Courier Cookbook: Thanksgiving Green Bean Business and Pies

Just in time for Thanksgiving! Let's start with the green bean casserole so many of us feel must be on the Thanksgiving table. Simply follow the recipe on the back of the French's Crispy Fried Onions can, or look at these options.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Submitted by Karen Sherlock

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth

2 pounds frozen cut green beans, thawed

1 teaspoon celery salt

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 (6-ounce) can store-bought crispy onions

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken broth, 1 pound of the green beans and ½ teaspoon celery salt in a medium lidded saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil over high. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, still covered and stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, about 20 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the beans are done cooking, melt the butter in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and beginning to turn golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Slowly add the heavy cream to the flour mixture, whisking constantly, followed by 1 cup of the green bean broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Drain the green beans and add to the sauce. Add the remaining thawed frozen green beans, season to taste again with salt and pepper, if needed, and stir to combine.

Transfer the creamy beans to a 2-quart casserole dish or keep in the skillet. Top with the crispy onions. Bake until golden brown on top, about 10 minutes. Let sit to cool and set before serving, at least 5 minutes.

GREEN BEAN BARTO CASSEROLE

By Joanie Barto

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh green beans

¾ cup milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

⅛ tsp. pepper

1 cup shredded sharp cheese

1 ⅓ cups crispy fried onions

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp soy sauce

Directions:

Boil green beans in chicken broth mix for 6 minutes. Place in ice.

Mix soup, milk, pepper, ⅔ cup onions and ½ cup cheese and soy sauce in a bowl. Then mix green beans into it. Bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees or 325 degrees in a convection oven. Top with the remaining cheese and onions and bake for 5 additional minutes. (Serves 6)

PUMPKIN PIE

Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving staple. It is easy and delicious. You can buy a premade crust or a mix but making it yourself is simple and less expensive. And it tastes better.

Pie Crust

(Makes two nine-inch pie crusts or a bottom crust and a top crust)

Ingredients:

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 ¼ cup Crisco

1 tsp. salt

1 egg (the largest you have)

4 T. cold water (like iced)

1 T. apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Cut Crisco into flour and salt with a pastry cutter or fork until well combined. Make a well in the middle.

Beat egg, add water and vinegar in a separate bowl. Add to the well in the flour mixture.

Form 2 balls of dough with your hands. Do not over mix. Add more water if needed. Roll out (or not) and refrigerate or freeze for later.

Pumpkin Filling

Ingredients:

1 (15-oz) can pure pumpkin (about 1¾ cups)

1 large egg

3 large eggs yolks

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves (optional but delicious)

⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

1¼ cups evaporated milk (you can substitute this for sweetened condensed milk if you want more sweetness)

Directions:

Roll out the dough in a 9-inch pie pan. A French rolling pin does the best job but anything works. Brush an egg wash on it (beaten egg and a bit of milk or just egg white), if desired. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or if you only have 15 minutes, then 15 minutes if it isn't already chilled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Some people fill the pie pan without first blind-baking or partially cooking the crust which works but sometimes results in gooey crust. I like it at least ¾ done before filling it.

If you want to precook your crust then:

Put the pie pan on a cookie sheet. Put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom and fill with pie weights or beans. If you have neither, skip it.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cover the edges of the crust with foil or more parchment paper and bake for about another 10 minutes until it looks golden and about done. Take the crust out of the oven.

In the meantime, make the filling:

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, egg yolks, granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and evaporated or sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour the filling into the pre-baked or not-baked crust.

Bake the pie for 20 minutes then reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes checking occasionally and covering the edges if needed. It will be done when it looks solid (not wet) but slightly jiggly. Let the pie cool on a rack Slice or refrigerate until ready to serve. Try whipped cream on top (heavy cream whipped with a glug of vanilla and about 3 T. powdered sugar).

PECAN PIE

Do the same thing as Pumpkin Pie except for the filling.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

2 T. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

3 slightly beaten eggs

8 oz. pecan halves

Directions:

Whisk together the corn syrup, sugar, and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well Add half the pecans. Place some pecans at the bottom of the crust. Pour filling into the crust. Top with a pretty pattern of pecans on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until the center springs back when touched. Cool on a rack.