Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Roles, Casa

Lately, for the first time in my life really, I've been thinking about casseroles.  I never had a problem with them, but they weren't really something that I would think of.  They were always at church dinners and occasionally we would have one at home, but not often, so they just didn't cross my mind.  But recently the casserole has snuck into my brain.  I'm sure it goes along with the whole pop culture looking back to the 50's, retro, vintage thing. Is Mad Men the chicken or the egg, I'm not sure, but it's all quite fun.  Some food blogs I read are also talking about casseroles and The Kitchn's Faith Durand just released a book called Not Your Mother's Casseroles.  Not that I have ANY problem with my mothers cooking, but I thought it sounded fun so I checked it out from the library.  There were some interesting recipes, but one problem... I didn't have a casserole dish.  I know it can be done, but who really wants to make a casserole in a boring old aluminum rectangle pan?  Isn't that brightly colored ceramic dish half the fun of baking a casserole?  Well, it would be to me.

I went on with my life without thinking too much about the casserole thing but then one day last week, there I was, killing time in the TJ Maxx and off the shelf and into my hands jumped the best looking casserole dish I'd seen in ages.  Red with white polka dots?  Hello!  Of course you are coming home with me!  I'm even using birthday money and calling this one a gift!  I am in a new decade now, and that means its okay to want cookware for my birthday, right?

Tonight is my debut night with the casserole.  I am making a dish that features rotini, chicken sausages with sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, spinach with sauteed garlic, diced tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.  I hope it is delicious! I made a great mess putting it together and got a little nervous as my dish reached its capacity and I kept adding more of the mixture. I'm sure it is WAY too much food, but I love my leftovers at the office! Only 5 more minutes in the oven and a few minutes of rest and I'll be able to dig in!

Full and ready for the oven!



Friday, March 4, 2011