Green Bean Casserole

This is easily the best green bean casserole I have ever eaten.  I made it for a family Christmas gathering last month, and everyone loved it.  I doubled the recipe because we were having a crowd and ended up with two casserole - one a very full (too full) 9" x 13" baking dish and the other an 8" square baking dish.  The photos are not very good because I was honestly more concerned with getting everything ready for the party instead of taking pictures.  And, I am not a huge fan of green bean casserole, so I wasn't really expecting to post it.  But, even I loved it, so I have to share.  It is a recipe I adapted from The Pioneer Woman.  Basically, I left out the onions because I don't really like them, added mushrooms, some butter to the panko, and changed the procedure a bit.  I'm sure the original is wonderful too, but I am one of those people who have a hard time not doing things my own way.  Next time you need a vegetable casserole, you should try this!

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Broccoli Casserole

This is one of those casseroles that reminds me of childhood.  It has some of those ingredients people don't like to admit to using anymore - cream of mushroom soup and mayonnaise... and yet, it is still yummy even though it is definitely not good for you.  People still ask for the recipe everywhere it goes, and it is great this time of the year when you are often asked to bring a dish to some sort of get together.  I took this one to the Thanksgiving dinner at work.  It is quick and easy, and I made it the night before and warmed it in the microwave the next day, and everyone loved it - even with the soup.

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Roasted Black Radishes

Yes, I know, they don't look black, but they were before I peeled them.  Well, and the sweet potatoes and apples never were.  This past Saturday at the market where I sell my baked goods, one of my of my favorite vendors had Spanish black radishes.  Since I had never tried black radishes and because I am one of those people who always has to try the most unusual food available, I had to have some.  I came home and started looking up recipes. Nothing seemed quite like what I wanted to try, but several websites compared them to turnips when cooked, so I decided on a variation of my usual roasted vegetable recipe.  Now, before you go out and hunt down black radishes, let me point out that they are a strong bitter vegetable similar to turnips or rutabagas.  I happen to enjoy that taste, but you may not.  The sweet potatoes and apples are a nice sweet-tart foil for the bitter, and the brown butter sage sauce is decadent.  In fact, you could use the sauce on many different roasted vegetables.  I particularly like it on butternut squash, which would be a nice addition to this recipe, but I didn't have any on hand, so I didn't include it.

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