Today we chose to forgo our traditional Friday-night homemade pizza (an obsession that will be quickly revealed in other posts). So I found myself in the grocery store on the way home from work.

Having attempted to cook lighter and healthy recently, I was hoping to find a good piece of fish for a quick dinner. Not finding anything I was terrible inspired by, I instead found myself pausing over an unlikely combination of pairing on the shelves of Indian tikka masala sauce and French brie cheese.

What soon emerged as I wandered the aisles was a sort of disconnected round-the world tasting. Surprisingly it worked. The resulting menu (not so much cooked as gathered):

• Ciabatta bread from the bakery (Italian)

• Paring options for the bread:

  1. Spiced olive oil for dipping made back at the house
  2. Tikka Masala sauce from the store (Indian)
  3. Brie cheese (French)
• Roasted whole chicken (admittedly prepared at the store rather than homemade)
• Pan-seared green beans (fresh beans from store prepared at home)
• Hogue White Riesling (Washington)
• Dessert: Ricotta flavored with honey and caramel, topped with cherries

It made for a quite diverse and satisfying meal, requiring only about half and hour of prep when I got home.

I think I was most happy with the pan-searing green beans -- a new recipe for me. I had an approximate idea in mind, after discovering the beans at the store, but ended up even exceeding my thoughts by modifying the recipe found here: http://www.oregonlive.com/recipes/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1185582599237980.xml&coll=7

The modified recipe:

Ingredients (ultimately, all spicing was unmeasured and to taste)

• Fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1 T horseradish mustard
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1 t chili powder
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t kosher salt

1. combine and toss ingredients
2. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet until almost smoking
3. Add beans, trying to maintain a single layer (stacking is not advantageous)
4. Sear beans, without turning for approx. 5 minutes until they begin char in spots (trust me, this is a good thing)
5. Toss beans, sear second side for 3-5 more minutes, until second side is lightly charred

6. Plate it and eat immediately.

   Spicy, crunchy - a great take on the ol' bean, and a new favorite.