I offered to bring a few things to Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year, including these rolls, a pie (still undecided on what I’m going to do) and a green bean dish. I thought about doing these green bean salads, but my sister-in-law is bringing a green salad and I didn’t want to double up. So I went in search of a green bean dish that wasn’t a rich heavy casserole, even though I love the stuff, but was still special. These green bean bundles are the perfect compromise.
I wanted something that wasn’t going to occupy too much stove or oven space and wouldn’t take too long. You can blanch the beans in advance, and partially cook the bacon beforehand, which means a quick 15-20 minutes in the oven is all you need to finish these off.
The original recipe I found here on Williams-Sonoma’s site. I changed a few things and was amazed at the results. The bacon becomes almost candied in the butter and maple syrup sauce, so these are a bit decadent but since you’re eating vegetables you’re going to be fine. It’s Thanksgiving after all. Nothing wrong with candied bacon on Thanksgiving.
I think these are adorable in their little individual bundles. It does require more work, but nothing too intense. With all the other sides you really only need one bundle per person, but make some extra just in case.
With Thanksgiving just a week away I wish you happy and stress free meal planning, traveling, prepping, baking and cooking. But most of all I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you thoroughly enjoy the day with family and friends!
Rosemary and Maple Bacon Green Bean Bundles
Makes about 12 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds green beans (6-8 green beans per bundle)
8 strips of thick-cut bacon cut in half crosswise, 16 pieces total
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Directions
Trim and blanch the green beans: Trim the end off of the beans. Boil a large pot of water and prepare a big bowl of ice water. Cook the beans for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain, then plunge into the ice water. Remove from the water and pat dry with towels. Proceed with the recipe or store beans in the fridge for up to 1 day.
Cook the bacon: Heat a skillet over medium heat and fry the bacon partially, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Do not let it get crispy or you won’t be able to wrap the bacon around the beans. Proceed with the recipe or store the bacon in an airtight container for up to 1 day.
Melt the butter and whisk in the syrup, salt and rosemary.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Wrap 6-8 green beans in one piece of bacon and lay on the parchment seam side down. Repeat with all the beans.
Drizzle each bundle lightly with the butter mixture. You may have some leftover, which you can either drizzle on the beans or toss depending on how much sauce you want.
Bake the bundles for about 15 minutes, until bacon is crisp. Move to a platter and serve.
I broke down and bought Joy the Baker’s newest cookbook. I kept seeing it everywhere and couldn’t resist that pretzel cake on the cover. That pretzel cake must have still been on my mind while I leafed through the pages because I stopped dead in my tracks at this pie with pretzel crust. I needed to do some pie research for Thanksgiving, so I gave this a shot. Strictly for research purposes…
The crust is pretty basic, but uses cold buttermilk instead of water. I had to add a bit more buttermilk than called for in the recipe to get it to stick together easily, but that is the only issue I ran in to with the crust. It rolls out nicely and bakes up well. I love the way the pretzels look lining the crust. It’s really too bad you can’t see it after filling and baking.
Into the crust goes a butterscotch filling that is rich and creamy and amazing. When the first step in any recipe is browning butter you can’t be on the wrong track. After cooking it has to chill for 2 hours, so be sure to plan accordingly.
The meringue is surprisingly good. I was hesitant to add in the thyme, but was very glad I did. It’s just noticeable enough. Not overpowering but you still know it’s there, a slight savory note to balance the sweetness. And the marshmallow does make it very sweet, which I happen to like. I think it would be especially good on a sweet potato pie. As we all know, sweet potatoes and marshmallows are meant for each other.
After filling and topping, the meringue gets a nice toast in the oven. I think I under-baked mine just a bit. I only let it go for about 4 minutes. It could’ve used just a couple more for color and for the meringue to get a little sturdier. When sliced the meringue got a little oozy, which makes no difference in taste but makes for a messy presentation.
You can serve this immediately after cooking the meringue, or chill it in the fridge. I had better luck slicing and serving after the pie had time to chill, and my meringue was more cooperative.
The pretzels get a little soggy but still have enough crunch to add some nice texture to the pie. I love the idea and the look of the pretzels, but this would still be a delicious pie without them.
I am really looking forward to trying more recipes from this cookbook! Go grab a copy, it’s so much fun to look through and drool over.
Butterscotch Pie with Thyme Meringue and Pretzel Crust
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
Add in butter and work in using either clean hands or a pastry blender. When butter is broken down into pieces roughly the size of oat flakes with some large pieces make a well in the center and add in the buttermilk. Mix together using a wooden spoon until dough kind of holds together, but is still loose.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface, knead into a disc, cut the disc in half and form each into a round. Wrap each in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. (You only use one of these rounds for this pie, so use or freeze the other.)
Flour a work surface and roll one of the rounds into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Move to a 9-inch pie plate, press gently into the plate and trim the edges and fold or crimp the edges.
Arrange the pretzels on the bottom and up the sides of the pie crust, pressing them slightly into the dough. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and press gently into the pie plate. Fill the foil with beans, rice or pie weights.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until it begins to brown. Cool completely before filling.
Butterscotch Filling
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 egg yolks (whites reserved for meringue)
1 teaspoon molasses
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
Brown the butter in a small saucepan by heating it over medium heat. Cook, watching it carefully and swirling the pan frequently until butter begins to brown and smell nutty. Remove from the heat immediately so it doesn’t burn. Let cool.
In a medium saucepan combine egg yolks, molasses, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt and whisk. Heat over medium and whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking constantly until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the custard and chill for at least 2 hours.
Thyme Meringue
Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 jar marshmallow cream (7 ounces)
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Combine the sugar and thyme in a small bowl and use your fingers to rub the thyme into the sugar.
Scrape marshmallow into a large bowl and whisk (at least try to, this stuff is sticky!)
In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment whisk egg whites on medium speed until they begin to froth. Add the salt, then add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time while increasing the speed of the mixer gradually to medium high. Beat until stiff peaks form and the meringue is glossy.
Fold half of the egg whites into the marshmallow to lighten it, then fold in the rest of the egg whites in 3 batches.
Assemble and Bake
Preheat oven to 400°F and move oven rack to the middle or top third depending on your oven size. You want the pie near the top to brown the meringue.
Spoon custard into pie crust and smooth the top.
Top with the meringue and spread just to the edges without covering the crust.
Bake for 4-7 minutes, until meringue has browned to your liking.
There is a special place in my heart for creamy green bean casserole. The kind with the canned crunchy fried onions, and the canned cream of mushroom soup. You know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t you should try it at least once. But sometimes that Thanksgiving meal can be a little heavy on the creamy casseroles and you want (and likely need) something light and refreshing in the mix to balance things out. This salad is a delicious way to provide some balance in your meal while still keeping is special.
Something about the combination of warm toasted pecans, tangy sweet cranberries and robust blue cheese just sings of the season we’re entering. The weather is cooler and richer flavors are in order. Although, I’d eat this salad in the summertime with no problem.
You can serve these as lovely first course salads on individual salad plates, or arrange them on a large platter and allow guests to serve themselves. The bibb lettuce leaves hold up well, so there’s little need to worry about them tearing, unless they’ve been sitting too long so don’t prepare them all the way too far in advance. If you’re really needing this to be a quick and painless salad you can tear up a bunch of bibb lettuce, toss in the dressed beans, cranberries, blue cheese and pecans and serve this as a large serve-yourself salad. You might want to double the dressing if you plan to serve it that way, though.
You can cook the beans up to 2 days ahead and keep them in the fridge. The beans also hold up well in the fridge after being dressed, so you can prepare them up to that point hours ahead of time, but not longer than a day. Mix in the cranberries, but not the blue cheese or pecans, they’ll get soggy if they sit too long. Sprinkle on the blue cheese and pecans right before serving.
I tend to under-dress salads when serving them to a group. I hesitated to add all the dressing to the beans, but it was the perfect amount. There’s just enough that drips off onto the lettuce.
Haricots Verts Salad with Blue Cheese, Pecans and Cranberries
From Fine Cooking
Serves 6
Ingredients
1/2 pound haricots verts (french green beans) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 to 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
6 large bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Directions
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the beans and cook until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans, then plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again, pat dry and move to a bowl. If making ahead, place beans in an airtight container and put them in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, mustard and olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Toss beans and cranberries in the dressing to coat evenly. You can refrigerate the beans at this point for up to 1 day.
To serve: divide beans evenly among the lettuce leaves and sprinkle each with pecans and blue cheese.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. Ben and I traveled to my sister’s house in Dallas to spend the holiday with my parents, my 3 sisters and their husbands, my nephew, cousins and their husbands, their kiddos, my aunt and uncle and grandpa. We had 19 people for lunch on Thursday, and it was so great to have so many people there. It’s getting harder and harder for all of us to get together now that everyone is moving to all ends of the country and having kids. So, this was a special Thanksgiving. The food was incredible and included a cornucopia of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean and mushroom casserole, balsamic roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed carrots and fennel, and flaky rolls.
Dessert is a favorite part of the meal. Pies are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert in our family. This year we had apple streusel, pumpkin, and cinnamon custard pies, a gingerbread pear tart, and a chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake. We did not make a pecan pie for Thanksgiving day, but I just couldn’t stand not having a piece this year. So we made one after Thanksgiving…not that we really needed any more pie, but a little extra pie never really hurt anyone.