These Aren't Your Grandma's Casserole Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why does Anna always make chicken casserole? ›

Rich, comforting, and creamy, Anna's casserole dish starts out as an easy weeknight dinner that helps her get through the day after the death of her daughter, Elizabeth, and her divorce from her husband, Douglas.

Let's talk anatomy: A standard dinner casserole usually includes a protein, a starch, a vegetable, a sauce (or other binding ingredient), and cheese. But making a casserole is not an exact science, and you can definitely break away from this formula. Check out some fun side-dish casseroles and desserts below!

Unless food will be frozen, it's safest and will provide the best quality product to start preparing most perishable foods no more than a day before a meal. For example, assemble a vegetable casserole a day in advance, refrigerate and then bake the day of your dinner.

Anna makes the dishes because they remind her of her daughter and each time, the process becomes a little less painful as Anna works through her grief and guilt over Elizabeth's death.

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

The binder, a liquid that holds the other ingredients together. – Fat-free milk, broth, fruit juice, soup, eggs, or a thickened Béchamel/White sauce.

A casserole is a loose collection of ingredients bound together in a dish and baked until they turrn into a cohesive whole. It is not quite a dip, and not quite a composed dish. Cheese is often involved, but not always.

Casserole history

Apparently, casseroles originated as communal pots that people shared for meals. The oldest recipe for a casserole, around 1250, consisted of pasta sheets cooked in water, layered with grated cheese and spices.

In the United States, a casserole or hot dish is typically a baked food with three main components: pieces of meat (such as chicken or ground meat) or fish (such as tuna) or other protein (such as beans or tofu), various chopped or canned vegetables (such as green beans or peas), and a starchy binder (such as flour, ...

Do you cook vegetables before putting in casserole? ›

Soft vegetables like broccoli can be quickly par-cooked (aka blanched). If you are using hard vegetables like potatoes or carrots or other hardy root vegetables, you'll want to par-cook for longer. Often a quick 2-5 minutes in the microwave will just give them that great head-start.

Generally, casseroles with grains, rice or pasta that will cook during the baking process are usually covered, for at least part of the time. Casseroles made of cooked ingredients are usually baked uncovered. If you like a crisper, browner top, be sure the casserole is uncovered for at least part of the bake time.

Balance Flavors

Casseroles can really shine when they achieve a harmonious balance of flavors. Sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic elements should blend well and complement each other. Add ingredients like caramelized onions, olives, or lemon zest to give your casserole a depth of flavor.

The short answer is both. Covering a casserole traps heat and steam and gets the casserole cooking. However, you also have to take the cover off to get a crunchy, browned top.

Casseroles and "Southern Hospitality" Go Hand-in-Hand

They are warm dishes rich with flavor, texture, and soul. Casseroles are a simple way to feed a big group and are great for leftovers the next day."

They're easy to fix, feed a ton of folks, and can often be made ahead. What would Thanksgiving be without green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and of course, cornbread dressing—which is made in a casserole dish, so it totally counts.

The protagonist of the series, Anna, is seen baking a Chicken Casserole throughout the series. The casserole plays a bigger role in the thriller series than anyone would expect. If you watch closely, the Chicken Casserole actually gives out a clue that leads Anna to the killer.

“Many of the ingredients and inspiration behind these casseroles came from our European ancestors who settled in the Midwest, such as noodle casseroles from Germany, potato gratins from France, and shepherds' pies and pot pies from England.”