Thursday, December 6, 2007

Green Bean and Blue Cheese Gratin - Don't Even Try to Count the Calories

The holidays are when we get to do things we deny ourselves the rest of the year. We give and get gifts we can't afford. We get drunk and tell relatives and friends what we really think of them. And, we eat things so rich, decadent, and delicious that we would never think of making other times of the year. Here's one of those I recently produced for About.com.

This amazingly delicious Green Bean and Blue Cheese Gratin video recipe is such a great combination of flavors. I had this dish at a restaurant in San Francisco called Bruno's and it was love at first bite. Green bean gratins and casseroles are nothing new around the holidays, but the addition of the tangy blue cheese makes for a very memorable side dish. Sure it's rich and loaded with butter-fat, but who cares? Did you hear what Aunt Edna just said about you!? Enjoy.
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my God. That looks amazing! Can I come over to your place for the holidays???

Anonymous said...

Wow I am not a big green beans fan, but that dish looks delicious. I love blue cheese.

Ben

Anonymous said...

Sorry Lily, but Chef John is on permanent assignment to enliven our kitchen and enrich our lives every Christmas Eve & Christmas Day... you should all be sooooo lucky!

We are the very most fortunate in-laws in the land!

PS. He's funny as heck and even does magic tricks to entertain the kids!

Unknown said...

Pfft Chef John, once a year? I want to make this once a week!
But hey, I'm young and my metabolism is a roaring fire (for now).

Anonymous said...

Can I substitute the heavy cream with lard, and can I also sub the green beans with bacon :) Nothing like a bacon-lard casserole for X-mas

Chef John said...

I'll do the jokes.

Ligia said...

Oh, my God. I´m just addicted to this amazing foodblog!

I'm spending hours and hours here...but soon I better run to my kitchen!

Brazilian hugs, Chef John!

Chef John said...

every day is Carnival here!

Connie T. said...

Oh wow, I want to make this. It looks so good. I have to go buy the ingredients. It would be fantastic with my Yorkshire pudding.

Chef John said...

Thanks, the Yorkshire pudding would be great with oxtails too! ;)

Anonymous said...

I made it for the big family christmas meal... my mom makes prime rib every year. the gratin went perfectly! huge success! Thanks so much!

Teresa O'Donnell said...

Chef John, I have a strong aversion to bleu cheese that I have tried to overcome, but have failed. Can I substitute another decadent cheese to this dish?

Not trying to be difficult,
Teresa

Chef John said...

i think almost any cheese would work. use your fav.

Acappella Princess said...

this was, beyond a doubt, the most amazing recipe I've pulled off the web.

Delicious, easy to make, and OH MY GOD good.

I grated a titch of fresh nutmeg over the cream, cuz I can't have a cream sauce without it. DELISH. thanks!

jules said...

Wow. Just made this as one of my Thanksgiving sides today. Decadent doesn't even come close to describing how amazing this dish is. Thanks for making me look like a superstar today, delish!!!

Kristie said...

I made this last year and it was so delicious I'm making it again this year for Thanksgiving. We are having more people this year though so I was wondering how many servings this was for? I need enough (plus leftovers) for 8 people.

Chef John said...

This feeds about 6, better make 2!

Eliza said...

Hi, Chef John. How much fat content is in that cream? We don't get that brand here and i want to substitute it well. Also, is this dish also yummy when lukewarm or cold? [i'm making it for flaky guests] thank you very much. ps I'm SO glad you got the about.com gig!!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John,
This is sooooo good. But the problem is my husband doesn't like blue cheese. Can I use other cheese instead? If I can, what would you suggest?
Best,
Kate

Chef John said...

Maybe parmesan?

The X-man said...

Chef John,

Would it be ok to cut the semi-cooked green beans into smaller pieces before putting into the casserole dish?

Chef Jon...athan said...

Greetings and Salivations (or a word like that) Chef John,

Long-time eater, first time commentor/er...commentator (insert spud joke here). So anyways, I was hashing (giggle snort) out the Thanksgiving menu and plan on testing your Creamy Corn Pudding and Sweet Potato Casserole and saw the recipe for this Green Bean Gratin was down, which made me very bleu. To be honest anything resembling the traditional Frenchy's Green Bean Casserole is something I always avoid or hide under a roll if plate service is warranted. GBD over GBC is my motto, but you always make everything taste great so I wanted to give this one a whirl too. After trying your amazing Lemon Ricotta Pancakes I am now aware that About is not 'bout yo' ol' recipes no mo'. So with Thanksgiving bearing down on us would you happen to have this recipe saved anywhere or perhaps would a quick re-post be possible? I'm sure 8x8 pans everywhere will be forever appreciative. I know Ernest, along with a myriad of other characters, can be counted on to save Christmas but who will look to Thanksgiving if not for you. Now the effort of writing has made me lightheaded so I close with the immortal words of Lisa Simpson "SAVE US, SAVE US NOW" CHEF JOHN!!!

P.S. Sorry for my long-winded-ness, it took a bit of the 'ol drink-a drink-a to mustard zup the courge to fin..ZZZZzzzZZZzzzzzzz

Iowa SAL said...

Would anyone have the link to the video? Loved to watch it again.