DORIS DAVIS NORMENT (Whiteville, Tennessee) was known as DeeDee to her grandchildren. Granddaughter LAURA CREEKMORE (Nashville, Tennessee) remembers, “Every year at Thanksgiving, we all gathered at my parents’ house growing up. Inevitably, after dinner, the men would leave the table to go watch football, and the women would stay around the table to drink more iced tea and visit. DeeDee would usually sit quietly and listen to all the stories and tales that were told. One year, after several particularly raucous stories about various family members and acquaintances, DeeDee said, ‘I tell you what. I sure am glad I’m here.’ We all expected her to add something to the effect of how nice it was to visit with family. Instead, she finished, ‘Because you all would surely be talking about me like this if I weren’t.’ It still makes me laugh today to think about that. She had that kind of cutting wit—she could see right through your pretense and still laugh along with you,” Laura adds. This casserole recipe is a Thanksgiving favorite in Laura’s family.
CASSEROLE:
Vegetable shortening to prepare dish
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons diced green bell pepper
1 cup sliced celery
2 (8.5 ounce) cans* English peas, drained
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, undrained
1 (14.25 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
2 TO MAKE THE CASSEROLE, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion, green pepper, and celery until tender.
3 In a large bowl add the peas, water chestnuts, cream of mushroom soup, and pimentos. Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven.
4 TO MAKE THE TOPPING, in a small bowl toss the butter with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the casserole and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS.
* Or the equivalent amount of frozen peas