Someone’s Tradition: Green Bean Casserole
August 21st, 2008
I was thinking about Thanksgiving this morning as I snapped and rinsed fresh, organic green beans from my CSA to use in Green Bean Casserole. The contrast of the lovingly-harvested produce and the canned cream soup was not lost on me. But as I was adding milk to the sauce, I realized: this is not my tradition. We’ve never served this dish at a holiday meal, because it’s dairy-based and we wouldn’t have had it with turkey. Somehow, in reading so many nostalgic posts about this recipe at the center of a Thanksgiving table, I’d co-opted the memory of a green bean casserole tradition as my own.
What’s more, I think this may have been the first time I’ve ever tried this casserole, and I don’t need to do so again anytime soon. I understand the appeal as comfort food: creamy, soft, and familiar (if it is to you!). I could still taste the green bean flavor through the sauce, but overall I found the creaminess cloying and the onions a bit sharp. I would rather eat my Basil Green Beans with Tomatoes any day.
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Entry Filed under: CSA, Holidays, Veggie Sides
I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .
2 Comments
1. magpie | August 21st, 2008 at 9:15 pm
i don’t know whether you are brave or deluded. in a way, i’m impressed that you made it, though i think i’ve never done anything with canned soup as an ingredient and i think i never will.
i once made the mock apple pie from the back of the ritz cracker box. it was quite entertaining to feed to people, all of whom thought it was fruit.
Deluded, clearly! ; ) — Dara
2. Carol | August 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
LOL! It’s not my tradition either. I’ve never had this at any Thanksgiving celebration. I know I’ve had it, but I think at a potluck.
Not a fan, either.