Category: Food
Green Beans With Oranges and Almonds
Green Beans With Oranges and Almonds
This easy, festive side dish is great for dinner parties and holidays, such as Thanksgiving. Sauteing this many green beans in a skillet is hard to do evenly, but in this instance that’s a good thing. Some will get soft and charred in spots, while others will become crisp-tender, offering a textural counterpoint. Toasted almonds provide additional texture, and orange segments brighten up the dish.
Servings 7 cups
Calories 116kcal
Equipment
- skillet
- serving dish
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds fresh green beans rinsed and trimmed
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 navel oranges cut into segments (supremed; see NOTE)
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a cold, dry 12-inch, or larger, skillet set over medium heat and toast, tossing frequently, until browned in spots and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a small bowl to stop them from toasting further.
- Add the oil to the skillet, increase the heat to medium-high and heat the oil until shimmering. Add the green beans, salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the orange segments and toss to combine. Taste, and season with more salt, if needed.
- Transfer the mixture to a serving dish, sprinkle with the toasted almonds and serve warm or at room temperature.
- NOTE: To segment (supreme) an orange, slice off the bottom and the top of the fruit. Stand the orange on a cutting board with one of the cut sides down. Use a serrated or paring knife to cut the peel and the pith away from the fruit in strips, top to bottom. Then, holding the fruit in your hand, cut the segments away from the membrane. (The idea is to remove all of the membrane and white pith.)
Notes
Recipe Source:
From Voraciously staff writer Aaron Hutcherson.
Tested by Aaron Hutcherson.
From Voraciously staff writer Aaron Hutcherson.
Tested by Aaron Hutcherson.
Holiday in Switzerland
I am in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Christmas holiday visiting my brother and his family. My parents have flown down from Wales for the holiday also. My brother’s wife’s niece who attends college in Munich, Germany, is visiting too. As such, we have a full house but it is quite big enough for all of us to hang together and/or spread out as necessary. The location is out in the country on a road with three houses, a river in the back yard, and France on the other side.
We have been out and about to the city of Geneva, to the historic town of Gruyere for fondue, to Borc to tour the Cailler Chocolate factory, hit the farmers’ market in Vivonne-les-Bains, France, and walked the burg of Nyon on the shores of Lake Geneva. As it may sound, we have kept busy touring and also shopping for food for meals and presents for Christmas. I have taken a number of pictures that I am posting when I can. They can be seen by accessing the link on the right hand side of my home page under photography. I’ll add a couple here for convenience.
Now I’m a Farmer!
Kim asked me to pick the lettuce from the garden and wash it today. I promptly fired up a bone (figuratively), slapped “Now I’m a Farmer” from Odds and Sods by the Who on the ear buds, and went into harvest mode. I brought the lettuce in to wash it and figured I’d put it in the dishwasher on the delicate, cold cycle. The heads promptly lost the wilt to leave so I gathered the dogs and my cat around and said “Lettuce Pray.”
Week in Corolla on the Outer Banks, May, 2014
I spent last week in Corolla on the Outer Banks with my sister Kim and brother-in-law Don… Continue reading “Week in Corolla on the Outer Banks, May, 2014”
Curried Seafood Salad
Curried Seafood Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup flaked tuna 7-oz can
- 1 cup chopped cooked shrimp
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Bon Appetit
- 1/4 cup Parsley Flakes
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 cups cold cooked rice
- 2 tbsp French dressing
Instructions
- Chill tuna and shrimp.
- Add celery and olives.
- Blend together mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder and Bon Appetit; add to tuna mixture and toss lightly.
- Soak parsley flakes in the water about 5 minutes, then toss with rice and French dressing.
- Transfer to serving plate.
- Spoon tuna-shrimp mixture over rice.
- Garnish with watercress or radish roses if desired.
Country Kitchen Potato Salad
Dill Macaroni Salad
Dill Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 8- oz package elbow macaroni or salad macaroni
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green pepper
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 2 tbsp chopped pimento
- 1/2 cup mayonaisse
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp Instant Minced Onion
- 1 tsp Dill Weed
- 2 tsp Season-All
- 1/4 tsp dry Mustard
- 1/8 tsp White Pepper
- Dash Cayenne or Red Pepper
Instructions
- Cook macaroni as direct on the package; drain and cool.
- Add celery, green pepper, carrots, and pimiento.
- Mix remaining ingredients; spoon over macaroni and toss to mix thoroughly.
- Chill.
- Server in bowl or on salad plates in crisp lettuce cups.
Notes
Substitute 1/2 cup chopped onions for Instant Minced Onion.
Cucumbers in Sour Cream
Cucumbers in Sour Cream
Cool and refreshing.
Ingredients
- 2 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, pared
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup commercial sour cream
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp Instant Minced Onion
- 1/2 tsp Dill Weed
- Dash Cayenne or Chili Powder
- Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place cucumbers in a bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes; drain well.
- Combine sour cream, vinegar, sugar, onion, dill weed and cayenne.
- Add cucumber slices to sour cream and toss lightly.
- Chill at least one hour before serving.
- Sprinkle with cracked black pepper.
Notes
Substitute low fat sour cream or yogurt. Use 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion instead of Instant Minced onion.
Dalyan, Turkey, Day 4
20120705
I recall now that this was seafood dinner night at the hotel because it was also the late afternoon tour of the Lycian ruins at Kaunos led by Rami who is the hotel general manager. I was puzzled that he would lead the tour, which left at 1600 and returned at about 1830, on a big dinner night. I guess he trusts his staff and, from what I saw, he should. As it was, dinner at the hotel, served poolside, usually did not start until 1930 or 2000 when the sun had dipped enough behind the mountains to provide for a cooler dining experience. By “cooler” dining experience, I don’t mean anything related to prison food….
By Thursday, I was tired of walking from my days in Istanbul and trips back and forth to town in Dalyan. My daily routine turned into getting up for breakfast by the pool, hanging out by the pool reading and listening to music, drinking at the pool bar, eating lunch and, when on the schedule, dinner, by the pool, and swimming in the pool. After 8 days of being on the go, I was ready to chill and enjoying it…by the pool.
My second to last real adventure of the trip was going to the ruins. We boarded the hotel boat at about 1600 to head to town and beyond where we docked and walked to the ruins. The days seemed to be getting hotter as they went by and this day was no different. The walk was quite warm but interesting because we were out in the country surrounded by pomegranate trees and watermelon plants. As in other very hot countries I have visited, like Thailand, you just get in the habit of walking slowly to try to keep the sweat factor to a minimum.
The ruins were quite interesting as were the views from them. To the south were the remnants of a good sized fortress way up on the top of a hill. To the southwest on a smaller hill were the remnants of another fortress. Far off to the west was Iztuzu beach and the river delta spreading out before it. The ruins consisted of Roman baths, a temple, a market square, a church, and an amphitheater. It was apparent that there was still much work to do to unearth more of the ruins and try to reconstruct them.
There was not that much walking involved but what with me being so out of shape, my knee acting up, and the heat, after the tour, I was ready to get back down to the boat, on the river, and headed back to the hotel. I was looking forward to a shower and dinner.
I was not disappointed with the seafood dinner which included Blue crab, shrimp, calamari, and whole fish such as Sea Bream. Sadly, after all that food, it was all I could do to drag myself to the bar to join some of the family in an after dinner raki, the anisette flavored national drink. But I managed. One has to keep up the routine….