So, . . . I Flubbed The Green Bean Casserole

I can make Sister Mary Edgar’s Iron Skillet Green Beans like a boss. The typical green bean casserole of legendary holiday staple? I am a newbie. And this first year of trying to make them was not a total disaster, but they were not good. Misjudgment of the bean to soup ratio was one mistake, and the other was adding both Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, though not sure if the heavy whipped cream substitution for the milk is a typical recipe variation. I suppose I should have made the first batch strictly by recipe, but there were so many. The differences between them seemed subtle. Being adventurous when it comes to cooking, I merged some of them together. Then there was the lack of the fried onions, not a can of them could be found. ALL local to me stores were sold out. My husband’s contribution ( a brilliant idea we both thought) — substitute with Funyuns! 

My green bean casserole was bad. Being an old school raised biddy, (I question if I am an old biddy yet or just a biddy, do I even have to be old even if I am old? I digress.) I am from the iron skillet or dutch oven cook ‘em down with bacon descendant of green bean cooking for holiday meals. While often enjoyed the g-bean casserole, it just didn’t inspire me to learn about making them.

 As a young mom, I learned a new iron wear twist from Sister Mary Edgar who topped them with a sauce of said cooked down green beans. Thus the spruced up cooked down green beans became known as Sister Mary Edgar’s green beans. I don’t remember the 1950s era green bean casserole with the fried onion ingredient becoming a staple in our family dishes of standard holiday fare until the 1980s. It may have been earlier, like many foods, I had to grow into them.

So when this particular form of side dish was at holiday meals, while I may have eaten them, but was not a provider of them. It could have been the recipe used, but I do remember the cooked down bean and a roasted French cut green bean dish from past holidays. Not realizing there are so many variations, I tossed caution to the wind and experimented. Now I realize why this particular dish wasn’t a big hit with me. 

What inspired me was when a more recently added family member served them at a recent family meal. Theirs was really good; not the bean casserole I remembered. Something was different. At first I thought it was the loss of tastebuds that comes with age. But now, after my fiasco of attempting the dish myself, with all the subtle and not so subtle variations, it has to do with the recipe. Asking for recipes at my root family gatherings as a child, was something only done if it was a dish I wanted to make again for myself, or my own immediate family. 

Whether it was age or just a better concoction I have broke down and sought the recipe from our newest member. Am so thankful for their generosity. Thinking a family holiday cookbook, digital of course, might be a keen thing to start for next year. Perhaps we should add a list of variations of the dishes based on who and the year they were introduced; you know, incase there is a personal preference.

Will have to try to make them again, maybe for Easter.