Green Bean Casserole (Make Ahead)

I may be one of the few remaining country in this good old USA who can say this, but I have never eaten or prepared a green bean casserole in my life.  It's true.  And what makes even weirder is that I grew up in Oklahoma in the 60's....the mecca of jello salads and all things made with canned vegetables and cream-of-something soups.  How both my mom and dad's family escaped this national holiday staple is beyond me.

And as I grew up and began to cook on my own, learning about whole, non-processed foods (and moved out of Oklahoma), I became a bit of a snob about such prosaic dishes.  And then I ran across this recipe a few weeks ago which piqued my interests for two reasons:  one) it was one using fresh green beans and it's own white sauce and two) it's one you can make ahead and freeze, saving valuable prep time during Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The results were amazing!  If that original recipe is anything close to this one, I can understand why this dish has been around for decades.  But this one has to be far-and-away better.  The sauce is so good I'd like to make a soup out of it!  And I can't imagine anything better than using fresh green beans (for some reason, the green beans I bought last week were better than the ones I got this summer).

So if you are a Green Bean Casserole afficionado, I urge you to try this, especially if you are planning a big get-together and need to have some dishes prepared ahead of time.  FYI:  You can either cut this recipe in half and make in an 8x8 dish, keep the recipe as is and bake/freeze two  8x8 dishes, or make in the 13x9 dish as instructed.  If you want to try it ahead of time and cook one now, freeze one for later, cut the cooking time from 80 minutes to about 45-50 minutes since it's not frozen, and then continue with the rest of the instructions.  Also, I used Panko breadcrumbs in place of the white bread breadcrumbs.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE (10-12 servings)

Topping:
2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into pieces (or Panko breadcrumbs)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups canned fried onions

Casserole:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
8-10 oz white mushrooms, sliced thin (I halved the recipe, but did not half the mushrooms...I do love me mushrooms)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried thyme, or more to taste
1/4 cup unbleached AP flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup cornstarch
OPTIONAL (but highly recommended): 1/2 cup slivered almonds or 1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts

For the topping:
Pulse the bread, butter, and salt in a food processor until coarsely ground, about 10 pulses.  Combine the bread mixture (or plain Panko) and onions in a bowl, transfer to a large zip-lock freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.

For the casserole:
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, S&P and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes.  Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until liquid has evaporated, 2-5 minutes. 

Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the wine, broth, and cream and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Add almonds or water chestnuts if using.

Toss the green beans with the cornstarch in a large bowl and transfer to a 13x9" baking dish.  Pour the warm mushroom mixture evenly over the beans (do not mix).  Let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap, cover with foil, and freeze for up to 2 months.

To cook and serve:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400F.  Remove the casserole from the freezer and take away the plastic from the baking dish and replace the foil.  Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the beans are tender, about 80 minutes, stirring the beans thoroughly and adding almonds or water chestnuts after about 50 minutes (adjust times if cooking non-frozen dish).  Remove the foil and spread the topping mixture over the beans.  Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes.  Serve.

Recipe Source:  www.gooddinnermom.com