Of all the side dishes I crave during the holidays, nothing tickles my fancy quite like green bean casserole. If I had to guess, I’d chalk it up to the delicious French fried onions — a food I couldn’t tolerate on anything else, but can’t live without on this holiday treat.There are two kinds of families in this world: Those who dutifully serve green bean casserole at every major holiday, and those who don’t.
Originally created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company as a way to use two of the most common ingredients in American kitchens at that time, the casserole consists of green beans, condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, ground black pepper, and fried onion rings liberally sprinkled on top. Once it’s baked, the onion rings become even crunchier and the gravy heightens in flavor. It’s also not for the faint of heart, or for those who consider themselves health-conscious.
My family has served the dish at just about every Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember. It is such an integral part of our holiday dinner that I can remember at least one instance in which two relatives each brought said dish “just in case.” Everyone sticks with the tried-and-true classic recipe, wherein a can of soup is unceremoniously dumped in a dish with green beans and onion rings are sprinkled on top. To waver from this sacred tradition is bordering on heresy.
On the other hand, I know people have strong feelings against the casserole dish. You can join the passionately-titled “I HATE Green Bean Casserole with or without the Fried Onions!” page on Facebook to voice your complaint. “[W]hat a way to ruin a green bean & sell some soup & fried onions in a can!” one member stated. It is also considered an inelegant dish, with Bon Appétit’s blog Fake It or Make It sniffing at the prepackaged recipe, recommending instead to make the casserole entirely from scratch. I had a classmate in college who abhorred the concoction, citing the noise the casserole makes as it’s spooned out of the pan a contributing factor.
As for my in-laws, green bean casserole has no place on the menu. The holidays are a time to showcase culinary talents, and the casserole just doesn't cut it.
There is no middle-of-the-road approach, by the way. You can bake the green bean casserole entirelyl from scratch, but haters will still hate and consider it a wolf in sheep’s clothing — it is still, essentially, green beans in a thick cream sauce.
Originally created in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company as a way to use two of the most common ingredients in American kitchens at that time, the casserole consists of green beans, condensed cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, ground black pepper, and fried onion rings liberally sprinkled on top. Once it’s baked, the onion rings become even crunchier and the gravy heightens in flavor. It’s also not for the faint of heart, or for those who consider themselves health-conscious.
My family has served the dish at just about every Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember. It is such an integral part of our holiday dinner that I can remember at least one instance in which two relatives each brought said dish “just in case.” Everyone sticks with the tried-and-true classic recipe, wherein a can of soup is unceremoniously dumped in a dish with green beans and onion rings are sprinkled on top. To waver from this sacred tradition is bordering on heresy.
On the other hand, I know people have strong feelings against the casserole dish. You can join the passionately-titled “I HATE Green Bean Casserole with or without the Fried Onions!” page on Facebook to voice your complaint. “[W]hat a way to ruin a green bean & sell some soup & fried onions in a can!” one member stated. It is also considered an inelegant dish, with Bon Appétit’s blog Fake It or Make It sniffing at the prepackaged recipe, recommending instead to make the casserole entirely from scratch. I had a classmate in college who abhorred the concoction, citing the noise the casserole makes as it’s spooned out of the pan a contributing factor.
As for my in-laws, green bean casserole has no place on the menu. The holidays are a time to showcase culinary talents, and the casserole just doesn't cut it.
There is no middle-of-the-road approach, by the way. You can bake the green bean casserole entirelyl from scratch, but haters will still hate and consider it a wolf in sheep’s clothing — it is still, essentially, green beans in a thick cream sauce.
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