Rosbottom Betty - Sunday casseroles : complete comfort in one dish

Text copyright 2014 by Betty Rosbottom.
Photographs copyright 2014 by Susie Cushner.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-4521-2120-8 (pb)
ISBN 978-1-4521-3059-0 (epub, mobi)

Prop styling by Heather Crowther
Food styling by Dana Bonagura
Typesetting by Bruce A. Purdy

Campari tomatoes is a registered trademark of Mastronardi Produce Ltd.
McCormick is a registered trademark of McCormick and Co.
Pyrex is a registered trademark of Corning Inc.
Tabasco is a registered trademark of McIlhenny Co.
Wondra flour is a registered trademark of General Mills, Inc.

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

For my husband, who brings love, encouragement,
and a sense of humor to our table.

Many people shared their time and talents with me as I worked on this project, and their suggestions, comments, and enthusiasm have enriched this book.

My editor, Bill LeBlond, came up with the idea for another Sunday book, proposing casseroles as the theme. There arent enough words of gratitude for his wise advice and support.

I am lucky to have as my agent Lisa Ekus, who believes in my work and whose incredibly dedicated staff always finds new ways to promote it.

Thanks to my longtime assistants, Emily Bell and Mary Francis, for being essential to the completion of yet another culinary marathon. Emily helped invent new casseroles and update traditional ones, while Mary took charge of all the volunteer testers, and also used her outstanding computer skills to instantly refine the recipes and text.

Ron Parent and Diana Tindall tested casseroles in my kitchen for the better part of a year, and Betsey Wolfson joined in for the hectic last few months. Sheri Lisak and Barbara Morse both fine-tuned recipes once they were in draft form.

Volunteers around the country cooked casseroles, month after month, and then wrote helpful reviews. They are truly the culinary angels team. Special thanks go to Wendy Ninke and Betty Orsega, and also to Marilyn Cozad, Marilyn Dougherty, Penny Schacht, Jackie Murill, Kent Faerber, Julia Hanley, Janet Hontanosas, Cindy Kurban, and Carroll Vuncannon.

Carrie Harmon, a new friend and wordsmith extraordinaire, took time from her busy life to help me find my voice and to make my words shine.

I offer deep gratitude to the editorial staff at Chronicle Books, who take my electronic manuscripts and turn them magically into beautiful books. I am privileged to work with such a talented team. Thanks especially go to Amy Treadwell for her skill and guidance, and to Deborah Kops for her careful copyediting. Thanks to Sarah Billingsley, Peter Perez, David Hawk, Doug Ogan, Sara Schneider, and Steve Kim. Thanks also to talented photographer Susie Cushner, food stylist Dana Bonagura, and prop stylist Heather Crowther for such beautiful photographs.

I am blessed with a wonderful family, who never complained this year when I brought casseroles to our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter celebrations. Most of all, though, I sing praises to my husband, who sampled countless casserolesboth disasters and triumphsalways with an encouraging word, and who was never too tired to edit, with his professorial eye, another page of text.

A good marriage is like a casserole; only those responsible for it really know what goes into it!

ANONYMOUS

Casseroles, like Prousts famous madeleines, evoke fond memories. Mention the word casserole, and most will describe, often in detail, their favorite all-in-one dish. Some swoon at the thought of their mothers creamy mac and cheese or glorious lasagna. Others become wistful as they talk of tuna noodle casseroles covered with a layer of crushed potato chips taken hot from the oven. My husband smiles when he remembers his fathers baked enchiladas filled with chiles and cheese. And those of us who have been cooking for several decades recall green bean casseroles bound with mushroom soup and topped with crispy fried onions from a can.

Covered dishes, gratins, hot dishes, baked stews, pot pies, pilafs, stratas, scalloped foodsthe names alone make your mouth waterall fall under the category of casseroles. What they have in common is that they are baked in a single dish and are served most often as a main course, and sometimes as a side. The word casserole also refers to the cookwareoften glass, ceramic, or cast-ironused to cook such food.

Its not hard to figure out why these all-in-one dishes are so popular. They are convenient, easy to assemble, and endlessly versatile, and, more often than not, they can be prepared ahead. Such dishes fit effortlessly into the hectic lives of todays cooks.

For this book, I wanted to update some of those fondly remembered dishes and invent new ones as well. Our culinary landscape has changed over the past few decades. Grocery stores large and small sell dozens of varieties of cheeses, display shelves of artisan breads, and fill produce bins with an array of interesting fruits and vegetables. The meat, poultry, and seafood counters boast far more selections than they did when casseroles first became popular in the mid-twentieth century. This transformation of the marketplace inspires how we all cook, and influenced the choices I made for this collection.

My goal was to use as many fresh ingredients as possible by replacing those omnipresent canned creamed soups (high in sodium) with easily made sauces. In fact, the only soups called for in this collection are low-salt broths. At my farmers market and in the produce aisles of my local grocery stores, I filled my cart with a cornucopia of seasonal produce for these recipes. Sweet potatoes, chard, fennel, and cauliflower went into cold-weather dishes, while asparagus, sugar snaps, corn, eggplant, and tomatoes were ideal for spring and summer fare. And, yes, you can pour bread crumbs from a can, but by investing only a few extra minutes of time, you can make fresher and far tastier ones.

Casseroles are an American specialty, but countries around the world claim their own one-dish favorites. Youll see Italian roots in Lelias Venetian Chicken with Porcini Mushrooms and Fontina is reminiscent of English country cooking.

Some of these recipes can be prepped and baked in an hours time, but others will take the better part of an afternoon and would be perfect to cook on the weekend. A few dishes are best when made and served immediately, while many can be prepared several hours or even a day ahead.

You will find that the casseroles within these pages easily fit into your lifefor weeknight suppers, meals for company, for potluck dinners, and as thoughtful gifts for friends or neighbors in need.

When I began the research for this collection, a quick review of many contemporary cookbooks revealed that casseroles were not included. Their indexes went straight from carrots to, in some cases, caviar! That was my wake-up call to create the recipes in Sunday Casseroles. One of my friends put the need for this book very clearly, explaining that in her contemporary plugged-in and harried life, she consistently turns to one-dish meals. They are not supporting players in her culinary repertoire; they have leading roles.

I hope that these special casseroles find a place of honor in your kitchen, and that some day they, too, will evoke warm and wonderful memories. Imagine what Proust would have written, had his mother served him a chicken pot pie!