Enough drama, let's eat already!!
It hardly seems possible that I haven't cooked in weeks. But take it from me: the original title of this post was "Green Bean Slaw" which I found in an issue of Food and Wine about three weeks ago. I was reading it in the car coming home from Vermont, actually, now that I think about it. Anyway, couldn't fold the corner of the page fast enough, couldn't wait to try it. It came out totally delicious, I remember we had it with burgers and corn on the cob. I started drafting the post, uploaded the pictures...and then never finished it. That strike thing. You know.
So I'll get back into the game with the slaw recipe, because tonight I didn't make anything new or adventurous for dinner. I wanted old faves and old friends, to putter around in the kitchen with music and wine, to chop garlic on my favorite cutting board (and daydream of an attentive observer), with my favorite knife, with a handful of herbs pulled from the garden.
Speaking of which, the heirloom tomato crop numbered exactly two this year. Two (2), both from the "Pineapple" variety. They were amazingly good with grilled chicken (marinated with the garlic and herbs and olive oil), corn on the cob (local from Green Chimneys) and some steamed asparagus and broccoli from the garden. The broccoli also did horribly this year, something just ate the leaves to lace, but I've been getting a few crowns every few weeks.
So here we go. Better late than never.
It's really, really good to be back.
Green Bean Slaw (from Food & Wine)
- 1 1/4 pounds haricots verts (thin green beans)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 medium carrot, cut into fine julienne
- 1 medium parsnip, cut into fine julienne
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into fine julienne
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 hard-cooked egg, chopped, for garnish (optional, I didn't use it)
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the beans until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, rinse and pat dry.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the vinegar, water, mustard, honey and celery seeds. Add the carrot, parsnip, red pepper and onion and toss until warmed through, about 1 minute.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add the beans and toss well. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Garnish the slaw with the chopped egg and serve warm or at room temperature.
Apparently this slaw is also very good when you add bacon. Apparently?! YOU THINK????