A Green Bean ain't no Plain Jane

Just look at these beauties!

 

I'm one of those people who (firmly) believes that every plate must be rounded out. Balanced, if you will.  By this I mean, there simply must be something green on every plate. If not, I go a little crazy.  Have you ever seen photos in magazines of salmon and lentils? I love salmon.  I love lentils.  But a plate of salmon and lentils without something green? I can't even make this appetizing in my mind with no green.


Because of my green compulsion, green beans make a very regular appearance in our house. The beauty of green beans is that they are good for you, they are pretty neutral, they look pretty and they can play many roles.  Kids love them, adults love them and you can use them in a zillion ways.  But I think many families ignore green beans because (at least in the South) all they know is to boil them and maybe add a little salt.  Wake up!  The green bean is one of the most versatile vegetables I know.  You can do everything with them.  At the risk of sounding like Bubba Blue from "Forrest Gump," you can boil them, steam them, poach them, saute them, roast them, put 'em in a casserole, pickle 'em, make a salad out of them, etc, etc, etc.

Which brings me to tonight.  I was making simple grilled steaks, baked Yukon gold potatoes, salad and green beans.  I just got some "haricots verts" from Costco on Sunday.  <<It's funny that en Francais, "haricots verts" means "green beans."  But in America, "haricots verts" means "fancy little green beans." >> Whatever, I love them no matter what you call them, in any language.  Tonight I wanted my haricots to have a little "je ne sais quois" so here's what I came up with.  Since true French haricots don't need much cooking time (they are slimmer), I decided to gently simmer them in a vegetable bouillon with garlic and onion.   

Just chopped up about half an onion; whatever amount you want of course!

1 1/2 cups of water with two veggie bouillon cubes

Onions and garlic simmering in the bouillon

Yeah, I quit chopping garlic a long time ago; haricots verts from Costco

And, then just simmered for about 15 minutes and they were awesome!

Ridiculously simple, but yowza! I was really pleased with the result.  The flavor and crisp, cleanness of the green bean wasn't lost, but merely enhanced just ever so much by the other flavors.  I'm definitely making our G.B.'s this way more often.

Return of the Garlic Soup

I started cooking when I was in high school.  That's when I remember starting to buy my own cookbooks and experimenting.  Once I got into my early 20's I was hooked on reading recipes and trying anything that sounded good. My sister, my cousin and a couple friends formed a supper club.  We met once a week and the rules were simple:  the cook decided on the dish and bought whatever food it involved and the others brought all the booze.  At some point during that time of my life, I came across a recipe for "Garlic Soup."  It was crazy simple and I've always remembered how much I loved it.  But, I lost the recipe.  I could remember the ingredients, but not the amounts.  Garlic soup had escaped me.


Fast forward to my 30s.  Neil and I went to Portugal with friends back in 2001 ( I think!).  We fell in love with that country and made a pact that when we got married, we'd come back for our honeymoon.  So, in 2004, we did.  One of the most awesome foods in Portugal is 'frango' which is a simple grilled, or rotisserie, chicken that is served with frites.  I know, the thought of grilled chicken doesn't exactly get my pulse racing either, but believe me when I tell you, this chicken will knock your socks off.  I'm not sure if they marinate it or if it has something to do with the white wood smoke that you see rising from all the restaurants' 'frango' chimneys, but it's the most incredible chicken on the planet.  After our first couple of days of frango and frites, it was time for some vegetables.  I ordered a bowl of vegetable soup in this little cafe along the Atlantic coast highway we were following.  Once again, this does not sound very exciting, but their vegetable soup is nothing like ours.  It's pureed...and every restaurant's is different.  Some are more green, some are heavier on the potato, others are a garden variety but they are all pureed so they are silky, creamy and smooth.  It became a quest.  We ordered it in every restaurant we visited to see whose was best.


I've always wanted to figure out how to duplicate this soup.  So many time when I've brainstormed about it, my mind would go back to that garlic soup memory.  That would be the perfect base and then I could add whatever leftover vegetables I had.  But, then I'd get distracted and it never got made.  A few days ago I made a roast pork loin with carrots and onions.  I started thinking about the garlic soup again because I had so many carrots leftover.  Even though I'd tried to find this recipe before using the Internet, I thought I'd give it another try.  I thought back...in the early 90's,  what was I reading?  A-Ha!  Bon Appetit!  So, I got on Epicurious and tried again.  Guess what?  I found it!  Garlic Soup Lives!

Insanely simple ingredients bubbling away

After a few turns in the blender

Today, I have made 2 batches using my leftover carrots.  I still love this soup so much. It's just perfect when you top it off with a nice little swoosh of heavy cream.   And, it is the perfect base for adding any other vegetable in order to mimic the Portuguese veggie soups.  Disregard the lame reviews that people gave the recipe.  I don't  know what's wrong with them. 


One side note before I conclude.  I asked Neil to pick up potatoes and 2 heads of garlic for me.  You know how "they" say that men always think bigger is better?  Well, take a look at the garlic he brought home.  Enough said...

Yep folks, that's 3 heads of ELEPHANT garlic

The Mullaney Salad

As a kid, I was a little weird.  When my friend Christina got glasses, I had to have some.  I carefully began to have trouble reading the blackboard, had increasing trouble seeing my music at piano and generally began to lose my vision.  Come to find out, an optometrist can TELL if you're lying about that stuff.  Then, I saw a teenager with braces...so, I walked around for months with tin foil on my teeth.  One day, in 2nd grade, I saw her.  Coming down the hall was this most majestic creature.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  My mind started racing about all the ways I could go about achieving what this girl had.  It was 3rd grader and she had BROKEN HER LEG.  She had the whole gig going on...white plaster cast, crutches.   This is how I met Mary Beth Mullaney.

Turns out, Mary Beth was the oldest of four Mullaneys.  Steven was next, then Cathleen (same age as my sister) and sweet little Brendan.  These kids and my sister and I would turn into friends and remain so...Steven is married to our former roommate Alyssa, Cathleen and Katherine have been close friends since elementary school and Brendan thought I was the dream girl when he was in high school.  Why is everybody laughing, dammit?



So, what the hell am I trying to tell you people?  It's all about their mom, Fran. Of course, back in those days, she was "Mrs. Mullaney" but we're all mature adults now (at least that's the theory) and we can call her Fran and she'll answer. Fran is a lot of things:  good faithful Catholic, super mom, vacuumer extraordinaire (no, really), philanthropist, athlete, beautiful and she's a damn good cook.  So, to answer your question, what I'm trying to tell you people is about the "Mullaney Salad."


I don't remember how old we were when we got the recipe, but we've been making this for years.  Katherine got it first from Fran and says Fran calls it "garlic salad."  That's a good name; it has so much garlic in it that one time I was accused at work of drinking that morning because of the garlic leaching out of my skin.  That's a true story.  So, for many, many years now, Katherine and I have been making what we call "The Mullaney Salad."  We've taught it to other people as well.  Not sure if my cousin Brooks is making it right now in Hanoi, but I'm pretty darn sure Amy is serving it up in Longmont, Colorado.  


Not only am I going to share it with you, but I had the pleasure of having my sweet little Vivian make it with me the other night.  She was so proud of her Mullaney vinaigrette (I'm teachin' the kid big words, ya see) and lettuce, as you can plainly see from the pix.  So, eat, drink and stink up the joint with this most amazing garlic (Fran) Mullaney Salad!  **Full Disclosure** I don't have Fran's actual recipe anymore, so each time I make this, I have to do "what looks right".  So, these measurements I'm giving you are approximate and you can tweek at will.  

Mullaney Salad

• 1 head romaine (Fran says you wash your leaves, dry them, wrap them in a towel [like a baby] and put in the fridge.  I must admit, I often skip the lettuce swaddling because I'm impatient)
• 1-2 tsp minced garlic
• salt (the coarser, the better)
• 1/4 red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 3-4 shakes of Worchestershire
• some pepper

Using the back of a spoon, mash the garlic with the salt. The idea is to use the salt as an abrasive to make the garlic into a paste of sorts.  Then, whisk in the vinegar, mustard, Worchestershire & pepper; whisk in the olive oil last.  Taste it and adjust the flavor as you wish.  Let it sit for awhile as you cook the rest of your meal.

Toss lettuce with vinaigrette, croutons, parmesan, etc.  I like to add toasted pine nuts too.  It's your salad; do what you want.  My sister Katherine thinks it's best to mix up the salad a few minutes before serving because she likes the lettuce a little on the wilty side.  But, again, it's your salad :-)