poultry seasoning has always been a holiday classic in my home. I used it for stuffing's, seasoning my turkey's, and even meatloaf and burgers. It really has a lovely flavour.
I had completely run out of Poultry seasoning, so I was really, really pleased to find this recipe.
And really pleased with the end result.
Now I will never be without poultry seasoning again, and that makes me very happy. Of course with Thanksgiving at the door, it will come in really handy. I did a trial run of it with my mother's potato stuffing recipe.
It was perfect! As soon as I had mixed it into the stuffing with the remaining ingredients, the resulting smell returned me to a time when I was a child back in my mother's holiday kitchen. Food memory heaven.
Yield: 1/2 cup
Copycat Bell's Seasoning
The taste of my childhood when it comes to holiday dinners. Perfect for seasoning your stuffing's, soups and birds. this is also great in meatloaf, burgers, with fish, etc.
ingredients:
4 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
4 tsp dried oregano
3 3/4 tsp dried sage
3 1/2 tsp dried ground ginger
3 tsp dried marjoram
2 3/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
instructions:
grinder and grind to a fine powder. Transfer to a glass jar with a
lid. Seal tightly and store in a dry cool place for up to six months.
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This is the stuffing that we had in our home all of my growing up years. It is made from using potatoes, onions, celery, and bread crumbs, and of course some butter and a healthy pinch of the poultry seasoning.
It is largely a maritime thing and I am not sure where it comes from, or where it's culinary roots lay. My mother's father was of German Dutch descent, hailing from the New Germany area of Nova Scotia.
My ex MIL also made a version of this, which was only slightly different to my grandmothers. Whereas my grandmother used torn up bread in hers, as did my mom . . . my MIL used fine dry bread crumbs. Both are equally as good.
Yield: Makes enough to stuff a 10 to 12 pound turkey
Potato Stuffing
prep time: 20 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 50 mins
This is the stuffing of my childhood. It would not be the holidays without it.
ingredients:
5 TBS butter
1 large onion, peeled and minced
1 large stalk celery, trimmed and diced
1 TBS celery leaves, chopped
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
(you want to use one which is good for mashing)
180ml warm milk (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 tsp bells (or poultry) seasoning
355g coarse bread crumbs from a sturdy loaf of white bread (6 cups)
salt and black pepper to taste
instructions:
Place the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water
to cover. Bring to the boil and cook until fork tender. While the
potatoes are cooking melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, Cook,
over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened
and translucent without browning. Stir in the celery and cook for a few
minutes longer. Remove from heat.
to cover. Bring to the boil and cook until fork tender. While the
potatoes are cooking melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, Cook,
over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened
and translucent without browning. Stir in the celery and cook for a few
minutes longer. Remove from heat.
potatoes and return to the pan, Shake over the heat of the burner to dry
out. Mash together with the warmed milk. Stir in the onion and
celery, and celery leaves. Add the bell's seasoning and the bred
crumbs, mixing all together well. Season to taste with salt and black
pepper. Cool and use to stuff a turkey. Alternately pile into a
lightly buttered dish, dot with butter and bake in the oven along side
the turkey for the last half hour of cook time.
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For me the stuffing has always been one of my favourite parts of the
holiday meal. There was never enough. I hope you will try this potato
stuffing recipe, and I am sure that if you do, you will fall completely
and totally in love with it!! Mom never stuffed her turkeys, but always
baked it in a casserole dish on the side of the turkey. And she never
cooked the onion in it. I cook the onion as not a lot of people like
raw onion, but like my mother, I prefer to bake it in a casserole dish
on the side. Its fabulously tasty! I could eat a plate of this and
nothing else!
I used the Cookhouse 300watt Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder to make my Bell's Seasoning. This stylish kitchen appliance boasts high precision calibration for a consistent chopping and grinding experience.
With a 70g capacity and wet/dry functions this all-purpose 300W grinder is a really handy piece of equipment to have in the kitchen.
I had been on the look out for a good grinder for a long time. I wanted something that was attractive and yet did a great job and was easy to use.
This attractive machine is perfectly sized for a small kitchen and is a great little workhorse. It is as easy to use as pushing a button. It features a transparent lid, which allows you to keep an eye on your ingredients, and, thanks to its removable stainless steel bowls, cleaning it isn't that hard either!
It is made of ergonomically designed stainless steel and comes with two easy clean removable brushed stainless steel bowls, each with a stainless steel blade system. There is an inner transparent cover and an outer cover. It is very easy to use.
- Add your coffee or spices to the metal chamber.
- Fit the lid on.
- Push the button.
- Wait.
- You're ready to go!
I am very pleased with its performance. You can grind anything from coffee beans, to rice, to nuts, to spices. You can also make wet spice pastes such as curry pastes with it. You can find them here on Amazon. If you have a coffee lover, or a foodie in your life, this would make for an excellent Christmas gift, presented in a basket along with their favourite coffee beans, and spices. You can also use this machine to grind nuts and seeds. I just love it! I highly recommend.
If you are like me, you always have jars (tins) of cranberry sauce in the cupboard, and probably extra, especially this time of year. I always add a layer of cranberry sauce to my chicken and turkey sandwiches, and I have been known to use a dollop or two in gravies and sauces.
It is a store cupboard ingredient which always comes in handy throughout the year and something I always have.
I have a favourite breakfast cake that I like to make with it. It makes a fabulous weekend breakfast, especially this time of the year or for when you have overnight guests.
You can find that recipe here. Cranberry Swirl Breakfast Cake.
Another thing I like to make with it, are these fabulous teatime treats . . . Cranberry Crumble Bars. Oh my, but you are to love these.
They are one of my favourite things to bake and to eat!
Not only are they easy to make, but they are excellent additions to the holiday cookie trays!
They also make great hostess gifts!
I have never had anyone turn a cake tin full of these down. Never, ever.
Everyone always loves them!
With their buttery short bread cookie crust . . . and that buttery crumble topping with that sweet-tart cranberry sauce sandwiched in the middle they are sure to become firm favourites in your holiday baking repertoire!
I can almost guarantee it!
The short bread crust is simply created by rubbing some sugar, flour and butter together until crumbly, and then you press it into the pan.
Very simple to do.
This gets baked until it is just golden around the edges. You then spread the cranberry sauce on top and crumble on that buttery crumble topping, before popping it back into the oven for a further baking . . .
The hardest part of these is waiting until they are sufficiently cooled to remove them from the pan. I like to line the pan with some baking parchment.
I always leave a bit of an overhang so that I can just lift them out.
They really crisp up once cooled, which makes them very easy to cut into squares. You get much neater looking squares if you cut them out of the pan, rather than in the pan.
Hence, the lifting sling of parchment paper. It makes sense.
The only decoration you need is a light dusting of icing sugar drifting across the tops! Just like a sweet snowfall.
Yield: 12
Cranberry Crumble Bars
prep time: 20 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 65 mins
Something delicious to make for your family from the excess cranberry sauce we all find in our cupboards over the holiday season! Triple layer bars with a shortbread base, cranberry filling and crumble topping.
ingredients:
For the base:
280g plain flour (2 cups)
95g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
240g butter, chilled (1 c
For the filling:
2 (250g) jars whole berry cranberry sauce (2 14-oz cans)
For the crumble topping:
95g granulate sugar (1/2 cup)
100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
350g plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
180g butter melted (3/4 cup)
instructions:
To make the topping, measure both sugars in a bowl along with the
flour and salt. Whisk together. Pour the butter over and mix it all
together with a spoon, until everything is mixed and you have large
clumps that are holding together.
flour and salt. Whisk together. Pour the butter over and mix it all
together with a spoon, until everything is mixed and you have large
clumps that are holding together.
Preheat
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan
with baking paper and butter the paper. (Make sure you leave some
overhang on the paper for lifting the bars out of the pan when baked.)
Set aside.
the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan
with baking paper and butter the paper. (Make sure you leave some
overhang on the paper for lifting the bars out of the pan when baked.)
Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar and
salt in a bowl. Grate in the chilled butter. Using your fingers, rub
the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it. Dump into the
prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Bake in the pre-heated
oven until just set, 15 to 20 minutes.
salt in a bowl. Grate in the chilled butter. Using your fingers, rub
the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it. Dump into the
prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Bake in the pre-heated
oven until just set, 15 to 20 minutes.
Run a
fork through the cranberry sauce to loosen it. Spread it evenly over
the partially baked base. Crumble the topping over top. (You may not
need it all.)
fork through the cranberry sauce to loosen it. Spread it evenly over
the partially baked base. Crumble the topping over top. (You may not
need it all.)
Bake in the pre-heated oven
for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to
cool completely in the pan. Lift out, dust with icing sugar and cut
into bars to serve. You can store these in an airtight container for up
to a week.
for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to
cool completely in the pan. Lift out, dust with icing sugar and cut
into bars to serve. You can store these in an airtight container for up
to a week.
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The recipe can also be very easily cut in half to make a smaller quantity which is what I have done here today. I baked them in an 8 inch square tin, which worked fine, with all of the baking times remaining the same. I really hope you will give these a go.
I am positive you will fall in love with them, not only for the ease of baking, but also for the deliciousness of them. If short, buttery,crumbly sweet/tart bars are your thing, well . . . you are in for a real treat!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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