Casserole

When sick, people typically head straight for chicken noodle soup or some other mild-flavored, broth-based soup to nurse them back to health. Not Crystal. Oddly enough, when Crystal is feeling a little under the weather, she craves spice to comfort her. We’re talking hot-and-sour soup, pho with lots of Sriracha sauce, and her ultimate cure-all favorite, curry! Extremely satisfying, this dish’s fragrant spices alone will perk you right up. Serve over steamed jasmine rice or with traditional Indian bread called naan.

This Greek casserole is traditionally pasta baked in a flavorful meat sauce and topped with another sauce, such as béchamel. But we decided to skip the extra layer of sauce and cover ours with layers of buttery, flaky phyllo dough instead. The phyllo adds a nice crunch to this delicious dish, making a truly scrumptious, savory pie. Don’t pull out your best dinnerware for this one. It’s so tasty, you’ll want to throw your plate and yell “Opa”! Note that the cheeses won’t really melt. They will soften and become nice and creamy, but it won’t be gooey like a Cheddar or American cheese.

Every family has a signature dish, and this one belongs to the Lovitt family. Sandy’s other half, Michael, grew up on this dish, and to this day his mom makes it for him whenever he goes home to visit. In fact, Michael’s mom, Jayne, has been making this dish ever since she was newly wed to her husband, Mike. The story goes that when Jayne and Mike were first married, they spent a lot of time with another couple in the neighborhood (we’ll call them “Bob and Sally”). Jayne, Mike, Bob, and Sally would get together on a regular basis and play cards. Eventually, they decided that they would start making dinner for each other, too. This tradition didn’t last long before Bob called and said they could no longer participate in the dinner parties. When Jayne asked if everything was okay, Bob said that Sally was very upset because there was no way she could ever compete with Jayne’s baked spaghetti. They haven’t spoken in thirty years!

Crystal’s sister, Cindy, has always been a fantastic cook, but recently she has found a special connection in the kitchen. During a year-and-a-half-long treatment for breast cancer, she found that cooking is amazing therapy. Not only has Cindy been a great sounding board for our recipes, she concocted this easy, nutritious, and delicious dish that is so tasty that we just had to share it with the rest of the world. Go Cindy! Go Cindy!

You haven’t had a baked ziti like this before. Our version of this traditional favorite enhances the flavor with a creamy co-mingling of tangy Gorgonzola, nutty fontina, mozzarella, and sharp Parmesan cheese. Since this is such a rich and filling dish, it’s great to serve when entertaining both vegetarians and meat lovers. Who doesn’t love cheesy baked pasta? If you can’t find Gorgonzola or fontina at your local market, you can substitute! Use regular ol’ blue cheese for the Gorgonzola and replace the fontina with shredded Italian cheese mix. These prepared cheese mixes usually include a variety of tasty Italian cheeses that complement this dish perfectly.

Love it or hate it, the tuna noodle casserole is an American classic. This dish and the renowned green bean casserole are the two most asked about casseroles that are not currently on our menu. Why, you ask? We deliver our products frozen, and neither of these dishes freezes well. They’re best when enjoyed fresh from the oven. With that said—and after the umpteenth request for this old-school favorite—we pay our respects here.

Spam is alive and well here in Austin, Texas. (And oddly enough we do mean Austin, Texas, and not Austin, Minnesota, which happens to be the home of the Hormel product!) Since 1976, local Austinites have been celebrating this forgotten potted pork at the annual Spamarama Festival. The festival offers attendees a variety of options, such as the Spamalypics, the Spam Jam for local musicians, and our favorite competition, the Spam Cook-off ! Here is a casserole dedicated to the beauty of Spam. We love you!

It’s called a defining moment. For Madonna, it was “Everybody.” For Brad Pitt, it was Thelma and Louise. For us, well, it was our chicken pot pie that started it all. Now, we aren’t saying that we’re the next Madonna or Brad Pitt. But, in all honesty, you wouldn’t be reading this book if it weren’t for this recipe. As seen on Food Network’s Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, this signature dish is our claim to fame. It’s not just any old pot pie—oh, no. We took great care to bring this everyday comfort food to new gourmet heights. White wine, tarragon, and shallots are just some of the surprise ingredients tucked under a perfectly golden brown puff pastry. It’s the dish that made people sit up and take notice of us, and now it’s your turn to take the spotlight.

The King Ranch Casserole is as much a part of Texas history as the Alamo. So imagine when Crystal—originally from Georgia—marched into Sandy’s kitchen with some ideas on how to improve the dish. Yep, you guessed it. Disaster. You just can’t mess with Texas. Our recipe hasn’t budged from the original, which has been in Sandy’s family for as long as she can remember. Our fellow Austinites share the same love for this traditional recipe and have made the King Ranch one of our most popular menu items. Enjoy!

Ah, the Corn Dog Casserole! Just the smell alone will get the kids to the table in time for dinner. Maybe even your neighbor’s kids. Okay, forget the kids. Who are we kidding? If you’ve ever dropped by your local carnival or street fair just to get yourself a corn dog, this is the dish for you! It’s fun to act like a kid sometimes, anyway.

From Russia with love! Our stroganoff has all the velvety richness of the original comfort-food favorite, with just a little kick (we can’t help ourselves—we’re from Texas, where Tabasco sauce is practically a food group). Our secret ingredient is tomato soup! We added the soup to brighten up the overall flavor of the dish. But don’t worry, our variation of this classic is still enough to make you want to Cossack-dance your way back for seconds.

Ah, the never-ending debate of shepherd’s pie versus cottage pie. So, what’s the difference? It’s all about the meat. A shepherd’s pie traditionally calls for lamb, and a cottage pie calls for beef (or sometimes only vegetables). We wouldn’t think of calling our meat pie a shepherd’s pie, as we’d rather keep ourselves out of the line of fire. The beauty of this meal is that it’s a great way to use leftovers. Include what you have on hand, whether beef or lamb, or even just a great mix of vegetables. Our favorite interpretation is below, so once you master the steps, try your hand at a variation.

It usually hits you from out of nowhere. You walk into a kitchen and bam!—there it is—a smell so welcoming and so familiar that you find yourself transported to another time and place. Smells are magical like that. Every time Sandy starts to make this dish, her mind becomes filled with fond memories from her childhood of meals shared with her trio of sisters, Yvonne, Yvette, and Kellye. This was her family’s favorite meal growing up, and we hope that it will create as many sweet memories for you as it has for Sandy. Don’t confuse chili sauce with hot pepper sauce or canned chili (been there, done that!). Chili sauce is found in the grocery next to ketchup. We suggest serving this casserole over rice. Try our recipe on page 195.

I really enjoy the flavor of sweet potato and fennel. If you’re not a fan of the latter’s licorice-like taste, substitute caraway seeds. I love the way seafood’s sweetness is enhanced by them. These individual casseroles bring the flavors of Mississippi’s hills and Gulf Coast together quite nicely.

This side dish is as easy to put together as it is tasty; my mom made it for us at least once a week. It packs lots of nutrition and flavor into a single dish, it is a very successful way to get kids to eat broccoli, and it is great to eat with so many things. Try it with Tilapia with Citrus-Garlic Sauce (page 74), Lemon Fried Chicken (page 80), or Meat Loaf (page 115). Any amount of butter works here. I tend to use a lot, but feel free to use less.

A dear friend from London gave me this recipe and a bit of good English advice: The key to great shepherd’s pie is the ketchup. So taste the turkey mixture before adding it to the baking dish and add another spoonful or two of ketchup if desired. The chili powder gives good flavor but no heat, so don’t let it scare you.

When I am in Malibu, I often serve this cheesy, hearty dish with a fresh fruit salad and warm croissants for brunch on the veranda.

Panade sounds kind of “chefy” but in truth, the dish, made from crusty bread and lots of cheese, is just a cross between a savory bread pudding and holiday stuffing. When mixed with eggs and cream, the bread softens so it becomes almost soufflé-like, with pillows of puffy goodness infused with chard and caramelized onions. If something can be peasant food and elegant at once, this is it! Pair this as a side with Whole Roasted Chicken with Plumped Raisins, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Arugula (page 142) or serve it with a simple green salad, and you’ve got dinner.