Since it’s just me in San Diego this year, Thanksgiving is going to be pretty quiet. I’m not cooking anything, so I thought I’d share my family’s most treasured holiday dish. I promise it’s always the biggest crowd pleaser.

Note: No one has written this recipe down. Ever. And each year we have to struggle to remember the ratios for the sauce. So each year we guess how it’s supposed to bake and make the sauce to taste.

Family Ziesenis Green Beans with Mustard Sauce

2 lbs fresh green beans
1 lb bacon
1 stick butter
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 tablespoons yellow mustard

Pinch the ends off the green beans and keep them long. Cut the bacon strips in half, and wrap small bundles of the beans with bacon, using toothpicks to secure. Place green bean bundles on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake in the oven. My mother says she’d try 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You want to cook the bacon thoroughly without destroying the green beans.

To make the sauce, melt the butter slowly in a saucepan. Add the mustard first and the vinegar last, stirring constantly. We usually make the sauce after the green beans have baked because it doesn’t take long, and the sauce will separate if it gets cold. Mom says to make sure you don’t boil the sauce so it doesn’t curdle. My sister says to start with two tablespoons of mustard and add more to taste.

Serve the green beans and sauce separately, since some people (my sister, for example) aren’t fond of mustard.