Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole, Gluten Free

Green Bean Casserole before covering and refrigerating for the potluck.

I think green bean casserole is disgusting. I didn't want to make any green bean casserole, even if it's Alton Brown's. There was a vote for me to do this one though; I was stuck. To make this gluten-free for the potluck, I skipped the panko and replaced regular flour with Pamela's Artisan Blend.

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole, Gluten Free
adapted from Food Network

For the topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
heaping 1/4 c Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend
1 tsp kosher salt
Nonstick spray

For beans:
1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
1 gallon water
2 tbsp kosher salt

For sauce:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend
1 c chicken stock
1 c half-and-half

Preheat the oven to 475°F.

Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.


Add onions and toss to combine.


Coat a sheet pan with nonstick spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan.


Bake in the oven until golden brown, tossing every 10 minutes, for approximately 30 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use.

Onion rings after 10, 20, and 33 minutes of baking.

Turn the oven down to 400°F.

Meanwhile bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan.


Blanch beans for 3-5 minutes.

The recipe said 5 minutes; I let mine go for only 3 minutes. 

Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat.


Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.

Mine cooked 4 minutes before the mushrooms began releasing their juice.

Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 3 minutes.


Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute.


Add the stock and simmer for 1 minute.


Add the half-and-half and cook until the mixture thickens, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.


Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans.


Top with the remaining onions.

Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

But because I was bringing this dish for a potluck, I transferred the green bean mix to a 7x11" baking dish, then topped it with remaining onions before covering and refrigerating.


At work I threw the dish into the desk-top/counter-top broiler until it was heated through, about 30 minutes.


Some of those that ate it said they liked it and some of them didn't have a comment. Most people didn't try it, myself included. It's green bean casserole, so I'm not surprised. I will never do this again; I don't care who votes for it.

Cost:

• onions: $0.59
• Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend: $0.26
• fresh green beans: $0.95
• unsalted butter: $0.05
• mushrooms: $1.73
• garlic: $0.10
• chicken stock: $0.16
• half-and-half: $0.90

Total: $4.74 or about $0.79 for each of six servings.

Apple Cider-Caramel Cake, Gluten-Free

Walking all over the internet for pumpkin recipes, I came across this one. It didn't have any reviews but how could apple cider and caramel be wrong?

It is supposed to be a light recipe but I fattened it up, substituting butter for margarine, regular buttermilk and cream cheese instead of low-fat. The idea of using breadcrumbs to prepare the pan was a little disturbing to me, and since I was making this gluten-free anyway, used gluten-free flour.

Apple Cider-Caramel Cake
from My Recipes

2 1/4 c apple cider, divided
2 1/4 c granulated sugar, divided
1 tbsp butter
3 c sliced peeled cooking apple (such as Braeburn, Rome, or McIntosh)
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese
3 large eggs
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided
3 c gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes).

Full saucepan at the on-set, after 7 minutes, and then after 24 minutes. I considered measuring the final volume but I didn't.

Reduce heat to medium-high; stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar.


Cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and cider is thick and dark-colored, stirring occasionally.

This is the change after four minutes. And then I let it cook another couple of minutes because I wasn't sure if I really saw a color change after staring at it constantly.

Remove from heat; cool 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter.


Stir in apple; cook 15 minutes over medium-high heat or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool. (If apple mixture hardens, place it over low heat until softened).


Preheat oven to 325°. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with butter; dust with flour.

Combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup butter, lemon rind, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes).


I chose to do this in two steps: first combine the butter and cream cheese, then the sugar and zest.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.


Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon juice.


Combine flour, baking soda, and salt.


Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.




Fold in apple mixture.


Pour into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 60-90 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Who knows if smoothing the batter makes a difference to a bundt, but I did it before baking the cake for 60 minutes.

Combine 1/4 cup cider, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and vanilla; let stand until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.


Cool cake in pan 5 minutes, and pierce with a wooden skewer in several places. Pour cider mixture over cake in pan, and let stand 10 minutes.


Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.


Sift powdered sugar over top of cake.

I waited until the morning to sprinkle on the sugar. I didn't want this specimen-like thing to happen again.


I took this to work and the consensus was, "uh, nice try but don't do that again." The cake part was good, but the apples were bitter. The sugar was much too cooked, aka, burnt. I might've reduced the apple cider too much but I definitely went way too long and too hot after adding the sugar. Staring at the caramel sauce as it cooked was probably not the brightest thing I've ever done since the color change was indistinguishable over those few minutes. And the cook time after adding the apples was just way too long. If I do this again, I will heed these words.

Cost:

• apple cider: $0.70
• granulated sugar: $0.53
• butter: $0.45
• apples: $0.73
• lemons: $1.28
• cream cheese: $1.49
• eggs: $0.95
• gluten-free all-purpose flour: $2.90
• buttermilk: $0.26
• vanilla extract: $0.08
• powdered sugar: $0.02

Total: $9.39 or about $0.52 for each of 18 servings. Normally I'd laugh my head off - 18 servings in a bundt? In this case since the apples were gross 18 was probably on the low end.