Directions: |
Directions:So it's Thanksgiving several years ago in Breckenridge and, as is often the tradition, several orphans were extended an invitation. One of those orphans was Brett Ferkenhoff. When he accepted the invitation, he was really excited to contribute this great recipe his mom always made for Thanksgiving dinners. He didn't want to say much more at the time because he wanted it to be a surprise, but his enthusiasm was so great, we couldn't help but be excited too.
Fast forward to the Wednesday prior to the big day. I asked Brett if he had his dish ready, or if he needed to make it - we were, of course, planning the whole cooking day and needed to know dish use, stove use, timing, etc.; hey, it's the big day and we know how it works. Brett said he was going to make it and he was trying to get a hold of his mom for the recipe. I told him I knew he wanted to keep it a surprise, but could he tell me if it was a vegetable side dish, dessert, or what. He decided to explain it to me because I think he was just so darn excited about it.
Right when he said "green beans," I must have made a face, which he interpreted as me not liking green beans. So he quickly said, "No, no, this is soooo good, you won't believe it. I finish the whole thing every year. I'm gonna have to make a lot!"
So I asked him to explain it to me, even if he didn't know the ingredients for sure. His description included comments like, "little fried oniony things on top that are kind of burnt sometimes," "the green beans are all creamy," things like that. I was sure now.
I walked over to the kitchen cabinet and took out a can of green beans and a can of fried onions because I knew one of them would have it, and as luck would have it, they both did.
I showed him one of the pictures on the side of the can. His eyes lit up in recognition...and then he sort of angrily took the can from my hands and read the recipe as if it was a terrible affront to his mother and perhaps his entire childhood.
In the end, Brett took the news well, made his dish with great skill, and when his mom finally called with the recipe ("Honey, just go get a can of green beans and the recipe will be on the back..."), I think she laughed the hardest. Brett will probably never hear the end of that one.
So, ingredients? Go get a can of green beans around Thanksgiving time, or those fried oniony things, or Cream of Mushroom soup, and read away. |
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