That's Using The Old Onion

She has a cap of black hair and a French manicure and when you ask how old she is, she says, "Oh, Gawd, do you need to print that?" She has been at French's for 20 years and is in charge of developing new company recipes, specifically ones that showcase the FFOs. Because she also gets to work with the mustard and the barbecue sauce and the potato sticks, she has enough variety in her work life, she says, to prevent fried-onion burnout.

Today in the test kitchen, she's laid out on a green tablecloth an Original Green Bean Casserole, a updated Deluxe Mushroom Green Bean Bake (fresh mushrooms along with the "cream of," a little splash of white wine) and a Southwestern take on the dish that involves cheddar FFOs instead of regular. She's serving a sort of French's Fried Onion sampler platter to a reporter and a handful of company staffers.

Everyone sits around and snacks on French Fried Onions, while they wait for Andreas to finish making lunch.

Last week Yaros went to a cooking seminar. "The guy was wonderful," she says. "But I only took home a few of the recipes because they all had like, 10, 12 ingredients. Like roux. Hey Janet, what's roux?"

"What?"

"Roux."

"Roux?"

" Roux. It's like a thickening agent?"

"Oh, ROUX. Yeah, it's flour and fat."

"See? Janet would never put roux in one of her recipes," Yaros says.

Andreas cooks for the American people, for people who don't have time for 10, 12 ingredients. In fact, Campbell's recommends a five-ingredient green bean casserole: beans, mushroom soup, milk, FFOs and soy sauce. French's has eliminated the soy. Who needs an extra step?

She does a few green bean casseroles for demonstrations every year, plus the one she makes for Thanksgiving at home with her boyfriend. It's good to make sure the recipe still works, and it's so easy. She can do it right now in the time it takes you to have a little chat, it's so easy.