Fast, Easy & Tasty Thanksgiving Side

We do both Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and friends at my place, every year. I’ve discovered over time that the best way for me (and everyone else) to enjoy the holidays is to minimize the fuss and thus, my stress level (fitting in a late morning yoga session is an extra bonus). For Thanksgiving that means making the cranberry sauce a few days early, making desserts the night before (pumpkin and apple pie and this year my Double Trouble Tart), making dressing in the crockpot to save room on the stove (delicious with a quick parmesan sprinkle and crisp in the oven just before serving), and asking others to bring the veggie sides.

But sometimes, someone forgets… or doesn’t make enough to serve the gathered hordes…. or has a side dish fail. For those moments or when looking for a tasty, healthy, ridiculously easy side I turn to green beans. Start to finish this recipe takes 15 minutes and can be made on the stove while the turkey rests.

Zesty Green Beans
Serves 10-12

2 lbs Green Beans
1 TBSP Olive Oil
5-6 cloves of garlic or 1 heaping TBSP if you’re using the minced garlic in jar
Juice of 1-2 Lemons (add one then taste before adding more)

• Trim green beans and cut into bite-size pieces.
• Add olive oil to large skillet and heat over medium-high heat (on a scale of 1-10, this is a 6).
• When oil is hot but not smoking, add green beans and sauté for 6 minutes.
• Add garlic and sauté for 4-5 more minutes until green beans are cooked but still crisp.
• Splash in enough lemon juice so the green beans have a zing but aren’t saturated. Sauté additional minute.

That’s it. You’re done. Transfer into a serving dish and give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

India and Spain Collide in this Ras Malai

 

At the end of 2008, Jim and I ventured to India to explore, eat and attend a wedding. 

Jim, who puts the P in picky eater, ate everything and LOVED IT!  (Except for the betel leave).  He managed, however, to completely avoid Indian desserts.

Back home Jim’s avoidance technique is foiled by the charming owner of our favorite Indian restaurant, who always brings us a complimentary dessert to sample after we’ve gorged ourselves on dal, jalfrezi and an assortment of curries.  The other week, on two separate occasions (once at the restaurant and once at a friend’s house) Jim was faced with his most dreaded Indian dessert – ras malai.  You see, he just can’t handle the texture of paneer. 

Liking the taste but not necessarily the texture of ras malai myself, Jim’s second encounter with the dreaded dessert started the wheels in my head turning.  How can you get the flavor of ras malai without the texture?

The substitute would have to be able to absorb the flavors of the ras malai sauce and not be too overpowering in its own right.  Hmmm . . . And then, the solution leaped into my mind, FLAN! 

So, yes, my spin on ras malai is an Indian/Spanish mash-up and against all odds it actually works!  Interested in trying it out for yourself?  Here’s how I did it:

First, the Flan

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 6 large eggs (I like farm fresh eggs personally, they make a creamier custard)
• 2 13 oz cans lowfat evaporated milk
• 1 14 oz can regular sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 TBSP vanilla
• 1 cinnamon stick

Pour the evaporated milk into a bowl and add the cinnamon stick.  You can proceed to the next step or put the evaporated milk/cinnamon stick combo in the fridge for a few hours to allow the milk to thoroughly soak up the cinnamon flavor. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a largish bowl (if you have a mixing bowl with a pouring spout, that would be ideal), whisk together the 6 eggs.  Next slowly mix in the evaporated milk and condensed milk, sugar and then vanilla.  Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into 6-10 ramekins (number depends on size; for the size pictured here, you will need 10 to use all the custard mix). 

Place the ramekins into a large glass or ceramic baking dish and fill with 1-2 inches of hot water.  Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.  Check with a knife slightly off center, if it comes out clean, it’s time to take the ramekins out, cover them and pop them into the fridge for an hour.

Next, the Ras Malai Sauce

• 3 c. whole milk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 tsps cardamom powder
• 1/2 c. thinly sliced pistachios for garnish (can also use slivers of dried fruit or almonds)

Pour the milk and 1/2 c. sugar into a saucepan and boil (stirring frequently) until the mixture is thickened and reduced 75%.  Remove from heat, add cardomom powder and mix well.

Remove flan from ramekins and place in a dish (I popped my flans out, by circling the edges of each ramekin with a plastic spatula).

Flan ready for the ras malai sauce

Pour the sauce over the flan, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

To serve, plate one flan in a bowl and cover with sauce.  Garnish with sliced pistachios and/or dried fruit.  Voila!

Do you have any foods you can’t eat because of the texture?  How do you work around it, or do you just avoid the foods altogether?