The food most associated with Thanksgiving Day is the entree — turkey.
The side dishes, however, are what makes the holiday meal a feast.
One of the most common Thanksgiving sides consists of green beans.
Lee Ann Flemming, the Commonwealth’s food columnist, said since childhood, she always remembers having some kind of greens beans at the Thanksgiving Day table.
“I cook them all the time because my family loves them, and I cook what I like to eat,” she said. “One thing in cooking classes you learn is you’re supposed to have something green on your menu, and everyone pretty much likes green beans.”
Flemming’s go-to Turkey Day side is green bean bundles.
“For the holidays, you want to dress it up a notch,” she said.
Although Flemming enjoys a traditional green bean casserole any time of the year, she makes the bundles for special occasions. The side dish is appealing to the eyes — as well as the taste buds — and looks nice on a Thanksgiving table.
Beth Stuckey of Greenwood has a similar recipe for green bean bundles, and her family makes them every year for Thanksgiving.
“I have made them for years, my daughter, Edi, has been making them, and now I have assigned my two oldest granddaughters to make them this year,” she said.
Stuckey’s grandchildren — ages 24 to 2 — all like to help assemble the green bean bundles.
While the older ones are in charge of draining and wrapping the beans and baking them, the younger ones pick the beans out and count out about five for each bundle.
“That’s how we’ve been doing it for a number of years,” said Stuckey.
While Stuckey uses Italian dressing to marinate the green beans for the bundles, other recipes call for different sauces.
Joelene Rideout of Greenwood uses Worcestershire sauce for her green bean bundles.
“It has more zing to it, I think,” said Rideout.
For those who might not want to assemble bundles but still want to bring a green bean dish that’s not the traditional casserole, there are many to try.
Linda Perkins of Greenwood has a recipe she’s been making for almost 50 years.
“It’s really good, easy to make and every time I fix it, people always want the recipe,” she said.
The marinated green beans is a recipe she usually makes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
She’s modified it just a tad over the years from its original recipe, which called for bacon grease.
“Most wouldn’t know the difference,” she said. “It’s so simple and good.”
Perkins said another reason she enjoys making this side dish is that it’s easy to take places, such as holiday parties or potlucks.
A tried-and-true Thanksgiving classic is the traditional green bean casserole.
Dorcas Reilly, who passed away in October at 92, created the holiday staple. Campbell Soup said it is the most popular recipe ever to come out of its corporate kitchen. The recipe’s website got 2.7 million visits during last year’s holidays.
Reilly was a Campbell Soup kitchen supervisor in 1955 when she combined the ingredients of the now-legendary green bean casserole for an Associated Press feature.
Campbell’s officials have said consumers often tell them practically anyone — even novices or bad cooks — can make a green bean casserole because it’s so easy to prepare.
A green bean side dish is sure to please your family and friends this Thanksgiving Day.
Here are some recipes submitted by Greenwood residents to try out for Thursday’s feast.
ROASTED GREEN BEANS
WITH BABY DUTCH POTATOES
12 ounces marketside green beans from the produce section or fresh from the garden
12 ounces Baby Dutch (yellow) or Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh cracked sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Dry ranch seasoning to taste (I get the shaker jar)
Large pinch of raw sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add olive oil to a large bowl. Toss the green beans in the olive oil, adding salt, pepper and ranch seasoning. Add quartered potatoes to bowl, toss well with additional salt pepper and ranch to taste. Add the pinch of sugar, toss and dump all onto a half-sheet baking pan. Place on the lowest oven rack, and bake 30 minutes or to taste.
Note: One can also add a pound of thin cut pork chops to this for a one pan meal, cooking 45 minutes.
— Anita Horn
Marinated Green Beans
2 cans whole green beans
1 small onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
6 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
In a boiler, add green beans, onion, sugar, vinegar and oil. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat until onion is done.
When ready to serve, scoop green beans and onion into serving dish. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top. Enjoy
Note: This recipe can easily be increased to serve a larger crowd.
— Linda Perkins
Green Bean Bundles
1 can of whole green beans
Bacon ( cut in strips)
Italian dressing
Toothpicks
Drain green beans. Put green beans in a bowl, and pour Italian dressing over beans. Marinate over night or several hours. Take 4 or 5 beans and wrap with bacon; secure with toothpicks. Place bean bundles on a cookie sheet, and bake at 425 degrees until bacon is crisp.
— Beth Stuckey
Daniel’s Green Bean Casserole
2 cans of green beans, drained
1 can of cream of cream of mushroom soup
½ cup of milk
1 small can of sliced mushrooms, optional
1-2 cans of French fried onion rings
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Mix milk and cream of mushroom soup together.
Spray a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish with Pam.
Mix green beans, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Put these ingredients into the soup mixture. Mix well. Bake for 20 minutes on 350 degrees or longer. Remove from oven, and top with French fried onion rings. Bake 10 minutes longer until browned.
— Charlotte Dale
GREEN BEANS
6 cans whole green beans
1 stick butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup packaged crumbled bacon
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drain green beans. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish sprayed with Pam. Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar; pour over beans. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Bake 30 minutes.
— Beverly Biggers
GREEN BEAN BUNDLES
2 cans whole green beans
Bacon (cut into strips)
½ bottle of Worcestershire sauce
Take 4 or 5 beans and wrap with bacon. Thoroughly saturate bundles with ½ bottle of Worcestershire sauce. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, turn the bundles over, and cook another 15 or 20 minutes.
— Joelene Rideout
GREEN BEAN AND POTATO CASSEROLE
Large can green beans
3-4 potatoes (baking) sliced
Sliced onion
Cream of mushroom soup
Layer ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake at 350 until potatoes are tender. (I like to top with cheese or onion rings.)
— Kackie Kornfeld
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
