Friday, December 14, 2012

Divinity, Green Bean Casserole



Barbara/Mom/Grandma made Thanksgiving dinner at Katmai Roost this year. It was wonderful to enjoy her cooking, and so fun to be together. At the gathering were two sets of grandparents (the 'real' ones, and the new ones!), Erik & Carissa + Ethan, Kyle, Brittany, Will, Sarah and Parker. A traditional American (?!) dish Mom made was Green Bean Casserole. Brittany especially enjoyed it, and asked for the recipe. Here it is!


Green Bean Casserole
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c. milk
1/8 t. black pepper
2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed*
1-1/3 c. FRENCH'S® Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions

MIX soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
BAKE at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
STIR. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.




I have to admit that I'm not a fan of Green Bean Casserole, but I think divinity is divine! I asked Mom if she would demo one of my favorite treats so I could learn where I was going wrong. Two places: not having a Kitchen Aid mixer, and not cooling the candy along the way. She said she and her mom used to make this with a wooden spoon, trading off when their arms would tire. We tried it with the electric hand mixer at the cabin. It died a sweet death. Best to have a heavy duty mixer to try this. And to cool the mixture quickly by possibly wrapping a cold towel around the bowl when adding the syrup, or placing the mixing bowl in a sink of ice. The product is wonderful. And I owe Mom a new hand mixer.


Divinity
2-2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water
1/4 t. salt
2 egg whites,
with 1/8 cream of tartar
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. nuts, broken
or coconut

Stir sugar, corn syrup and water over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook, without stirring, to 260° on candy thermometer (or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball). In mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Continue beating while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites. Add vanilla, beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull. Fold in nuts. Drop mixture from tip of buttered spoon onto waxed paper. Do just 1 batch at a time.
(This is from the Barbara Doney cookbook above.)

by Dee, wife of Barbara's son Scott

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