a vintage Thanksgiving

[IndianaWay]

Well to be real fair...it didn't show up 'everywhere' in the '50s or '60s....at least not in my area. first time I probably had it was in the '80s.
HD

I'll stick my neck out and add probably the most ridiculous post ever, but I just came from a church "harvest dinner" and my wife brought a green bean casserole. I am still a big fan, I have to say.

I'm sure this isn't true, but it seems to me that we "always" had green bean casserole at my grandparents' rural Indiana house on holidays, going back as far as I remember (early 70's).

Pecan and pumpkin pie are also high on the list. My grandma used to make "cherry delight" also -basically cherries on top of this fluff-cream type stuff with a graham cracker crust. Well... now I can go to sleep tonight knowing I've defended green bean casserole. Wow, that's time well spent. But this thread is helping me think back on some fun family times and good memories - thanks!! Wishing you all the best for creating awesome memories with family/friends yourselves this holiday season!!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Not ridiculous at all.
I was a kid in the '50s early '60s. My family(Grandparents) always had big Sunday Family dinners(Uncles&Aunts..Cousins,etc) as well as on the holidays. I think like many families here in mid Indiana they usually stuck with the old traditional dishes during that time. Old farm recipes with a southern flavor. Enough to feed several families and friends. Maybe that's why I was late trying GB casserole.
I had never tasted Cherry Delight until meeting my wife in 1978. Since then it has become a holiday favorite with practically the whole family.
HD

 

[Atomic Age]

I wonder if the whole green bean casserole thing was more of a big deal in the suburbs than in rural areas. I know when I was growing up in the suburbs in the late 60's and early 70's, the green bean casserole seemed to be as much a staple of holiday dinners as the turkey and stuffing. Everywhere you went for a thanksgiving meal seemed to have it.

Doug

 

[Wally_Hood]

You can't have Thanksgiving with out green bean casserole. My own family traditions include cranberry relish (a combination of cranberrys and oranges(peel and all) put through a coarse grinder and a little sugar added). Some good buttery biscuits or rolls. We generally prefer crescent rolls. Stuffing made with the turkey giblets. And I'm sorry I don't care what anyone says, it MUST be cooked in the bird! Mashed potatoes and gravy made from the turkey drippings. Sweet potato casserole.

For desert we normally have both pumpkin and apple pie.

BTW here is the original Campbells recipe for green bean casserole.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Campbells-Green-Bean-Casserole/

And here is a good sweet potato casserole recipe.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2135/Sweet-Potatoes-with-Marshmallo76078.shtml

Doug

Without the green bean casserole, it's not Thanksgiving for me~ yeah, I know the turkey takes center stage, but the casserole has gotta be there!

 

[Wally_Hood]

Candied sweet potatoes :essen:

I personally don't like sweet potatoes, but every Thanksgiving I can remember, from childhood on, had them, and people make that Mmmmmh! sound like Bill Murray does in What About Bob?

 

[Wally_Hood]

By the way, if we are talking about a vintage Thanksgiving, one non-consumable or culinary aspect we must remember is the vintage grace of dressing in our good clothes for the dinner. I can remember Dad and Grandpa wearing suits, or least nice pants, dress shirts, and ties. The young boys had their hair combed and our parents put those clip on ties on us.

I try to dress up for the day; my kids act like it's the end of the world to wear a collared shirt to the table.

 

[rue]

By the way, if we are talking about a vintage Thanksgiving, one non-consumable or culinary aspect we must remember is the vintage grace of dressing in our good clothes for the dinner. I can remember Dad and Grandpa wearing suits, or least nice pants, dress shirts, and ties. The young boys had their hair combed and our parents put those clip on ties on us.

I try to dress up for the day; my kids act like it's the end of the world to wear a collared shirt to the table.

I agree. My dad is a biker ( weird I know) and he wears his best suit to dinner and was really pissed when my sister-in-law's husband wore a JD t-shirt and sweats to the table one year.

 

[rue]

I personally don't like sweet potatoes, but every Thanksgiving I can remember, from childhood on, had them, and people make that Mmmmmh! sound like Bill Murray does in What About Bob?

I love that movie

 

[BigFitz]

Good luck tomorrow Marzena, Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Marzena]

Thank you. I shall only have my celebration ofn Saturday, unfortunately. Not the real McCoy, I know, butThursday is a working day . I am most excited though! And knee deep in cooking!

 

[Gene]

I miss my grandpa on this holiday especially. Talk about a "vintage" Thanksgiving, he insisted on eating all of the giblets. Boiled. Typical 1920's Indiana farmboy!

 

[Marzena]

Ladies and Gentlemen, my vintage Thanksgiving!
Probably more Fusion than Traditional: I adapted several recipies to my guests' tastes and included a dish or two that belongs to Polish harvest celebrations (not shown, unfortunately, bad picture) .

The Menu: Pumpkin creme soup with roasted almonds and home made cheese crackers, Turkey, Scalloped potatoes, Casseroled brussel sprouts with apple and bacon, Braised beetroot, Mangetout with ginger and chili, Cranberries in baked apple nests.

Apple pie in the Tarte Tatin style, ie baked upside down, apples and pears on the bottom of the skillet floating in a rich caramel sause, and buttery pastry on top, crisp and crunchy (did not photograph well, so no picture). But was Heaven! The recipe bore a lovely name: Apple and Pear Pandowdy

All the cutlery used comes from my family possessions, well before WW1.

Thanks for all your suggestions. This was great fun, and attracted lots of interest on FB . MY guests were tickled pink, daughter posted a publication on her food blog and I am sure I will do it again next year.

 

[rue]

That looks absolutely wonderful Marzena! Gorgeous cutlery too

 

[Atomic Age]

Wow! Looks like it turned great! Invite me next time!

Doug

 

[Marzena]

Then you would have two Thanksgivings - American on Thursday and Polish on Saturday

 

[sheeplady]

I love Polish food (my mother is of Polish ancestory and I grew up eating lots of Polish food). Can you invite me next year?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I would like to come too. I would bring homemade old fashion peach cobbler with me...ray:

 

[Marzena]

Right! Let's do it in successive years: Polish Thanksgiving one year and then I visit yours. Right?

 

[Giftmacher]

Wow, that's amazing Marzena! Thanks for post!

 

[Marzena]

Why, hello, Giftmacher! You must be the closest poster to me (geographically, that is).