Our Thanksgiving dinner was “traditional” — turkey, green bean casserole, dressing with chestnuts, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, but it was a 20th century menu. In 1621, the pilgrims had very different food. The pumpkin was probably roasted and there was no pie. Potatoes were not grown in America until 1719, and the first known recipe for mashed potatoes wasn’t until 1747. Thomas Jefferson served the first publicized french fries at a White House dinner in 1802. The most recent “traditional dish” is the green bean casserole, introduced in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a home economist working for the Campbell Soup Company. She used canned foods — cut green beans, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup and canned French-fried onions with a little milk, soy sauce and pepper. Fun, and easy enough for a child to make. It was especially popular this year when there were warnings that fresh green salads should not be served because of the E. coli bacteria contamination discovered in romaine.
One tradition I don’t follow and neither does anyone in my family. My mom never did these. I don’t care for it and now, since I have to eat gluten free that eliminates the Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup and the onion rings which have wheat on them.
My sister in law has served this dish at all holiday meals since I joined the family 35 years ago. I don’t get it. It is just OK and not especially tasty. I most always avoided eating it but one year thought to try it because everyone else in the family raved. No kudos from me.