Green Bean Casserole "Revisited": Why I'll Never Buy Canned Fried Onions Ever Again

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 lb haricot vert (fancy long, thin green beans, found in the produce section, usually shrink wrapped on a foam tray---all I could find was long "snipped" grean beans)
• 3/4 lb bacon (YES BACON!!!)  (I freeze this for a bit to make it easier to cut it into thin strips) save the bacon fat!!! 
• 1 8 oz package sliced white mushrooms 
• 3 T flour
• 1 C chicken stock
• 1 C heavy cream (it is OK...it is a holiday) 
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 medium vidalia onions, cut into small rings
• 4 eggs, whisked together with 1 T heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Cups flour well combined with 1 T each of onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder
• Oil for frying the onions (canola is best) (2-3 C)

1. Steam the haricot vert until they develop a rich, dark green color (typically 5-7 minutes, but my daughter was not a fan and so I did an additional 3)
2. Transfer the cooked beans into an ice bath immediately to shock them and stop cooking.
3. Line them up on an oven safe platter, and squeeze lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Fry the bacon pieces over medium heat in a frying pan. Remove bacon pieces once they become crisp and allow to drain on a paper towel or coffee filter-lined paper plate. (easy clean up)
5. Carefully drain out all but 2-3 T of the bacon fat.
6. Saute mushrooms in the bacon fat and add a liberal amount of salt and pepper.  
7. Remove mushrooms from the pan once they are softened.
8. Return pan to the stovetop and add another 3T of bacon fat, along with 3T flour and whisk until well combined. 
9. Slowly add in the chicken stock, whisking continuously. 
10. Reduce heat and slowly add cream while continuing to whisk. 
11. Allow sauce to reduce until it is a thick consistency (much like cream of mushroom soup).
12. Add back the mushrooms, and add salt and pepper as needed.
13. Heat canola oil in a small, deep pan over medium high heat.
14. Dip raw onions in egg mixture and then in flour mixture, and make sure to shake off excess flour.
15. Fry onions until they are golden brown and drain on a paper towel or coffee filter-lined paper plate.
16. Spoon mushroom sauce over the haricot vert and top with bacon.  Sprinkle the onions around the plate as a garnish.  Place in the oven on "warm" until ready to serve.  Enjoy!