In honor of Lucy Long’s academic article “Green Bean Casserole and Midwestern Identity: A Regional Foodways Aesthetic and Ethos,” which was published in Midwestern Folklore’s Spring 2007 issue, I made two variations of green bean casserole: the Campbell’s soup recipe and a recipe from Alton Brown that uses fresh ingredients.My goal was to present the classic dish with one of its variations.

I started with Alton Brown’s recipe while I was roasting a whole chicken and parboiling potatoes and carrots to add to the roast halfway through its cooking time. (I multitask in the kitchen, which is sometimes not so smart, like last night when my chicken started smoking, my potaotes boiled over, and my onions burnt…) I started by trimming the green beans and blanching them. Then I cleaned the mushrooms, trimmed and sliced them. Both of those tasks were easy enough. Then I attempted to make my own more healthy, flavorful version of the french fried onions. I sliced the onions, coated them with flour, panko, and salt, and I baked them for 30 minutes at 400, not 475. My oven runs hot. I didn’t want to burn them. But they burned. After tasting them I realized I could use them, but quite honestly I wanted my students to think I was a good cook–not one who burns things. So I resorted for the store bought French’s french fried onions. Suddenly I realized– when the onions were in the oven, when I needed to add the veggies to the roast–that I needed half-and-half to continue this recipe. And I needed milk for the Campbell’s recipe. Thank goodness for good friends. After my dear friend Babs saved the day and ran up to Happy Badger for me, I began the sauce. I browned the mushrooms, added the garlic and nutmeg, added the flour, and then added the half-and-half. The sauce tasted better than condensed soup, but even after cooking it longer than I should have, it still didn’t get the thick. I mixed everything together in a casserole dish and prayed for the best. I decided to pre-make both casseroles, so I could just bake and get to class tomorrow. And I’m glad I thought of that; Alton’s recipe took me a good 45 minutes to prepare.

Then I made the Campbell’s recipe, which as Lucy said, “open cans, mix, and bake” (8-9). This recipe took me under three minutes to prepare. And that was because I got a faulty Campbell’s can. Because of how easy this recipe was vs Alton’s, I started thinking to myself, “Why didn’t I just double this recipe and not offer a variation?”

But after more consideration about the recipes and Lucy’s essay, the Campbell’s recipe actually goes against my food philosophy and practices. I believe in making fresh food that comes from fresh ingredients, preferably local and organic, but if not in season then store-bought organic or at least from the United States. I put more love and care into Alton’s recipe. Maybe that’s because it took more time and obviously fresh ingredients. But I wanted Alton’s recipe to “turn out” good; there was something at stake in it. Whereas with the Campbell’s recipe I dumped ingredients into a bowl, mixed, and poured into a casserole dish. If I think about these recipes in terms of my identity, I want to be a cook who is seen as healthy, conscious of local economies, smart about sustainability, and completely free from any corporate ties. But this recipe is corporate. And, honestly, I don’t know what it says about me as a cook or person. I think of myself as anti-establishment, but is that possible? That’s really the core of my reflection on Lucy’s essay–how can an identity be created if it’s mass-created by a corporation?

There are many ways to consider the foods we eat, but ultimately my main concern, in the end, is if those foods taste good. And my fingers are crossed for both dishes I made. I hope Lucy and my students enjoy them and they lead us to a fruitful discussion about food and identity.