Filed under: Food Porn, Vegetarian, On the Blogs, Fall Flavors

The holidays tend to bring up a lot of food traditions and we all have at least one relative that wants to stick to the old standards, point-blank refusing to try any new foods between November and New Year's. But even if you're sticking with tradition, you can still improve on the original recipe. Alanna, from A Veggie Venture, made the World's Best Green Bean Casserole based on a recipe in the most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated. The recipe emphasizes using fresh green beans, not frozen or canned even though it takes a lot more time to prep them, and a fresh mushroom sauce that adds a bright, enticing flavor in lieu of canned mushroom soup. Even CI couldn't do away with the canned french fried onions, but as Alanna points out, the topping can be reduced by half and still be very generous. And you won't feel as guilty for using something canned and fried, but will still keep everyone in the family happy with a perfect holiday side.