Countdown to Thanksgiving: Gussied-Up Green Bean Casserole

This is a repeat p0sting from three years ago. However, the effort I put into it (and the great results) earn it a place in this year's Countdown to Thanksgiving.

My grandmother always made the traditional green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. Cream of mushroom soup. Canned green beans. Those little fried onion thingies.I don't think my mom ever really cared for it it; she never made it when she took over the Turkey Day responsibilities. When I got accomplished enough in the kitchen, I would make it and bring it myself. I have to admit though, it's gotten a little tired. Lots of sodium in the soup. And canned green beans? Really?!?

Now, I will still probably fix that one periodically. (The comfort food and easiness factor make it worth it.) But I decided this year to see if I could "gourmetize" the tried and true recipe.The casserole has to have green beans, mushrooms, something soup-like, and fried oniony thingies. Here are my proposed substitutes. The final dish should serve six to eight people.

Green Beans
Instead of canned, buy some nice fresh green beans. Two pounds should do it. Trim the ends and cut or snap into bite-size pieces. Blanch in salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes. (I like the beans on the softer side for this recipe.) Drain immediately and set aside.

Mushrooms
Button mushrooms are fine, but you can use an assortment of your favorites. You'll need 1 pound, sliced. (I used 8 ounces button mushrooms, 4 ounces of creminis and 4 ounces of shitakes.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over mushrooms in baking dish. (If you have it, sprinkle the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon fresh thyme before roasting.) Bake mushrooms, stirring once or twice at 450° for thirty minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. (Hint: To save on cleaning, line a baking dish and use for mushrooms. After mushrooms have roasted, remove foil and reuse baking dish for casserole.)

Soup
Here's a substitute for the high-sodium cream soup you would usually use.
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cream (I substituted low-fat milk with no problem.)
1 egg yolkIn a small saucepan, heat broth for ten minutes.

In small sauce pan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a roux. Whisk roux into broth. In a small bowl, blend together cream and egg yolk. Gradually add 1/4 cup of broth mixture to egg yolk to temper. Pour into saucepan. Cook and stir for 10 minutes, without allowing to boil.

Crispy-Fried Shallots
2 cups canola oil
10 large shallots, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a large wok or saucepan and deep-fry the shallots until light golden brown and crisp. (I've read recipes that say this should happen in 3-5 minutes, but on my stovetop the oil only got up to 225°. So, the shallots took about fifteen minutes.) Drain the shallots on paper towels and let them cool completely.

To assemble the casserole:In a large bowl, gently mix green beans, mushrooms, soup base and one-third of fried shallots. Season with salt and black pepper. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining fried shallots. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes until heated through. (Cover with foil if you need to to keep shallots from getting too brown.) I tried it last night and loved it. It even got a "thumbs-up" from my resident taster. It's definitely worth the effort to prepare this great fresh twist on the old-fashioned favorite.