Winter Virtue

In winter, I eat a lot of kale, and a lot of winter squash, particularly butternut. I have no idea why I eat so much of these, other than perhaps my wild college days in Ithaca, NY, where I learned a lot about vegetables and seasonality. We never ate much squash or kale growing up; we ate a lot of broccoli. But I found my fridge in Ithaca did not get along well with broccoli. It would wither and get rubbery if I did not eat it the day it was purchased.
So I got creative with my combo blender/food processor that my aunt gave me as a going-away gift, and made a lot of soups and breads with butternut squash. And a velvety, pureed soup is still my favorite application for winter squash. It is simple, and yet elegant, and very, very warming.

While I could add cream to the soup to make it even more indulgent, I feel I've perfected a warm, earthy-spiced squash soup that still lets so much of the squash's sweet flavor seep through. It makes a perfect companion to a sandwich of leftover roast chicken, or a Poor Man's Pizza, which is another story.


Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium-to-small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 1/2-3/4" cubes)
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Warm spices like: curry powder, Garam Masala, turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 cups good chicken stock (when I made the soup in the pictures, I used leftover giblet broth from a roast free-range chicken, and the soup was sublime)

Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil or butter, until translucent and fragrant. Add the spices.

At this point, I have to tell you that I do not often measure my spices, unless I'm planning ahead to write up a recipe, and I honestly had no idea this would turn out so well. So I toss in a little of this and a little of that until it smells right. I really like adding extra turmeric to the curry powder, but it probably doesn't really need the cumin in there, if you use Garam Masala. Teeny pinches of nutmeg and mustard powder add a depth and warmth that you don't get just by flinging in curry powder. I used more of the curry powder than anything else, but did add dashes of everything on my list.

Add a teensy pinch of salt, remembering that your broth will have salt in it. Stir the spiced onions and garlic around until the spices start to release aromas, and the oil begins to turn yellow-brown. Then, add your squash cubes, and coat with the spiced fat. Add chicken broth until just barely level with the squash cubes. Little corners of squash will stick out of the broth. Add your pepper and simmer, covered, until the squash is very tender.

When the veggies are all cooked, puree in a blender. I do this in two batches, making sure I have an 8-cup mixing bowl standing by to catch the blended portion. When it is all smooth, return the whole thing to the cooking pot and warm until bubbles just break the surface, and serve. The recipe makes about 6 or so cups of soup, which sounds like a lot, but I have to say I've never had leftovers from a dinner for two.

Daring Bakers, December Challenge

Okay, okay, I know I've been terrible about posting the last couple of weeks, but there was a major holiday in there. And the wait is worth it, as today's post is about my Daring Bakers challenge:
"This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand"

That's right, I made a French Yule Log. For those of you who might be familiar with the jelly-roll style Buche de Noel, this is a different beast. It is a frozen confection of soft, nutty dacquoise layered with chocolate mousse, creme brulee custard, and all sorts of mostly chocolate-type goodies. It took a couple days to make, but was well worth it. The chocolate mousse component in particular is something I will make again, possibly on Wednesday.

It is a complicated and long recipe, so I will keep the chatter brief. I will post the versions I used. This was truly an interesting and fun challenge, and a pleasure to eat. One additional note: I made the entire thing without the assistance of an electric mixer of any kind.

FRENCH YULE LOG OR ENTREMETS RECIPE by Flore of Florilège Gourmand


Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Hazelnut Cake)

Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking

Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) hazelnut meal [or toss a good handful of hazelnuts in the food processor!]
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium egg whites
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden.
8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Preparation time: 20mn

Equipment: stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert.

Ingredients:
2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin [I mistrusted the conversion here, and ended up using a whole packet (7g) of Knox Gelatine powder]
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup
0.5 oz (15g) water
50g egg yolks (about 3 medium)
6.2 oz (175g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)[I softened in a 1/4 cup of cold water]
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.
2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.
2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.
3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of WHIPPED cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Preparation time: 10mn

Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Preparation time: 10 mn (+ optional 15mn if you make lace crepes)

Equipment: Small saucepan, baking sheet (if you make lace crepes).
Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper, rolling pin (or I use an empty bottle of olive oil).

3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline [I made my own praline with a few tablespoons of sugar, carmelized dry, then mixed in a handful of toasted hazelnuts, cooled it on parchment and whizzed it in the food processor]
2.1oz (60g) lace crepes(gavottes) or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K [I used crisped brown rice]

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

Note: The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
½ cup (115g) whole milk
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center. [I returned to my custard after an hour to find it still completely liquid, so I removed the water bath, raised the heat to 300F and baked it for about 10 minutes more until it was set]

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:
4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin[for some reason, I trusted this measurement]
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes. [I softened 1/2 Tbsp. of gelatine in 2 Tbsp. of cold water]
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

How To Assemble your French Yule Log

Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.
THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP.
You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.

You have two choices for Step 2, you can either have Dacquoise on the top and bottom of your log as in version A or you can have Dacquoise simply on the bottom of your log as in version B:

2A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
3A) Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.
4A) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
5A) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
6A) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
7A) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
8A) Freeze for a few hours to set [or the duration of Kung Fu Panda]. Take out of the freezer.
9A) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight eidge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
10A) Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

THE NEXT DAY...
Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.
Cover the cake with the icing.
Let set. Return to the freezer.
You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc...
Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

Wedding Season

Maybe I alluded to this weeks ago when I made meatballs, but spaghetti and meatballs is not my favorite meatball application. That is reserved for Italian Wedding soup. True, I don't make it traditionally, mainly because I got my pasta shapes mixed up, and I like to use boxed chicken stock. Honest, I would make it with homemade stock if I ate more whole chickens. Cross my heart.

Wedding soup also has a soft spot in my heart because it reminds me of my mom's dog, Abbie, who passed almost two years ago. Abbie was a tough girl, a rescued Doberman with scars on her face and bits missing from her ear. When we picked her up from a surgery once, the vet told us that she had found lead shot in Abbie's legs in the x-rays. Abbie had her share of issues, and plenty of attitude, but she was a good girl and deserved the comfortable life my mom was able to give her before she died. And she loved my now-husband from the first time she set eyes on him.

She only grew to love him more as time went on, particularly because he liked to break the rules and feed her from the table. One night, when I made wedding soup for dinner at my mom's house, and had even splurged and made lamb meatballs instead of beef, I found my boyfriend going through his meatballs faster than I thought he might. It turns out he was biting off half of every meatball and tossing the other half to Abbie!

Italian Wedding Soup

1/2 recipe of Apology Meatballs, from before
4 cups of good-quality chicken stock plus 2 cups of water
1 large bunch of Lacinato (or Dinosaur) Kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped into 1" slices
3/4 cup of small pasta, like ditalini or orzo
good handful of parmesan, or other hard cheese, grated

Simmer the meatballs in broth for 15 minutes. While those are cooking, boil the pasta until tender. Add the kale and cooked pasta to the broth and stir until kale has wilted. Ladle out into bowls and top with parmesan cheese. Makes 3 servings. To save some soup until tomorrow, reserve the kale and pasta in one container and the broth and meatballs in another, with the cheese in a small container on its own. Heat the broth and meat, and the kale and pasta, and then combine in a large bowl and top with cheese.

Energy

As my post this weekend mentioned, I've spent the last couple of months feeling just generally icky and have resolved to try to eat healthier in an effort to boost my internal workings. One of my downfalls is the perpetual box of cookies in the kitchen at work. I work in a lab, which means long, unpredictable hours, and a semi-enforced prohibition on eating while working. At the very least, I try to avoid smudges on the optics. What this translates to is that I get breakfast and dinner at home, sometimes 12 or more hours apart, and one actual meal break in between. Other than that, I get hastily-grabbed snacks that are always in competition with the lovely cookies one of the bosses buys for us and leaves across the hall from my very lab.

This means I get so many chances to give into the siren song of sugar and fats during the day. Any snack I bring has to compel me more than seasonal-edition Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joes (mmmmm), which means fruit just isn't going to cut it. And yogurt didn't satisfy the right sweet tooth. And I'm off cottage cheese until I can forget my recent and unfortunate encounter with cultured cottage cheese (I opened the lid and it looked like a science project). So I decided to bake myself an energy/breakfast bar with whole grains, no refined sugar, and no butter.

And, oh man, was it a success. It actually tasted a lot like blueberry coffee cake, although not as sweet. It satisfies a craving for something baked and I don't feel like a slug eating it. And it made a great quick breakfast yesterday after an early aerobics class at the gym before work. Yum.

Blueberry Spelt Bars

1 3/4 cup of spelt flakes
1 cup milk
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

Soak the spelt in milk for 3 hours in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a greased 9" square baking pan with parchment paper. Beat together the oil, honey, egg, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon until emulsified. Add the spelt/milk mixture. Stir in the flour and baking powder and gently fold in the blueberries. Dump into the pan and smooth out into an even layer. Bake for about 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, and the cake is quite browned. Cool on a wire rack and then cut into pieces. Makes 8 2"x4" bars.

Women's Lib

By now, my reading public has probably noticed that I cook dinner almost every day for myself and my husband. While this does fit into traditional gender roles, the main reason for it is that I love to cook and hate doing dishes, while my husband is happy to both do the dishes and eat what I cook for him. But now and again, my work life gets in the way of cooking dinner. On days when I work late unexpectedly, I try to amend dinner accordingly, so that it is either quicker to cook, or else easier to prepare, so the husband can do more to help besides chopping veggies.

On this occasion, I decided to risk it. I had planned on long-cooking stew because I had anticipated a short work day, and ended up working until almost 8. And I already had the lamb in the fridge and did not want it to go bad. So I sent my husband a long, fairly detailed email, describing what to do. It was about as close to a pre-prepped recipe as I almost ever have for my dinners.

Wouldn't you know, it turned out excellently. I will say that the long-simmered lamb did have a bit of fat on it, and would probably have been better the next day, when I could have skimmed solidified fat off the top, but it was still quite tasty. You could probably cook the meat and broth together and refrigerate it overnight and remove the fat before finishing the stew. But I enjoyed it as is. It would definitely been good with a loaf of No-Knead Bread. Yay for competant husbands! He even took a bunch of pictures.

Note: Ty said that I should just show everyone the email I sent him for the recipe because it worked perfectly, so that's most of the recipe. I've added the ingredient list and the finishing steps I did when I got home.

It's a Man's Lamb Stew

1-1.5 lbs. lamb shoulder chops
half an onion
3 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
1/2-3/4 cup of good red wine
1 bay leaf
1 large sweet potato
2-3 generous handfuls of green beans, washed and trimmed into 1-1.5" pieces

"Recipe for Stew:

Sear the lamb in the large pot over medium-high heat (7 or 8) until brown on both sides. Put some olive oil in the pan first so it doesn't stick. Take out the meat, turn the heat down to 4, and put it on a plate and add half a diced onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Saute for 3 minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add a pinch of salt. Add the meat back and add a little red wine and water to almost cover the meat. Add some pepper and a bay leaf. Simmer covered for a while. After it's simmered for an hour or so, you can taste the broth and make sure it's salty enough. You can just let it simmer with the cover on at the lowest setting until I get home. Make sure the green beans and sweet potato are washed and trimmed and cut into 1/2" cubes for the potato and 1" pieces for the beans. Add the potatoes when I call to let you know I'll be home soon and I'll take care of the green beans when I get back. Refill the water if it starts looking like a lot has evaporated. Feel free to call the lab. Love you."

When I got home, about 20-30 minute after calling, I put the beans in and let them cook, with the pot uncovered, until just tender. Let me tell you, the house smelled amazing. It made 3 servings.

Fighting Back

Warning: This is not entirely a food-related post. It may seem overly "bloggy" for a food blog.

When I started this blog, I meant it to be a place to post my ideas about my two great passions outside my job: food and running. Both have helped me blow off stress after (or during) a tough day and got me through difficult times. But I realize more and more that I have not done much talking about the running part of that partnership. There is a simple reason for this: I have recently been running less and enjoying it less, in part because of poor health related to a medication I am taking for several months.

Unfortunately, the cold weather does not help, and I find myself becoming depressed about the physical changes in my body and health that make me want to both run and eat less. I have found that reinvigorating my old yoga practice has helped some, but the other part of the problem is getting past the mental desire to run that translates into a physical discomfort when I try to act on that. For now, I am trying to eat healthier and run only when the desire takes me, rather than follow any kind of schedule. In the meantime, I will practice my yoga, and take time everyday to make peace with my own mind.

It is my hope that by the middle of 2009, I will be able to get back into a sort of training schedule so I can participate in a local race next Labor Day weekend. Hopefully the physically and mentally healing powers of cooking and yoga can help me rise above any obstacles.

(Because I don't feel right posting such a whiny post without at least giving you a pretty picture to look at, this is a batch of beef stir-fry with wide lo-mein noodles that I made about a month ago, but whose recipe I forgot to write down and won't be able to post until I make it again. It's vibrant and healthy-looking and cheerful and can serve as inspiration.)

It's.... BACON!

November is the month where I start dragging out heartier recipes and cooking food that is satisfying and warming. Bacon is probably one of my favorite ingredients, period, but it is also one of my favorite winter ingredients because a small amount adds an incredible amount of warmth and richness to a dish. I keep small amounts of bacon in my freezer at almost all times. This time, I had part of a pound of bacon I bought from a local farmer at the farmer's market this summer. The strips are narrower, but have amazing flavor.

I used them in my version of an Italian dish, Pasta all'Amatriciana. I added kale for color and health, and also because I eat kale every week in winter. And I used American bacon rather than pancetta. My favorite change was to replace Peccorino Romano cheese with sharp cheddar. But the hearty flavor and filling quality of this dish remain the same as the Italian classic.

Pasta all'Americana

1/2 lb. whole-wheat pasta, cooked to package directions
1 14-oz. can of no-salt tomatoes, pureed and reduced by half
1/2 onion, sliced or frenched, thinly
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
3-4 oz. bacon, diced
One bunch of Kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated sharp cheese, for topping

Saute the bacon until crisp over medium heat, and add the onion and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent, and add tomato sauce and kale. Season to taste. Cover and cook for 2-5 minutes, until kale wilts, then stir through, and toss with pasta. Top with cheese. Makes 3 generous, or 4 regular servings.

More Scenes From an American Holiday

I started with the star of the show last time: the turkey. I continue with the star of the entire weekend. Having never grown up with green bean casserole, I never got a chance to detest it, as I know I would have. With generally overcooked green beans, canned soup, and canned fried onions, it does not actually sound very good to me. But that was before Alton Brown showed me the light. With homemade onion toppers and a creamy mushroom sauce, this casserole sounded excellent from the first time I heard about it.

And this year, my grandmother insisted on traditional vegetables instead of the kale and roasted beets we had last year. So I decided to make her a casserole. And because I stretched the recipe, we got a lot of casserole, and ate it for three days, enjoying every minute of it. I'm only sorry I didn't get any pictures of it as it went on the table.

Green Bean Casserole
(based on Alton Brown's recipe)

2 lbs. green beans, washed, ends snapped off, and broken into 1-1.5" pieces
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
1-1.5 cups chicken broth
1.5-2 cups half and half
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 medium onions, sliced thin
2-4 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup bread crumbs
heavy pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Toss together the last 4 ingredients and spread over an oiled sheet pan. Bake for 30 minutes until very brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Set aside. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Saute the mushrooms in butter in a 12" cast-iron skillet, over medium heat, with a pinch of salt. Add the flour and stir until a paste forms. Add the broth and half and half, stirring to form a smooth sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Add thyme leaves and stir in the green beans. Simmer for 5 minutes, until the green beans start to turn bright green. Stir in 1/4 of the onion toppers and top with the rest. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until bubbly. Serve immediately.