classy but trashy

April 2010 Classh Courses

In my family, we always sat down together for dinner. Really the only break from tradition would be the addition of a neighbor kid or, if we were feeling particularly rambunctious, we’d eat our “make your own” pizzas in front of a rented movie. And while we were, in fact, the proud owners of a fine set of wooden T.V. trays, they were used primarily for holding chocolate milk and homework as opposed to sectioned off trays encasing nuclear looking dinner items. But, for me there was always something particularly enticing about pre-packaged food that didn’t touch. I battled with my mom for years to let me get “Lunchables.” Her argument that they were “over packaged,” however, was strong enough that even 7 year old me didn’t have a valid rebuttal—and I was pretty well practiced at rebutting. The same philosophy was easily applied to T.V. Dinners and considering we didn’t even have a microwave, let alone a T.V. with a remote- the issue was dead in the water.

So, as with anything denied, I grew a certain fascination for the classic T.V. Dinner. In my later years (you know, past 7) I’ve had the, ahem, opportunity to try out a few frozen dinner brands and even had a bit of a lasting run with the Stouffer’s Lean Cuisine products a few years back. And while my curiosity over flavor has been somewhat satiated, the concept of the T.V. Dinner itself still maintains my interest as an American institution and poster product for trashy delightfulness.

The classic T.V. Dinner has always been something that I’ve wanted to “reinvent.” So it was only natural to base my first month’s Classh Courses off the original 1954 Swanson dinners. Launched as a direct response to the addition of modern convenience appliances and the television to American households, Swanson first introduced four frozen meals: Turkey Dinner, Meat Loaf, Fried Chicken and Salisbury Steak. It was off these four O.G. dinners that I chose to build my project.

Classh Courses Title: Prince n'Pauper T.V. Dinners

The Challenge:

Part 1- Use the actual microwave T.V. Dinner product to compose a classy looking presentable plate. Up to two added garnishes are permitted.

Part 2- Make the components of an original Swanson T.V. Dinner from scratch and using only gourmet ingredients. Present in the plastic tray from Part 1.

Objective: Like Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, this Classh Course is a very literal “trading places” sort of experiment. Looks can be deceiving, particularly with food, and just because it looks classy, don’t mean it ain’t trashy!