A role for casseroles in many kitchens

I’ll be blunt: I don’t really like casseroles.

Cook a meal in one pot, call it a one-pot meal and I’ll love it. But the moment you call it a casserole, I’ll pass.

No, it doesn’t make sense, and I’m OK with that. To me, the term “casserole” conjures images of Pyrex dishes filled with tuna lumps, canned mushroom soup, soggy noodles and crispy onion things.

But that’s just me. Sometimes (I begrudgingly recognize), nothing but a casserole will do.

Aunt Martha is feeling under the weather. Cousin Emily just had a baby. Skip and Cassandra are having a housewarming party.

It’s casserole time. Nothing shows love or friendship like showing up at the front door with a delicious casserole in your hands.

The folks at America’s Test Kitchen just released a brand new family cookbook — it’s called “The New Family Cookbook” — that has an entire chapter devoted to casseroles. Apparently, they like casseroles more than I do. But if it’s good enough for the folks at America’s Test Kitchen, it’s good enough for me.

And that got me thinking that other down-home, old-fashioned cookbooks are also probably good sources for casserole recipes. So I turned to “The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book,” also from this year, and it too has an entire chapter devoted to the mighty casserole. And finally, to round things out, I opened Jean Anderson’s “The American Century Cookbook,” which features popular and important recipes from the 20th century.

Though it takes a more historic approach to its subject, it too has a section about casseroles. Which only proves that everything old is new again. The book includes a hilarious quote showing just how far casserole cookery came in the century:

In her 1903 cookbook, Marion Harland wrote, “The French name ‘casserole’ has a certain amount of terror for the American housewife. The foreign word startles her and awakens visions of cooking as done by a Parisian chef, or by one who has made the culinary art his profession. She, a plain, everyday housekeeper, would not dare aspire to the use of a casserole.”

Be honest: When making a tuna casserole, did you ever think that the concept began in France?

In my quest for a casserole I liked, I began with a chicken base. King Ranch Casserole is named for Texas’ famous King Ranch, one of the largest in the world — it’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island. And the casserole it produces is big, too; it takes up every bit of a large baking dish.

Because it is a Tex-Mex-inspired dish, it is a little spicy but nothing too strong. It’s easy to cool off, too — just eliminate one or both of the jalapeños, and if you need to you can use regular diced tomatoes instead of the ones that come with the green chiles. But if you enjoy the moderate heat, it is awfully good the way it is.

Casseroles are rarely low in calories, of course, but this one is less low-cal than most. Perhaps that is why it is so delectable. Along with a cup of heavy cream, it is made with a pound of cheese and then topped with a few handfuls of crushed corn chips. All the other ingredients are good, too, but the corn chips are what really make it.

The Bean-and-Beef Enchilada Casserole is perhaps the most attractive of the casseroles I made, and also the most traditional, but it is not the most accurately named. The defining characteristic of an enchilada is that it is a tortilla that has been rolled and stuffed with something. The tortillas in this dish are neither rolled nor stuffed.

It’s more of a layered dish, as we used to call them. Tortillas on the bottom. Beef and beans and a couple of spices on top of that. Then a layer of sour cream and enchilada sauce. More tortillas. More beef and beans. More sour cream and enchilada sauce. Top it with melted cheddar cheese.

The best part is the way the tortillas soak up the flavor from the beef, beans and sauce. It’s just like, well, an enchilada.

Looking for something a little more healthy, I decided to make a Yellow Squash Casserole. It’s vegetarian, and it is even made without cheese. You might think that cheese is a requisite ingredient for any casserole, but this one has the other all-important ingredient: a topping. In this case, it is saltine cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter.

The interior of this casserole is intriguing. I don’t believe I have ever seen it before. You steam together a large amount of yellow squash, a clove of garlic and some onion. When the vegetables are soft, you mash them all up with a potato masher and then add butter, eggs, more cracker crumbs for body, a dash of brown sugar for sweetness and just a hint of nutmeg to round out the flavor of the squash.

It’s so good, it may make me rethink casseroles.

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KING RANCH CASSEROLE

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Vegetable oil spray

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 small onions, chopped fine

2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Ro-tel

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ½-inch slices

1 pound Colby Jack cheese, shredded, see note

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 1/2 cups corn chips such as Fritos, crushed

Note: If you can’t find Colby Jack cheese (also known as CoJack), substitute Monterey Jack cheese.

1. Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Lay tortillas on 2 baking sheets, lightly coat both sides with oil spray and bake until slightly crisp and browned, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly, then break into bite-sized pieces.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, chiles and cumin, and cook until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cream and broth, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chicken and cook until no longer pink, about 4 minutes; chicken should be slightly underdone. Off heat, stir in cheese and cilantro until cheese is melted.

4. Scatter half of tortilla pieces in 13-by-9-inch baking dish set over rimmed baking sheet. Spoon half of filling evenly over tortillas. Scatter remaining tortillas over filling, then top with remaining filling.

5. Bake casserole on lower rack until filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle corn chips evenly over top and bake until corn chips are lightly browned. Let casserole cool for 10 minutes.

To make ahead: Do not top casserole with corn chips; casserole can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. To serve, cover casserole dish tightly with greased aluminum foil and bake in 450-degree oven until hot throughout, about 30 minutes. Uncover, top with corn chips, and bake until corn chips are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Per serving (based on 8): 670 calories; 40 g fat; 20 g saturated fat; 150 mg cholesterol; 37 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 4 g sugar; 3.5 g fiber; 1,230 g sodium; 470 mg calcium.

Recipe from “The New Family Cookbook,” by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen.

BEAN-AND-BEEF ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Yield: 6 servings

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

Salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4-ounce) can diced green chile peppers, undrained

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

8 ounces sour cream or light sour cream

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

8 (6-inch) tortillas

1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, season ground beef and onion with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain fat and discard. Stir pinto beans, chiles, chili powder and cumin into meat mixture; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, flour and garlic powder until combined; set aside.

4. Arrange half of the tortillas to cover bottom of prepared baking dish, overlapping to fit as necessary. Top with half of the meat mixture, sour cream mixture and enchilada sauce. Repeat with remaining tortillas, meat mixture, sour cream mixture and enchilada sauce.

5. Cover with foil. Bake about 30 minutes or until heated through. Remove foil; sprinkle casserole with cheese and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

To make ahead: Prepare as directed through step 4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to 24 hours. Remove plastic wrap and cover dish with foil. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Per serving: 475 calories; 23 g fat; 11 g saturated fat; 85 mg cholesterol; 27 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar; 3 g fiber; 830 g sodium; 245 mg calcium.

Recipe adapted from “Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.”

Yellow Squash Casserole

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

6 medium yellow squash or zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 eggs, well beaten

3/4 cup soda-cracker (saltine) crumbs or rich round cracker (such as Ritz) crumbs

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Topping

1/2 cup fine soda-cracker crumbs

4 teaspoons melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 6-cup casserole well and set aside.

2. Cook squash, onion and garlic in water in covered, very large, heavy saucepan over medium heat until soft, 25 to 35 minutes. Drain well, mash as with potatoes and mix in salt, pepper and the 3 tablespoons butter. Beat in eggs, then stir in the 3/4 cup cracker crumbs, sugar and nutmeg. Spoon into casserole.

3. Topping: Toss the 1/2 cup cracker crumbs with the melted butter and scatter evenly over casserole.

4. Bake uncovered until nicely browned, 40 to 45 minutes.

Per serving (based on 6): 175 calories; 11 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 75 mg cholesterol; 6 g protein; 17 g carbohydrate; 6 g sugar; 3 g fiber; 505 g sodium; 50 mg calcium.

Recipe from “The American Century Cookbook,” by Jean Anderson.