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Traditional Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

We celebrate what is probably the most traditional American Thanksgiving dinner possible (1950’s style)…the kind every baby boomer remembers.

Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner

The Menu:

Turkey and Dressing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Yams with little toasted marshmallows on top, Green Bean casserole, Jello Salad, Rolls, cranberry sauce and pickles and olives and of course pies! Pies include pumpkin, apple, mince meat and pecan and this year lemon meringue and dixie with ice cream. Our only departure from tradition is no homemade ice cream but Murrays Ice Cream from Westport.

I buy a fresh (not frozen) turkey from the local grocery store. I order it ahead and then pick it up the afternoon before so I don’t have to keep it refrigerated long.

Turkey ready to serve

DRESSING

The dressing recipe is one my mother did (with my own updates until I arrived at one everyone seems to like). I stuff the turkey and make enough to also cook a separate casserole dish full of dressing. I make it the night before and let it refrigerate overnight which seems to help to make it even more flavorful.

dressing

Dressing recipe

Dressing recipe (.doc format) or (Dressing recipe-pdf format)

YAMS with little marshmallows

The yams with little marshmallows on top are the same as what my aunt Lola used to make for Thanksgiving.

Yams with little marshmallows

Yams with little Marshmallows recipe Yams with little Marshmallows recipe (.doc format) and

Yams with little Marshmallows recipe (.pdf format)

GREEN BEAN Casserole

The green bean casserole is right out of the fifties. I think everyone in America served the green bean casserole for Thanksgiving in the fifties…it was so trendy then! I decided to look up the history of the green bean casserole and had to share …so straight from the history channel!

THE ORIGINS OF THE MYSTERIOUS GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Green Bean Casserole

This mixture of canned soup, frozen green beans and fried onions has graced holiday buffets since the 1950s. But who came up with this trinity, and why has it become so famous?

Holiday tables are often divided over these three little words–green bean casserole. This mixture of canned soup, frozen green beans and fried onions has graced holiday buffets since the 1950s. But who came up with this trinity, and why has it become so famous? This week we’ll take a look at green bean casserole, from its humble origins in a test kitchen to the love-to-hate-it dish we know today.As anyone who’s checked out the kitchen section of an antique store can attest, recipe pamphlets were once a big business. Long before the Internet, home brands like General Mills, Cuisinart and Ball Jars regularly released these pocket-sized magazines full of tips, recipes, and instructions for their products. Glossy covers depicted the cakes or pot roasts detailed inside, and housewives loved them for their price and ease of use: why pay for a heavy cookbook when a recipe pamphlet could provide the same information for less money?The Campbell’s Soup Company had its own kitchen, in Camden, New Jersey, dedicated to pumping out recipe pamphlets. A home economist named Dorcas Reilly worked at the Campbell’s kitchen, and in 1955 she successfully devised and tested the infamous green bean casserole recipe. In numerous interviews Reilly gave years later about the invention of the casserole, she professed to not remember exactly how she came up with that specific dish. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom variety had been around since 1934. It was widely used as casserole filler in the Midwest, popping up in enough Minnesotan hotdish recipes that it was sometimes referred to as “Lutheran binder.” But no one thought to add frozen green beans to the mix until Reilly came along. The fried onions on top were an easy way to add texture and brighten the color of a grey-green dish, and to add a certain festive touch to the proceedings.Reilly’s recipe was immediately popular. It was the perfect recipe for the holidays, as it was made with minimal ingredients that were almost always on hand, and it could easily be made the day ahead and reheated when guests arrived. And its popularity continues today, even in the face of America’s recent obsession with fresh, locally grown, artisanal foods. Campbell’s now estimates 40% of the Cream of Mushroom soup sold in the US goes into making green bean casserole.My recipe is the 1950’s version straight from Campbell Soup(I usually make it the day before.)

Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole recipe

MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY GRAVY

This year I had a recipe for make-ahead gravy. I liked having it already made so I will probably use it again. I used a recipe I found on all recipes.com. The only change I made was I used twice as many turkey wings…I like more flavor in my gravy.

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

make-ahead turkey gravy

Chef John’s Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy – Printer Friendly – Allrecipes.com

MASHED POTATOES

Nothing special with the mashed potatoes. This year I tried Yukon Gold variety. I also add a little canned milk and potato water and just a little butter (if I don’t have my low-fat guests attending I use cream instead of canned milk and more butter) and salt and pepper to taste.

Mashed Potatoes with Yukon Gold potatoes

CRANBERRY JELL-O SALAD

Why a Jell-O salad? I grew up in Utah…need I say more?? At least it is not green. If you don’t understand read “Jello-O and Mormonism: The stereotypes surprising origins” or Jell-O Love: A Guide to Mormon Cuisine . During the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City the most collectable pin was the green Jell-O pin.

Olympics Jello pin

(My mom’s favorite Jell-O dish was orange Jell-O with shredded carrots and if she got fancy it also had crushed pineapple in it. We had it often.)

The Jello salad I make every year for Thanksgiving is one my mom used but it has “evolved” ….it is more a fruit salad held together with a little Jello BUT it does have cranberries in it.