Dorcas Reilly, the Woman Who Invented the Green Bean Casserole, Dies at 92
24th October 2018
Gone, but not forgotten.
This dish was one of the cornerstones of my childhood, along with such Heartland classics as ‘Chicken in Gravy Over Rice’ and ‘Sloppy Joes’.
October 24th, 2018 at 11:45
I hate casseroles of any kind, but especially green bean casserole. I didn’t realize that there was a known inventor – may she burn in Hell.
Women seem to love casseroles. I don’t know why. Something about putting everything in one stinking dish and sprinkling dry onions or croutons on top makes them happy.
Looking back on childhood dinners, I now understand that my mother was trying to stretch a very tight budget. Salisbury steak, creamed chipped beef on toast (the infamous S.O.S.) or occasionally on riced potatoes, leftover Thanksgiving turkey soup or something mixed together (also on toast or potatoes), sloppy joes (almost reserved for special occasions). We also occasionally had liver and onions, which I despise. (The last time I ate liver was in April 1973.) “City Chicken”, which I think is some kind of pieces of pork stuck on a wood skewer. I’ve never seen that sold in a store or restaurant since then. My Mom’s meatloaf was incredibly forgettable, but when my sister was old enough to cook, it gained actual flavors and became a favorite. After having ham (for some holiday or special visitors), you could expect the bone and trimmings to turn up in split pea soup. I was out of college before I realized that some people routinely ate meat that wasn’t ground up and mixed with crackers before cooking. I was also surprised to find that some people bought towels and didn’t have collections from “Holiday Inn”.
October 25th, 2018 at 04:09
Women love casseroles because they are less work than real food. My mother always worked, so when she got home after work every day she would go for the meal that took the least amount of effort.
October 25th, 2018 at 07:52
Some women like casseroles because they’re on a very tight budget and need to find a way to feed their families without ending up in debtor’s prison. My husband worked his tail off for many years to support six people on one income so that I could be a full-time mother. We couldn’t afford to eat a lot of meat, so meat was usually just an ingredient in something (spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, soup, and yes, lots of casseroles). Although my husband had grown up eating a lot of meat, he found that he actually preferred the kind of dishes I was making. Now that we’re empty nesters and can afford to eat whatever we want, we still eat lots of soups and casseroles, because that’s what he prefers. We women do what we have to do.