It's almost time for my sister's favorite holiday

That's right, folks. It's almost Thanksgiving and like every other food blogger in the nation, I am rolling out some recipes that you can make on the big day. Here's a great new side dish that is vegetarian friendly (unless the vegetarians are cheese/taste averse - like my family).

Creamed Haricot Vert and Corn Casserole - from Food and Wine magazine

Note: I halved this recipe and it was pretty big. So if you don't have a lot of folks coming over, maybe scale back.

1 1/2 pounds haricots verts, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds oyster mushrooms, thickly sliced - also, I may have used different mushrooms. It was still good.
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large sweet onion, very finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Two 10-ounce packages frozen corn, thawed (4 cups)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk - I used skim milk. That's all I have.
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) - I used regular fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a pot of boiling salted water, blanch the haricots verts until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool under running water. Pat dry.

In a very large, deep skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry and the corn is just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the haricots verts and keep warm.


Mmmm, vegetables.

In a large saucepan, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter. Add the flour and whisk over moderate heat until fragrant and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.


Whisk in the milk until smooth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer, whisking constantly, until very thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Gruyère and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.


Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir well. Pour the mixture into a 4-quart baking dish (I cheated and left everything in my dutch oven. I didn't want to wash another dish). In a small bowl, combine the panko with the Parmigiano (or just sprinkle some bread crumbs and then cheese. Again with the dishes!) and sprinkle over the vegetables.


Set the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, until bubbling. Turn on the broiler and broil the casserole for 3 to 4 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.


I ate it all on its own. It was a nice full dish, creamy and savory. I would gladly eat a bowlful.


And I did. Zack liked it a lot as well. I got a text in the middle of the day saying "The mushroom/corn/green beans thing is delicious." Compliments without prompting = good food.

The power of suggestion....

My dad has long made fun of me for reading about something and then feeling like I HAVE to do it, right now! He still claims that the whole reason I wanted to live in New York was based on multiple readings of The Babysitters Club: New York, New York! (He's one to talk - one year he kept saying he wanted a new Lexus because all the dads were getting one. When pressed, he confessed that the dads who were getting them were on TV.....in the Lexus commercials.)

So I suppose it should be no surprise that while I was re-reading Julie and Julia (for like the thousandth time) and I got to the part about her crepe making escapades, I was seized with an overwhelming desire to make Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine, like RIGHT NOW. Gosh darn it, I was going to make a savory cake of crepes filled with cream cheese, spinach and mushrooms. I HAD to. It called to me like the outdoors on a nice day.

Luckily, Abby was coming over to drink wine and watch Buffy. I had idly promised to make her something from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 when she gave it to me as a wedding present and this seemed like a perfect time to make good on that. So here we go!

Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine!


It's a pretty dish, yes? Spoiler Alert: It is really good. How does it come to be? Well, I'll tell you.

First, you put 1 cup cold water, 1 cup cold milk, 4 eggs and 1/2 tsp salt in a blender (I broke out my blender from what I am now calling "present corner." I'm scared to unpack too much in fear that we're going to move at any moment and I'll just have to pack it all up again. But I really wanted to use the blender. Caution be dammed). Then I added 1 1/2 cups flour and 4 Tbs melted butter. I blended it for 1 minute, scraped the excess down the sides with a sparkly pink spatula and blended again for a few more seconds. I stuck the whole thing in the fridge and went to the gym. And the grocery store.


When I got back, it was time to make crepes. Julia says to rub a skillet with a piece of bacon and set it over moderately high heat until it's just beginning to smoke.


Yeah, yeah, I can already hear my dad saying "why do you have to post pictures of disgusting meat and ruin nice vegetarian dishes with bacon?" To him and his supporters I say "just use some oil then! This is my blog. We do things my way around here."

This part is hard to explain and a little tricky. Remove the pan from the heat and pour 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Tilt it around so that the batter is spread out thin and evenly. This all happens really fast - a few seconds. Return it to the heat for about a minute or until the edges slightly crinkle up.


Flip it over and brown for about 30 more seconds. This side will brown more spottily than the first side, but that's okay.


Move it onto a rack to cool...


Then stack the finished crepes on a plate.


I was expecting the whole process to be stressful and complicated, but honestly? It was kind of a breeze. I got into a crepe flipping zone and I felt really calm and happy. Of course, then I felt a little weird about feeling the best I've felt all week while I was doing a massively complicated cooking project for no reason. There may be something wrong with me.

Anyways, next you make a Sauce Mornay which is a fancy name for a white sauce with cheese.

Cook 5 Tbs flour and 4 Tbs butter in a pot for 2 minutes. You don't want it to brown - just meld together.


Take it off the heat and add 2 3/4 cups of boiling milk (I heated mine up in the microwave because I was out of small pots) and 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper and a big pinch of nutmeg. Return it to the heat and boil it for one minute while stirring.


Reduce it to a simmer and add 1/4 cup cream one tsp at a time. Then stir in 1 cup of grated "Swiss" cheese. When Julia says "Swiss" she does not mean gross white cheese with holes. She means Gruyere or possibly Emmental. I had Gruyere in the fridge, so that's what went in my sauce. It was really thick.


YUM.

Next you make the fillings. This is quite the long process. There's a reason people don't cook like this anymore - it takes several hours and every dish you own. But it's worth it.

Saute a chopped shallot in 2 Tbs of butter. Add 1 1/2 cups blanched, chopped spinach (or a thawed package of frozen spinach if you're a lazy bastard like me) and 1/4 tsp salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 - 2/3 cup of the Sauce Mornay. Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes. That's one filling done. Also, I forgot to take a picture - shhhhhh.

Mash up 8 oz cream cheese with an egg and salt and pepper. Set aside. Saute 1 cup of minced mushrooms (I used shiitake) and another chopped shallot in 1 Tbs butter and 1/2 Tbs olive oil. Mix them into the cream cheese. You're also supposed to add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the Sauce Mornay to the whole thing, but I didn't because I wasn't reading the directions closely. But it still tasted great in the end.


Okay, here comes the fun part. Take a round deep baking dish and butter it. Lay one crepe across the bottom.


Spread a layer of mushroom filling over the crepe.


Put another crepe on top of it and spread the spinach filling over it.


Repeat until all the crepes and fillings are gone.


Yeah, it's tall. Now here comes the insane part - pour the rest of the cheese sauce on top of the crepe stack and dot with butter and some more grated cheese.


At this point, I freaked out and was sure I made too much sauce and/or ruined the dish. But I baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and lo and behold.....


IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME. The layers were super pretty, all green and cheesy and delicious. I mean, look at those layers.


Abby really liked it. We ate half the dish. And a bottle of Prosecco. Whoops. And then we ate some jam tart - but that's a post for another day.


Okay, sorry, I can't help myself. Bon Appetit!

and the food continues....

I'm moving on to Parmesan and Prosciutto Stuffed Mushrooms today, folks. Don't they look nice?

I've always been a big fan of stuffed mushrooms, and you could tell, because I always had the same kind out as appetizers at my house. Finally, I think people got a little bored with them (and by people, I mean Meredith), so armed with my trusty Gourmet Cookbook (which I will never have to check out of the library again, I've got a brand spanking new copy of my own, courtesy of Meredith again), I tried this new recipe.

Parmesan and Prosciutto Stuffed Mushrooms, adapted from the Gourmet Cookbook

24 large mushrooms (or so - I bought two packs of baby bellas and called it a day)
4 Tbs Olive Oil
1 large garlic clove, minced)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped prosciutto
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
3 Tbs minced flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

A note before I start - I took these measurements fairly loosely - which you are welcome to do - or not.

1. Stem your mushrooms - I just rip them out with my hands. I find it very relaxing. Here they are, all separated.


2. Chop up your mushroom stems - here are mine with my onion and garlic.


3. Heat 2 Tbs of oil over medium heat - cook until stems are tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix it up good. Here's mine:


4. Fill your mushrooms and put them on a greased (or tin foil lined) baking sheet (or two as the case may be).


5. Drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Plate nicely on your new platter from Ikea and enjoy!