Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole (Classic Method)

Green bean casserole is one of the most quintessentially American Thanksgiving preparations — created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly in the Campbell Soup Company's test kitchen, using cream of mushroom soup and French's fried onions, it has become as inseparable from Thanksgiving as the turkey itself. The dish's place in American culinary culture is a fascinating study in how a recipe created for commercial promotion can become a genuine tradition: tens of millions of Americans who have never read the original recipe make this dish every November from memory, and any modification (even an improvement) is regarded with deep suspicion by those for whom it is a family touchstone. The from-scratch version — blanched fresh green beans, a homemade mushroom cream sauce, and real fried shallots — produces a demonstrably better dish than the original, but it is the original that carries the cultural weight.