Now We’re Cooking!

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What is a RECIPE? The common definition is a set of instructions for a particular dish. This set of instructions also includes a list of INGREDIENTS required. Today we are going to learn about a POPULAR American recipe for green bean casserole and perhaps dream up a recipe of your very own.

Spell: RECIPE Spell: DREAM Spell: POPULAR
What popular recipe are we talking about today? GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
A recipe is a set of what? INSTRUCTIONS
What is included in this set of instructions? INGREDIENTS

During big family meals, like THANKSGIVING, millions of Americans eat green bean CASSEROLE. What is a casserole? A casserole is generally a side dish that contains several ingredients, cooked slowly in an oven.

Spell: AMERICANS Spell: FAMILY Spell: COOK
What big family meal was used as an example? THANKSGIVING
What kind of dish is the green bean casserole? SIDE
A casserole is cooked slowly in an __________. OVEN

The green bean casserole is a CULINARY classic, using just six ingredients. It uses one can of CAMPBELL’s cream of mushroom soup and milk. It also has soy sauce and black pepper. Finally, it features green beans and crunchy fried onions. This RETRO (a reference to the past) recipe has been appearing on American tables for more than 60 years.

Spell: RETRO Spell: SOY SAUCE Spell: TABLE
What kind of classic is the green bean casserole? CULINARY
How many ingredients are in this recipe? SIX
Name one of the ingredients. MUSHROOM, SOUP, MILK, SOY SAUCE, BLACK PEPPER, GREEN BEANS, FRIED ONIONS
What is the texture described of the fried onions? CRUNCHY
How many years has this recipe been on American tables? 60 YEARS
What does the word “retro” mean?

Who invented the green bean casserole? DORCAS REILLY, who worked as a supervisor at the home economics department of a Campbell’s test kitchen in Camden, New Jersey, in 1955. What qualified Dorcas to create recipes for a company like Campbell’s? She earned a degree in HOME ECONOMICS from DREXEL University.

Spell: INVENT Spell: DEPARTMENT Spell: DEGREE
Who invented the green bean casserole? DORCAS REILLY
What was her job title? SUPERVISOR
What company did she work for? CAMPBELLS
Where was the Campbells test kitchen located? CAMDEN NEW JERSEY
In what year did Dorcas create this recipe? 1955
How long ago was that? (Current Year) – 1955 = XX
What degree did Dorcas earn? HOME ECONOMICS
From what university did Dorcas earn her degree? DREXEL
What is a skill that you think would be taught in Home Economics?

At Campbell’s that Dorcas was tasked with creating a recipe to be featured in the ASSOCIATED Press. The requirements? It had to be based on ingredients that any home cook would have at the ready. It also must include Campbell’s MUSHROOM soup and green beans. In the creation of this casserole, Dorcas got started by adding CELERY salt and ham to the recipe. Eventually, Dorcas settled on six simple and AFFORDABLE ingredients. Even better, they could be stirred together in one casserole dish. Once in the dish, they are placed in the oven for 25 minutes.

Spell: CREATING Spell: READY Spell: INCLUDE
Where was the recipe going to appear? ASSOCIATED PRESS
Name one of the first ingredients added to this recipe. CELERY, SALT, HAM
The final ingredients were described as simple, and what? AFFORDABLE
How long is the dish placed in the oven? 25 MINUTES

The prep time was minimal. The dish worked well with FROZEN or canned green beans, and the fried onions were pre-packaged. That kind of cooking became really popular with innovations in canning and freezing. Packaged foods were more accessible than ever. CONVENIENCE cooking had come into VOGUE. As more women entered the workforce, easy-to-make meals became a staple of everyone’s kitchen.

Spell: KITCHEN Spell: PACKAGED Spell: MEAL
Prep time for this dish was described as what? MINIMAL
Green beans are noted as packaged in two ways. Name one. FROZEN, CANNED
Convenience cooking had come into what? VOGUE
Can you give me a definition for the word vogue?

So, what did Dorcas call this new fancy dish? Originally, she named it the “Green Bean Bake.” According to KAREN ZRAICK of the New York Times, the dish became popular when Campbell’s began printing the recipe on its mushroom soup cans. After the success of the green bean casserole, Dorcas created many additional recipes. These included SLOPPY JOES made from tomato soup and TUNA noodle casserole.

Spell: FANCY Spell: NAME Spell: PRINTING
What was the first name of this casserole? GREEN BEAN BAKE
What was the last name of the NYT reporter? ZRAICK
Name one additional recipe Dorcas created. SLOPPY JOE, TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
What kind of soup was an ingredient in Sloppy Joe’s? TOMATO

This lesson brings to mind an article from a few years ago about a young, TALENTED cook. Chase Bailey, diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, was featured by the Associated Press as an up-and-coming cook in 2015 when he was age 13.

Spell: MIND Spell: TALENTED Spell: FEATURED
This paragraph discussed a young, talented what? COOK
What is the cook’s name? CHASE BAILEY
How old was Chase in 2015? 13

Growing up, Chase found food OVERWHELMING. The sight, smell, feel, and taste of almost everything put on his plate INFLAMED his senses. “I didn’t like how it looked,” he said. “I didn’t like how it smelled.” This began to change when he started watching cooking shows with his grandfather. Seeing people enjoy the food they were eating got his WHEELS turning. Within six months, he started asking to try some of the foods he saw on shows like Cooking Channel’s “Eat St.” and Food Network’s “Chopped.”

Spell: OVERWHELMING Spell: INFLAMED Spell: WHEELS
Four senses were mentioned in this paragraph. Name one. SIGHT, SMELL, FEEL, TASTE
Who did Chase watch cooking shows with? GRANDFATHER
How long did it take for Chase to ask to try some new foods? SIX MONTHS
Name one of the TV channels mentioned. COOKING CHANNEL, FOOD NETWORK
Name one of the titles of the shows Chase enjoyed watching. EAT, STREET, CHOPPED

Soon enough, Chase was whipping up his own recipes on his YOUTUBE show, “Chase in YUR Face.” By 2015, he had nearly 30 episodes online. Was the most challenging part of learning to cook? Chase says that his biggest challenge was learning how to fry chicken while talking to the CAMERA.

Spell: CHALLENGE Spell: EPISODE
What internet site does Chase’s show appear on? YOUTUBE
What is the name of the show? CHASE IN YUR FACE
How many episodes were posted by 2015? 30 EPISODES
What was Chase cooking in his biggest challenge? FRIED CHICKEN
What was he trying to look at while trying to cook? CAMERA
Would you like to watch Chase in Yur Face?

CREATIVE WRITING:
Dorcas mixed six simple ingredients to create the green bean casserole recipe. Can you think of a few ingredients you would want to turn into a recipe? What would you name your recipe?

Chase was described to have sensory overload with food. Do you experience sensory overload with food? If so, can you provide an example of foods that have this effect?
Chase dreams of one day seeing himself cooking on Television or owning his own restaurant. Do you have a career dream yet?

Sources
https://www.tweentribune.com/article/tween56/woman-who-inventedgreen-bean-casserole/
https://www.tweentribune.com/article/tween56/autistic-teen-turns-fearfood-cooking-passion