Thursday, November 22, 2018

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE


I can just see Mother and Daddy now, bustling about the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. Daddy took charge of the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Mother made a variety of pies and goodies. The rest of us brought side dishes. Well, “the song has ended, but the memory lingers on,” and sometimes it’s so vivid that I think it’s still happening somewhere but without me.

Anyway, to my knowledge, my parents never made green bean casserole. From time to time, it appeared on the table, and I think Aunt Sara brought it. She didn’t cook much, but she would make green bean casserole (which doesn't require a lot of cooking).

So, here we are today, and son Clint suggested I bring green bean casserole to the blended family Thanksgiving dinner at his house. “I don’t think your mustard green beans will fly with this group, Mom,” he volunteered.

“REAL-LY!,” I said, half-incredulously. “I could cut down on the mustard. Or, how about Brussels sprouts?”

Image result for vintage magazine ad, green bean casserole“Just bring green bean casserole,” was his reply.
“Okay, green bean casserole it is!”

Recipes for green bean casserole abound online, but for the definitive recipe, I went to the Campbell Soup site. Green Bean Casserole was developed in 1955 by Campbell Test Kitchen Manager, Dorcas Reilly. According to Wikipedia, the inspiration for the dish was to take advantage of the two things most Americans had in their pantry in the 1950s, green beans and mushroom soup. Well, it’s a simple recipe. I can do it!

Happy Thanksgiving! KW

4 comments:

Chris said...

So, how was the casserole? We all like it and it's what Mom always brought. Mustard beans? I need more information!

Kathy said...

The green bean casserole was good! Following the recipe, I stirred some of the French's Crispy Fried Onions into the casserole in addition to sprinkling them on top. I seasoned with soy sauce and pepper. Yes, I think it's important to stir some onions into the casserole. Otherwise, it lacks zip.

As for the mustard green beans, I blogged about those in 2009. I typed "mustard green beans" into the blog search field, and here's the page that came up: https://mwhomestead.blogspot.com/search?q=mustard+green+beans
You should have posts from Jan. 26 and Oct. 23, 2009.

Chris said...

Thanks! I think this must have been before I got into reading blogs and blogging. I think I'll have to give them a try! And I agree with a comment you made in one of the posts--bacon. Mom used to do that and they *were* good. Ah, the good old days...

Kathy said...

Well, those posts were nearly 10 years ago. It's a long time to remember something. In fact, I could remember nothing more than that I had posted about it.