Had it with the Food Channel...

[RICHARD]

I still can't believe that Guy Fieri has
children. I'm scared. I would not want to be those kids teacher!

Getting them is easy, bringing them up is the kicker.

I would never let my kids get on T.V. - the kids usually have the parents wrapped around their fingers and are allowed to do whatever is necessary to become stars! I have a niece that was into the show business thing-she is a spoiled brat already.

----------------

I had to laugh at Giada the other day.

She was doing her travel show and was in Florida-racing around and eating up the town.

She went to a night club to take a salsa dancing lesson- It was a room with a stage at one end-and the teacher giving the lesson to a room full of people.

GD is in the front row of the class and you can see she is a beat off the steps.
I am laughing when the guy next to her stepped on or kicked her. DUDE, I got hysterical. That was one of the funnier shows I had seen in a while.

And what is it with the hosts using props now?

Flay and his 'drawing board' and list that he tacks to the pole, TF just pulled out a megaphone during his segment.

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The new thing that makes me want to scream is the "Everything is good with bacon".....I have heard that about 10 times in the last week....

[jennielynn1970]

The new thing that makes me want to scream is the "Everything is good with bacon".....I have heard that about 10 times in the last week....

Hmmmmm.... as a bacon lover, I kinda have to agree with that statement!

[jennielynn1970]

Speaking of "everything is good with bacon", I saw Guy make this, and was actually thinking of making it for Thanksgiving, but not sure about the bacon on top of it. It almost seems like overkill for flavors.

What do you guys think?? It's a take off of that old green bean casserole (which I hated with a passion).


The Mean Green
For the Beans:
2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces (weighed prior to trimming)
4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large Vidalia sweet onion, 1/2 cut into large dice, 1/2 reserved
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 2 by 1/2-inch pieces
4 shittake mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch strips
4 oyster mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the Roux
1/4 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water, blanch green beans. Remove to an ice bath until cool, drain and let dry. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish.

In a large frying pan, over medium-high heat, saute bacon until lightly crispy, remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. In remaining bacon fat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat over medium-high heat, add onions and saute until just starting to caramelize, add in red bell peppers, saute 2 minutes, add in mushrooms and minced shallot and saute for 2
more minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and cayenne. Set aside.

For the roux:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is melted, add in flour, all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until well combined. Continue to stir for 1 minute more. Add in milk 1/2 cup at first, stirring well to combine, then add 1 cup more milk, stir to combine and bring to a simmer, then add final 1/2 cup of milk and stir and simmer until thickened. Add in seasonings, combine with green bean mixture and pour into prepared pan. Top with 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs, then reserved bacon, then remainder of panko lightly sprinkled on top.

Place in oven, set timer for 35 minutes.

For the Topping
1/2 cup buttermilk
Reserved 1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced, with a mandoline
3 medium shallots, thinly sliced with a mandoline
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
4 cups canola oil

In a medium bowl place buttermilk, onion, and shallots. Let sit 10 minutes, drain well.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and seasonings. When green beans have been in the oven 25 minutes, in a large frying pan, heat canola oil to 350 degrees F. While oil is heating, dredge drained onion and shallots in flour mixture. Drop carefully into the hot oil, 1/3 at a time. They will cook rapidly, 1 minute or less. Turn over if necessary. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let oil heat between batches. When timer goes off for green beans, take out of oven, top with onion-shallot mixture, evenly coating the casserole, place back into oven and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove and let set 5 minutes before serving.

[blue]

The new thing that makes me want to scream is the "Everything is good with bacon".....I have heard that about 10 times in the last week....

Get yours here.

[RICHARD]

Get yours here.

LOLOLOL, Now I have to try THAT!

I like bacon too, but when it comes on hamburgers and covered in chocolate
that kinda creeps me out.

I love pork- the best way to eat a pig is BBQed in a pit, the second best way is spit roasted. At one of our "international days" at work the Phillipino table did a suckling pig and the skin was so perfect. Just the right amount of crunch and flavor......Man was that good!


Bacon has it's place in my heart. And in my arteries too!

[jennielynn1970]

Bacon salt! Now there is a yummy must have!!

[Karen]

Wow, I clicked the link, and

"Bacon Salt is a zero calorie, zero fat, vegetarian and kosher seasoning that makes everything taste like bacon."

So of course it has stuff in it that I'm allergic to, sigh. (Garlic and paprika)

I knew it sounded too good to be true!

I'm not allergic to bacon, though, so all is not lost, I'll still just have to watch calories, etc.

[jennielynn1970]

Did you see the Bacon Lip Balm?! OMG, lol, that's too funny!!

[blue]

How about ....

[jennielynn1970]

hmmmmm.... a bacon martini??

[RICHARD]

Karen,

I feel for you. That must be a real chore to read every label.

--------

You can put bacon lip balm on a pig??????


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The GF GB casserole is way too much work-LOL I love the campbell's GB casserole and can eat that plain all day long! I love it with the golden mushroom soup-By the time you track down all the ingredients and I counted 20? I know that some are repeats, but all that prep work, for me is not worth the hassle.

It's only two I have to worry about and even figuring out a 1/2 recipe is daunting.

We discussed the thing about finding the right ingredients for a recipe. Vidalias are really rare out here and the shallots and mushrooms you'd have to go to an expensive national store and pay a premium price for them.

I looked at shiitake shrooms at a store out here and they were 5.99 a pound. God knows what they cost today!

------

I cannot live without my season salt!

[Karen]

Karen,

I feel for you. That must be a real chore to read every label.

It is much, much preferred to the alternative: allergic reactions that range from the life-threatening anaphylactic kind to the 12-16 hours of throwing up kind.

[RICHARD]

It is much, much preferred to the alternative: allergic reactions that range from the life-threatening anaphylactic kind to the 12-16 hours of throwing up kind.

I can barely read the labels with glasses on!

[jennielynn1970]

The GF GB casserole is way too much work-LOL I love the campbell's GB casserole and can eat that plain all day long! I love it with the golden mushroom soup-By the time you track down all the ingredients and I counted 20? I know that some are repeats, but all that prep work, for me is not worth the hassle.

It's only two I have to worry about and even figuring out a 1/2 recipe is daunting.

We discussed the thing about finding the right ingredients for a recipe. Vidalias are really rare out here and the shallots and mushrooms you'd have to go to an expensive national store and pay a premium price for them.

I looked at shiitake shrooms at a store out here and they were 5.99 a pound. God knows what they cost today!

------

I have all the ingredients. Numbers of ingredients don't intimidate me in a recipe. The hot oil kind of freaks me out, but other than that, it's not too hard. People let recipes intimidate them when they shouldn't. It's a bunch of prep work, but other than that, not too much work, except for the deep frying of the onions and shallots.

You do what I do. I know that the cashiers at Giant do NOT look at what kind of mushroom you have. They just do "generic" mushrooms.

I got Shitake and Oyster mushrooms tonight for 2.69 and 1.36. They were rung up at 3.49/lb, so......

My vidalias were 2.98 lb.

Shallots were prepackaged, 1.99. Not too bad, but there are only 2 of them. I couldn't find loose shallots at this certain Giant.


I'm getting back at the manager yelling "SHRINK!!!!" at me for the stupid cheese that I didn't leave out of the cold section (the customer did).



I actually DID save $20 in coupons. I was good and searched them all out.