Sesame Green Beans and Cookbook Collections

I have to say, I adore cookbooks. I have a good collection going and I anticipate it getting even bigger. It's confined to one bookshelf for now, with a few books scattered around the apartment, but I feel as though pretty soon it will be spilling over. I read cookbooks cover to cover as though they are novels. I usually have at least a couple by my bed.

This Christmas I received three fantastic new books. One of them, from my Brother and Sister-in-Law (who on top of choosing great gifts are also being nice enough to make a new baby for me to fawn over), is called Sunday in the South. It's all about Southern food and Southern hospitality. It's one of those great books where you open it up and find you want to make at least every other recipe. Those tend to be my favorite kinds. It's also a very neat book in that the recipes in it are all parts of menu plans. You can pick and choose individual things or you can use the plans for dishes that go perfectly together.

There is so much in this book I long to tackle. There are chicken recipes and cornbread and cakes and pies and all sorts of wonderful things that remind me of Georgia. I think that's one of the reason I like the book so much.... it makes me think of Georgia and how much I miss Southern food and living in the South. It's also filled with stunning pictures of beautiful homes and ideas for setting gorgeous tables. It's inspiring really, it makes me long for the day when I've got my own house and my own garden, and I can have pretty table settings and people over for tea. Maybe I've just been watching too much Downton Abbey.

When John came home with some yummy fresh Green Beans to have as a side dish for dinner, it was to this book I turned to for recipes. Green Beans are so delightfully Southern. They also go wonderfully with Lamb and Potatoes, which were the other planned dinner components.

These green beans come together in ten minutes, and they have a great texture and a perfectly delicious nutty flavor from the sesame seeds.

Sesame Green Beans
Adapted from Sunday in the South by Ginny McCormack

8 Ounces Green Beans
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds

Top and tail the green beans, then boil them in water for five minutes. Drain them and put them in a skillet or shallow pan with the olive oil, salt and sesame seeds. Sautee on a medium to high heat for five minutes until the sesame seeds are golden and the beans are delicious.