green bean bundles

Full disclosure here— this is a recipe culled from InStyle, circa when-90210-was-a-hot-show. The recipe was officially called Tori Spelling's Green Bean Bundles. I don't remember much of the article, except that it included a photograph of Mrs. Aaron Spelling's GIFT-WRAPPING ROOM, which I immediately lusted after. (Yes, in Spelling's 100+ room mansion, there exists a room dedicated solely to the purpose of storing wrapping papers, ribbons and doo-dads to package all the gifts they give. I am a sucker for a beautifully wrapped gift.)

Having a gift room is a pipe dream, but I definitely can experience a little Spelling culture and try out the recipe, because, let's face it, green beans aren't that interesting on their own, but wrapped in bacon? I'm all in!

You can see how the brown sugar mixture caramelizes on the foil and bacon.

Great combination of tastes and textures- salty, sweet and chewy, crispy.

Tori Spelling's Green Bean Bundles
from Instyle

10 slices bacon
½ pound fresh green beans
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Cook bacon in a heavy skillet until partly cooked, but NOT crisp. Drain.

Heat sauce pan of water to boiling and add the green beans. Boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Arrange groups of 4 to 5 beans in the prepared pan. Wrap each with bacon.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over moderate-low heat. Add sugar, soy, Worcestershire sauce, and cook for 1 minute, stirring until the brown sugar is melted. Brush over the bean bundles. Bake about 15 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked through.