Greeked green beans, miracle green beans, call them what you will. I’m calling them miracle green beans because Jeff loved them, and he has always wrinkled his nose at the idea of eating green beans. He’s tried them two other times since I made these, and I can now officially add green beans to the rotation along with asparagus and broccoli. Those of you who have followed along for a while know how picky my fiancé is. We’re making some big strides around here!

Like the pork recipe I shared yesterday, this recipe is also adapted from New England Home Cooking. Green beans are parboiled and then braised with onion, garlic, and tomatoes to make a sort of green bean stew. But rest assured, the green beans become tender but not mushy as they soak in plenty of flavor from the tomatoes.

Speaking of tomatoes, Muir Glen recently sent me a basket of their new reserve tomatoes, and I thought I’d put them to use in this recipe. This year’s reserve tomatoes, called Harvest Sunset, are red and yellow tomatoes that were grown in Northern California’s Yolo County fields and hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness. When I attended the Muir Glen tomato dinner, I tasted these tomatoes straight out of the can, and I loved their sweet, fresh flavor. I knew they’d pair well with my green beans.

Greeked Green Beans (adapted from New England Home Cooking)

Ingredients

12 ounces green beans, trimmed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can Muir Glen Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Diced Tomatoes, drained
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water.

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until beans are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Uncover, and if there is a lot of liquid in the pot, raise heat and cook for a few minutes to reduce it.

Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

I loved the contrast between the soft, sweet tomatoes and the fresh, firm green beans brightened with a splash of lemon juice. I only wished I had some crumbled feta to throw on top! (Of course, then Jeff never would have tried them.)

What’s your favorite way to cook green beans?

Something about fall and Thanksgiving always makes me think of traditional New England foods (even though New England foods cover all four seasons) — maybe it’s the huge spread at Thanksgiving, complete with roast turkey, squash, turnips, and pumpkin pie. So when a re-jacketed review copy of New England Home Cooking came in the mail a few weeks, it couldn’t have been timed better.

I paged through the book, checking out New England favorites, many of which were immediately familiar to me — like Crispy Fried Ipswich Clams, Thick and Creamy Boston Clam Chowder, Boston Baked Beans Durgin Park Style, Classic New England Boiled Dinner, Polly’s Pancake Parlor Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes, Classic Parker House Rolls, and Boston Cream Pie.

In addition to these very New England-sounding recipes, the book covers all sorts of recipes with Portuguese, Greek, Italian, Polish, and other influences. Because people from all over arrived in New England bringing their food traditions with them, you’ll also find recipes for Athena Diner Avgolemono, Irish Shepherd’s Pie, North End Penne with Chicken and Broccoli, Pierogi with Several Fillings, and Hungarian Egg Dumplings.

Along with the recipes, there are stories and anecdotes, and I spent a lot of time reading through the book learning little tidbits about New England. If I hadn’t already been convinced, I knew the book was a keeper when I came upon a note titled, “Connecticut: The Pizza State,” which proposed that Connecticut (where I grew up) should be re-nicknamed “The Pizza State” based on the acclaim of Pepe’s in New Haven and touting the praises of New Haven pizzerias (which I miss very dearly now that I’m in Boston).

After I got over my nostalgia for New Haven pizza, I picked out a recipe to try from the book: Ginger-Maple Baked Delicata Squash. I’ve often roasted squash with brown sugar and maple syrup or lots of butter and sage, but I’ve never added ginger, and I was intrigued.

I halved the recipe except for the butter (there’s nothing wrong with extra butter) and was so happy with the warm, sweet, spicy outcome.

Ginger-Maple Baked Delicata Squash (adapted from New England Home Cooking)

Ingredients

1 delicata squash
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side up in a baking dish.

Divide butter, maple syrup, and ginger between cavities, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/2 inch of hot water in bottom of dish, and cover squash with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and brush squash flesh with melted filling.

Continue to bake, uncovered, until squash is easily pierced with a fork and tops are lightly glazed, 10 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

I simply scooped the squash out of its skin and ate it, but if you wanted to plate the squash for serving at, say, Thanksgiving dinner, you could pour the melted filling into a small bowl, slice the squash, plate it, and pour the filling on top. Your guests will love the sweet-spicy contrast between the maple syrup and fresh ginger.

What are your favorite New England foods?

How many of you spend your Sundays in the kitchen, making extravagant meals or meals that are bound to yield leftovers for the week? If that sounds like you, then you’ll want to check out Sunday Roasts. I recently got a review copy of this cookbook, which is dedicated to the Sunday evening meal and full of ideas for roasts from simple to extravagant, and I couldn’t wait for a free Sunday to try out a recipe from it.

The chapters in the book are divided by the type of meat and range from beef, pork, and lamb and veal to poultry, seafood, sides, and extras. At the end there’s a helpful roast directory that classifies all the recipes by how much time they take, how economical they are, and which ones are perfect for special occasions.

While so many recipes got my attention (from Mini Wellingtons to Pork Loin with a Blue Cheese Stuffing and Roasted Pears), I decided my first recipe from the book would be a typical roast, The Perfect Sunday Roast. The main part of this dish is a 4-pound top sirloin roast, which is studded with garlic slivers and accompanied by roasted onions and mushrooms. It would make an amazing dinner for company, but it also provides incredible leftovers if you’re just serving two.

The Perfect Sunday Roast (adapted from Sunday Roasts)

Ingredients

1 (4-pound) boneless top sirloin roast
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
Kosher salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil plus 1/2 cup, plus more for pans
3 red onions
10 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and halved or quartered if large
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Pat the roast dry with paper towels. using a sharp paring knife, make slits over the entire surface of the roast and insert the garlic slivers into the slits.

In a small bowl, mix together the thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil. Brush this mixture all over the roast.

Oil the bottom of a roasting pan, and stand the roast in the pan fat-side up. Roast for 15 minutes.

While meat is roasting, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Oil a large, rimmed baking sheet. Peel the onions, and cut them into wedges, keeping root ends intact.

Arrange the onions on one half of the baking sheet and the mushrooms on the other half. Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over the mushrooms and onions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat well.

After the meat has roasted for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees. Place pan with vegetables on the lower shelf.

Roast the meat until a thermometer inserted in center of roast registers 130 to 135 degrees, or about 50 to 60 minutes.

Roast the vegetables, stirring every 15 minutes, until slightly browned and charred around edges, 50 to 60 minutes.

When done, transfer roast to cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes.

Skim off and discard any fat in the roasting pan. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and add the broth and wine. Whisk the mixture, scraping up any brown bits on the pan and incorporating them. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and reduce by half. Then whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the roast crosswise, against the grain, into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Serve with onions, mushrooms, and sauce.

I was so incredibly pleased with how well this meal came out. The meat was a bit pricey, and I kept worrying that I would overcook it and ruin it, but I simply followed the directions in the recipe, used my oven’s probe thermometer, and it worked just perfectly.

I loved the roasted onions and mushrooms on the side. They were so simple to make and added their own flavors to pair with the garlicky meat. And I also made some garlic mashed potatoes, you know, just to make sure we had plenty of garlic that night.

What’s your favorite Sunday meal?