Casserole

Creamy potatoes are baked in a casserole.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr

If you don't happen to have any day-old corn bread on hand, just follow our recipe — fresh regular corn bread may be too moist. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 hr (includes making corn bread)

"For a dinner with company, I often pop these in the oven with a roast, then serve them on dressed mixed greens as an appetizer," writes Elsie Wollaston of Vancouver, Canada. "I also like to serve them directly from the ramekins as a brunch dish."

This rich, savory dish (pronounced shrimp mah-lih-tone) is pure Cajun comfort food. In Louisiana it's often served as a side dish; it also works as a first course.

I came up with this recipe one day when I was boiling a big old hen for chicken soup and had plenty of meat left over, but if you don't care to fool with that, the casserole can easily be made with a nicely roasted chicken picked up in a deli or supermarket.

Nearly every cook in Newberry County makes his or her own rendition of Dunbar macaroni. In Gourmet's kitchens, we combined some favorite additions to the basic recipe to come up with this version.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 hr

This zesty, eye-opening casserole can be made with either pork or beef chorizo.

Our executive food editor used to spend summer vacations in Horton Bay, Michigan, where a version of the following recipe was an unusual but popular sweet-and-savory accompaniment to lakeside barbecues.

To complete this meatless supper, have Italian bread and mesclun salad with pine nuts. End the meal with any type of winter fruit tart from the bakery.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 12 hr (includes soaking beans)

This recipe is based on a delicious dish made by Laura DaMiano, a Quebecois chef. She loves the flavor of butternut squash paired with Oka cheese, a mild, semisoft cow's-milk cheese. Mild Cheddar can be used as a substitute. If you are making this entire menu in a single oven, and you are not making the scalloped squash ahead, you can bake the squash while the ham is standing after braising.