My favorite time of year is upon us. Thanksgiving is a memory, christmas is around the corner and the start of a new year is within reach!!!! During the holidays I like to have an "open house" all through December. I always have snacks and easy meals ready to prepare so I can sit down and catch up with the ones I love. As I've grown up, the holidays have become less about the gifts, whether giving or receiving and more about togetherness, entertaining and taking a moment to tell my friends and family how much they mean to me! There will always be Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning opening presents but I like celebrate all month long! This weekend we are having a big group of friends over for an ugly sweater dinner party! I can't wait to try some new recipes that I've been stockpiling! One is the bacon wrapped broiled salmon which I found on our very own website!!!! Here's the link.... http://pedersonsfarms.com/2010/07/bacon-wrapped-broiled-salmon-2/ --- another is my take on my grandma's Green beans. She always used bacon for extra flavor and her green beans were delicious but I like the fresher, lighter flavor that this recipe provides. Here's my recipe...
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
8 bacon slices
3 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms (about 7 oz.)
1/4 cup chopped onion
dash of dried crushed red pepper
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
Preparation
1. Cook beans in boiling salted water over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.
2. Cook bacon in a large skillet ( use cast iron for best flavor ) over medium-low heat until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 1/2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Discard remaining drippings. Crumble bacon.
3. Sauté mushrooms and onion in hot drippings ( cast iron again ) over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add green beans and crushed red pepper; sauté 1 to 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in crumbled bacon, black pepper and salt.
I usually use Pederson's Hickory Smoked bacon in my green beans but they were out of it when I went to the store so I'm going to try it with Pederson's Peppered Bacon and I'm really excited to see how it kicks up the flavor! If it's a hit it'l definitely be on our Christmas Eve dinner table! My family always has me make the green beans.... and the apple pie! That's one of my specialties! You just can't go wrong with good food, great friends and love ones and that's why I love December! Happy Holidays!
Brittany Bouck, Your West Coast Correspondent
