Bena Mae’s Kitchen: I Love Lucy and Milton Berle sold a lot of TV sets

Television was introduced in the United States in the late forties and by the early fifties had become a household fixture. The early sets were large, heavy things with small round screens. Family members would have to crowd around the “set” to see the action. There were few television broadcasting stations and they would typically begin broadcasting between six and ten in the morning and “sign-off” around nine or ten at night. A test pattern proceeded any programming and the “Star Spangled Banner” was usually played just before sign-off.
Early television was light-hearted and informative. Not needing to be graphic or violent to get it’s point across, television of the late 40’s and the 50’s gave us many hours of relaxation and escape. Shows like Ozzie and Harriet, Make Room for Daddy, Your Show of Shows, I Love Lucy and so many more took us away from our daily cares. (From Internet files)
My family’s first set was a 17-inch Magnavox. It changed our lives from drab and dreary though we could barely afford it — we didn’t own a washer, dryer, refrigerator, cook-stove or any of the things that became necessities years later. Living in a two room furnished apartment in Louisville we lived from payday to payday, sometimes with enough left over to see a movie at the Grand Lowe’s Theater. And a 35 cent meal at the Blue Boar on Forth Street — turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, and peas. With 10 cents left for the bus ride home.
And then Lucille Ball hit the airwaves like a jet airplane breaking the sound barrier. Suddenly the entire nation caught the fever. Tuesday night found whole communities crowded around the small set, many of them neighbors and friends who didn’t own a set. But it was not a time for proper protocol, of waiting to be asked over. Lucy was on and everyone was eager to see her show. And the set owner was generous in sharing.
As the population became more affluent, TV sets began selling by the thousands and 80 percent of homeowners bought their own.
They could watch Lucy, Milton Berle and Sid Caesar in the comfort of their own home. (and was there a funnier cast member on TV than Imogene Coca?) Jackie Gleason and the original and ingenious Art Carney, and many many more that laid the ground work for the incomparable Carol Burnett whose show always made us laugh.
I don’t laugh much anymore. Comedy writers try too hard to squeeze a laugh out of something that isn’t funny. I don’t watch SNL hardly at all because their attempts at humor often falls flat.
And late night talk show hosts, I call them “Johnny Carson wannabes” — which they will never be — are so transparent in pushing the envelope for laughs that are never there. The vulgarity and graphic sex jokes don’t get it for me. Human nature is funny. And you don’t have to make it up. Enter George Gobel. Or Jonathan Winters.
Oh well, there is always Netflix. Or the mute button on your remote.

Don’t let the name scare you. It’s delicious and great for potlucks.

Funeral Potatoes
Recipe by Our Best Bites
(and church kitchens around America)

1 small-medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. butter
1 28-oz. bag shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c. sour cream
1 10-oz. can cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup
2 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
 OPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers
 
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.
Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
Spread the mixture into a 9×13 (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout.
Serve as a main dish with a salad and fruit or alongside roasted ham, turkey, chicken, or beef.
Makes 6-8 main dish or 10-12 side dish servings.