That is, HERO recipes. Hero recipes are recipes that have driven consumption of a product for years. Baker’s “One Bowl Brownies” recipe has sold a lot of chocolate for Baker’s. The “New York Style Cheesecake” recipe has sold a lot of cream cheese for Philadelphia. The Velveeta and Ro-Tel Queso dip recipe has sold a lot of Velveeta for Kraft.
Every family has their traditional dishes. If those dishes are not served on the big day, it just seems that something is missing. It is amazing to me on how many of those recipes were developed by food manufacturers in the 1950’s and that they are still popular today.
There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal this week about Dorcas Reilly who developed the recipe for Green Bean And Mushroom Casserole for Campbell’s Soup Company back in 1955. Today Campbell says that 40% of its cream-of-mushroom-soup goes into green bean casserole and that a huge ramp up in sales always occur in the month before Thanksgiving. Just think of how much money Dorcas’s creation made for Campbell’s. Having worked in the food industry with many “home economists” (Now they are called food scientists) I would bet that Dorcas was lucky to have gotten a few hundred dollars for her creation that has made hundreds of millions of dollars for Campbell’s. I know for a fact that the team that developed the “Baker’s One Bowl Brownie” for Kraft didn’t get squat because I was part of the team.
The WSJ article supposes that the recipe might not have been original to Dorcas. Give me a break; there is nothing really original when it comes to recipes. The article explains that a similar dish was served on The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that ran through New Jersey where poor Dorcas grew up. She probably got her inspiration from a train ride. Just think of how many cooks have become famous in the family for making green bean casserole.
My buddy Chip Colonna is famous in his family. The Kennys and Colonna’s have shared Thanksgivings for years and the Colonna kids insist on green bean casserole. Chip’s kids think he is a culinary genius. The truth is that he follow’s Dorcas’s recipe.
Another tradition of the Kenny/Colonna thanksgiving is New England Clam Chowder That we call “Speonk’s Clam Chowder” using my pet name for Chip’s daughter Meagan. The story goes that Chip’s dad used to make clam chowder that the kids loved. Dad figured out that Campbell’s Clam Chowder was better (and easier) than his home made version. That story led me to start making clam chowder for Thanksgiving. My recipe has evolved over the years and has become legendary in our family. I am not sure if it is legendary because it tastes great (which it does) or the fact that after a bowl of this filling chowder you can’t be hungry for the feast to come. Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving clam chowder, is a must for the Kenny/Colonna family.
Dorcas Reilly died last October at the age of 92. Her hero recipe built a brand for Campbell’s and have made culinary legends for many family cooks. But don’t tell my buddy Chip, as I always pass on his legendary green bean casserole
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