Three mind-blowing casseroles
At-home Chef
By Eric Pacella |
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It's finally happened. A northerly wind has begun to blow, chasing the carefree days of summer away. It isn't such a bad thing. The simple joy of wearing a sweater is rediscovered. Driving to work with the windows down no longer yields a grumpy employee, dripping with sweat. Hot food (and hot coffee) sounds appealing for the first time in months.
This month, 614 partnered with our friends, Better Get a Napkin*! Productions & Kids Cooking Caravan, to come up with three deliciously steamy dishes, custom-crafted to warm you up, stick to your bones, and make you feel just a little bit better about the oncoming chill. It's no accident that one vegan, one meaty, and one breakfasty/desserty casserole all require the same baking temperature and time. Feel free to use this time to mentally prepare for the guests you have spontaneously invited - and to ready yourself for their utter amazement at your culinary skill.
Chicken, Butternut Squash, & Bacon Casserole
Ingredients:
8 ounces rigatoni pasta
6 to 8 slices bacon
2 tbsp. butter
1 red onion, diced
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 pound chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp. each: tarragon, rosemary, and parsley
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
8 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
1 tsp. salt, or to taste, plus about 2 tbsp. for boiling pasta
1/4 tsp. each: ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and celery salt
This dish is the ultimate in bone-sticking, brute-force taste bud stimulating madness. The trifecta of taste, tarragon, rosemary, and parsley, tag teams with its pals, waging total war against your tongue. There's no use fighting it, you're no match for this casserole. Just enjoy the ride.
If you haven't already, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Photo: Eric Pacella
Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water, following package directions. A couple tablespoons of salt in a 4-quart pot might seem like a lot, but remember that most of the salt will stay in the water when you strain the pasta. You won't regret it when you taste how flavorful your rigatoni turns out.
While your pasta is cooking, take the time to peel your squash and ginger with a standard peeler, although the ginger could also be peeled with a spoon. Grate the ginger on the fine side of an ordinary, everyday cheese grater.
In a large skillet or saucepan, cook the bacon until it becomes crispy. Remove the bacon, placing it on a paper towel and crumble it when it cools. Pour the grease from the skillet into an empty can or bottle, leaving about 2 teaspoons in the skillet. Add butter to the skillet and saute the onion and ginger over medium heat until the onion begins to brown up. Add your butternut squash and chicken, cooking until the squash begins to soften. At this point, add your herbs and cook for one minute longer. Gradually stir in the heavy cream and chicken broth, cooking until the mixture thickens slightly. Stir in your salt and spices. Add the crumbled bacon and half of the cheddar, stirring until it is well mixed. Combine this mixture with the rigatoni, and spoon everything into a buttered, 3-quart baking dish. Top off your casserole with the remaining cheese.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly. Uncover it and bake for 10 more minutes until the cheese begins to brown.
Stir Fry & Brown Rice Casserole
Ingredients
2 cups brown rice
4 cups water
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 cups of your choice: mix of sliced and chopped broccoli, carrot, red onion, cabbage, and sweet peppers
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/2 cup prepared Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
2 cups chow mein noodles
Warning: This is an extremely addictive dish. Eat at your own risk. Luckily, even after you've had twice your share, you won't feel greasy or bloated. It might even be the healthiest casserole you've ever had.
Photo: Eric Pacella
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Put the brown rice, water, and one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook the rice until soft, it should take about 50 minutes, and you can find an estimate on the package. When it is finished, fluff the rice with a fork and set it aside.
In the meantime, in a large saute pan or wok, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over high heat and stir fry the vegetables for about five minutes or until they begin to soften.
In a casserole dish, layer about 3/4 of the rice and all of the vegetables. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and sesame oil with a whisk or fork, and drizzle it on top of the vegetables. With a wooden spoon, spread the remaining brown rice over the vegetables and top it off with chow mein noodles.
Drizzle your Hoisin sauce over the noodles and marvel in wonder at the beautiful thing you have created.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake it for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and continue baking it for another 10 minutes until top of casserole is crisp.
Gingered Peach French Toast Casserole
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
6 large peaches, cubed
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced or grated
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. each: nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon
16 slices Italian bread
4 large eggs
2 cups milk
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
Perfect for breakfast or dessert, this French toast casserole is bursting with eye-opening flavor, capable of staving off the leftover sleepies from a late night out OR an impending food coma from the two casseroles you've already eaten and survived to tell the tale.
Again, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, if you haven't already.
Place your peaches, lime juice, maple syrup, and ginger in a small sauce pan. Cover and cook the mixture over low heat for 10 minutes, or until the peaches have softened. Mash the peaches until no large lumps are visible and strain, reserving and refrigerating the leftover juice.
Arrange eight slices of bread in a buttered 9 by 13-inch baking dish, top with peach mixture, followed by the remaining 8 bread slices. If you like, you can save some of the peach mixture to add to the top after baking. (See photo)
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and cream with a whisk until blended, then whisk in the cooled peach liquid.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread slices.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes until the egg mixture begins to firm. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes until the top is crisp.
Enjoy!
*Better Get A Napkin! Productions is a local group of culinary artists who, among other creative pursuits, create short films, are developing a cooking radio show, and as the Kids' Cooking Caravan, volunteer by putting on live, interactive cooking demonstrations designed to teach food basics to youngsters that they can, in turn, share with their parents. www.myspace.com/bganfilms
Originally Published: October 1, 2009
