the meal proper. Traditional Thanksgiving foods are sometimes specific to the day, and although some of the dishes might be seen at any semi-formal meal in the United States, the Thanksgiving dinner often has something of a ritual or traditional quality to it. Many Americans would regard Thanksgiving dinner as "incomplete" without stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cranberry sauce. A recipe for cranberry sauce to be served with turkey appeared in the first American cookbook, American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons. Commonly served vegetable dishes include mashed winter squash, turnips, and sweet potatoes, the latter often prepared with sweeteners such as brown sugar, molasses, or marshmallows. All three can be served mashed or roasted. Other vegetables are often served, such as carrots or parsnips, beets, radishes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and/or cauliflower. Creamed corn is also popular. Green beans are frequently served; in particular, green bean casserole. The recipe was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly for the Campbell Soup Company to promote use of its canned cream of mushroom soup. It has since become a Thanksgiving standard. A fresh salad may be included, especially on the West Coast. A charcuterie board or relish tray, with various cheese, cured meats, crackers, pickles, olives, onions or peppers, is often included either with the meal itself or as a pre-meal appetizer. Bread rolls, biscuits, or cornbread, the latter particularly in the South and parts of New England, may also be served, and macaroni and cheese is a common side dish in some Southern coastal areas. Desserts For dessert, various pies are usually served. Harriet Beecher Stowe described pie as "an English institution, which, transplanted on American soil, forthwith ran rampant and burst forth into an untold variety of genera and species." Pumpkin pie is widely regarded as the most popular and most traditional, but apple pie and pecan pie are also common favorites. Sweet potato pie, mince pie, cherry pie, and chocolate cream pie are served as well. Beverages The beverages at Thanksgiving can vary as much as the side dishes, often depending on who is present at the table and their tastes. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it was usual for Americans to consume hard cider and alcoholic punches. Prohibition in the 1920s restricted legal Thanksgiving options to milk, water, and lemonade. Pitchers of sweet tea were often found on Southern tables even before prohibition and remain popular.