I am a writer as well as a Chef. I do writing exercises to keep my mind fresh for all the things I do. I picked up “642 Things To Write About” for the new year. On the first page of things to write about, the second phrase was, “The worst Thanksgiving dish you ever had”.
O.M.G. That brought back a horrid memory. Let me see if I can describe it.
Things were being brought to the table. It was very simple, many people bringing things to share, as Thanksgiving is supposed to be about. There were Meats, Veggies, Stuffings… And That Dish.
It was a combination green-bean casserole (canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, fried onions) and sweet potato pie(canned sweet potato/yam, pie spices, marshmallows). It was because the person making the side dishes only had one deep pan, so tried to make both in the same pan at the same time. It was soupy, under cooked and just… Ugh.
It didn’t help that it had to travel to the gathering, too.
Trying to physically mix dishes is just a bad idea. Pick one. And do it well.
When trying to do something in the cooking realm, try to pick one thing at a time. Really. I can barely multitask when at work some times only because I have a set list of things that have to be done, and in the order they have to be done. It is technically multi-tasking because as the bread is baking, I can put the water on for the pasta and then chop the veggies for the sauce.
There are too many recipes out there for both Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Pie. I will not add yet another set. But I will say this – Fresh Green Beans. Trust me on this.
Chef Rena