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Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts
- 1 1/2 pounds green beans — trimmed
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil — divided
- 4 cups thinly vertically sliced onion
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Green Beans with Honey-Mustard Glaze
- 2 pounds green beans — trimmed
- 3 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- To make it…
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the green beans and cook, uncovered, 5 to 7 minutes or until tender but still crisp. Drain. (Can be made ahead to this point. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Place in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate.) Dry the saucepan and return it to the stove. Toast the mustard seeds over low heat just until they pop, about 1 minute, stirring to prevent scorching. Add the honey and vinegar and cook until the sauce boils and becomes syrupy. Add the green beans and toss.
- To fake it…and save 15 minutes
- Thaw three 9-ounce packages whole green beans under warm running water. Place in a skillet with 1/2 cup bottled honey-mustard salad dressing. Over medium heat, toss until heated through, adding more dressing if necessary to lightly coat all the green beans.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
- 1 gallon 2% reduced-fat milk
- 5 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- Line a large colander or sieve with 5 layers of dampened cheesecloth, allowing the cheesecloth to extend over outside edges of colander; place colander in a large bowl.
- Combine milk and buttermilk in a large, heavy stockpot. Attach a candy thermometer to edge of pan so that thermometer extends at least 2 inches into milk mixture. Cook over medium-high heat until candy thermometer registers 170° (about 20 minutes), gently stirring occasionally. As soon as milk mixture reaches 170°, stop stirring (whey and curds will begin separating at this point). Continue to cook, without stirring, until the thermometer registers 190°. (Be sure not to stir, or curds that have formed will break apart.) Immediately remove pan from heat. (Bottom of pan may be slightly scorched.)
- Using a slotted spoon, gently spoon curds into cheesecloth-lined colander; discard whey, or reserve it for another use. Drain over bowl for 5 minutes. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely. Hang cheesecloth bundle from kitchen faucet; drain 15 minutes or until whey stops dripping. Scrape ricotta into a bowl. Sprinkle with salt; toss gently with a fork to combine. Cool to room temperature.
- Note: Store in refrigerator up to 4 days.
Honey and Spice-Glazed Pork Chops
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- Cooking spray
- 16 ounces boneless center-cut loin pork chops — (about 1/2 inch thick)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low; add honey mixture. Cook 10 minutes or until done, turning pork once.
