I subscribe to the view that canned mushrooms are usually better than no mushrooms. I always have a partial case of canned mushrooms around, for when I’ve forgotten to pick up fresh or the fresh ones have gone off. Using canned in salads would be a bridge too far…
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It sure ain’t pretty. I avoided making it one year, and you wouldn’t believe the outrage. I get sick of tossing the “lesser” sides, but all seem to have a spot in someone’s heart. I was glad my SIL made corn bread and collard greens as a side. LOVE well-made collard greens. Mustard, even better. Mixing greens and cornbread, though, was the best part of my TG meal.
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The first and last time I tried this ‘traditional concoction’ was in 1978? I guess plain green beans suit my taste just fine.
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Thanks! I started reading that awhile back. That recipe and the blueberry, grape jello and cream cheese/sour cream salad/dessert, like the Snickers salad dessert thing, just don’t do it for me. As the say, " suum cuique".
I prefer plain ole green beans, too.
Me too. I love mushrooms. The frustration with the can lead me to hunt wild ones, then use the spores of store-bought to grow in my yard. I forgot to pick up fresh ones last week and had the rubber on pizza. Still, better than none at all.
It sounds more sophisticated when you call them “haricots vert”.
My favorite prep is from childhood, when my dad had a summer superabundance of pole beans. Mom would meticulously “snip” the ends (not sure if she believed the tails were bad). Then she’d basically low-poach the cut beans in bacon fat and lardons for hours. It tasted fantastic, but the color was pure camoflage…
My riff on hers is to high-blanch the cut beans in very salty water for 2 minutes to fix the color before starting the poach. IME, good bacon doesn’t have quite enough fat, so I may render some cheap bacon beforehand. I’m more heavy handed than she was with the garlic, too.
Because this was an every week dish for us (She froze it in industrial quantities), I never really appreciated why the stereotypical GBC was a treat.
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I guess fresh mushrooms on pizza could be split into two camps as well. Do you simply slice fresh and put on the pizza? I don’t like that prep because they tend to get sort of “dry-soggy” (dried out on top and soggy underneath as moisture is released).
Instead I sort of sauté them by browning first in a very hot, oil-free pan, then once they get some brown on them, continue for a bit with butter or oil at a lower temp.
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I also prefer to cook the fresh ones ahead of time for a pizza. I think, in addition to avoiding sogginess, it brings out more flavor in the mushrooms.
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I had a guest insist on bringing it one year. Even the green beans were canned. Yes, I ate some. My mom wouldn’t have ever let me behave otherwise. The next year, I preemptively made Szechuan green beans. Everyone was happy; they got green beans. Add canned cream of mushroom soup to things that want to make me excuse myself from the table (Run Away!!)
See, I love the dry/soggy effect. There are times though, I like to saute in beer, then use on pizza.
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