The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever (22 page)

•••••

NOTE:
Colby Jack cheese
is a blend of Monterey Jack and colby. If it is not available in your stores, use a blend of half Monterey Jack cheese and half mild Cheddar.

If you have cooked chicken on hand, you can skip step 1. You’ll need about 3 cups of cooked chicken for this recipe.

•••••

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

4 cups water

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

2 cups
Basic White Sauce

1 can (16 ounces) creamed corn

8 saltine crackers, crumbled

2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese

•••••

1. Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Put into a large saucepan and add water to cover. Add the salt. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the heat and cool the chicken in the liquid (see
   Saving Liquid
   ). Dice the meat.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In another saucepan, prepare the white sauce.
   
3. Pour the canned corn into a deep 3-quart casserole. In layers, add half of the crumbled crackers, all the diced chicken, all the white sauce, and the remaining crackers. Top with the cheese. (At this point, the casserole can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Add 10 minutes to the oven time.)
   
4. Bake the dish, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly around the edges.
   

•••••

NOTE:
The liquid can be used in the sauce, if desired, or saved for another use.

When you have extra meat from a roasted or barbecued chicken on hand, this casserole will put it to good use in no time. Coleslaw is a perfect accompaniment, followed by apple pie for dessert.

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2 cups diced cooked chicken, or 1 can (13 ounces) chicken breast, drained and chopped

1
¹
/
₂
cups cooked brown rice

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup diced celery

2 tablespoons minced green onions (white and green parts)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1
¹
/
₂
cups chicken broth,
homemade
or prepared

Salt

Pepper

Buttered fine breadcrumbs

•••••

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix the chicken and rice. Melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the celery and onions. Sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour, coating the vegetables. Add the broth and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth.
   
3. Combine the sauce with the chicken and rice mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to the casserole and top with buttered breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, or until heated through.
   

Before this casserole is assembled, a whole chicken is poached with herbs in a slow oven. To save time, you can purchase a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and skip step 1.

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FOR THE CHICKEN:

1 chicken (3
¹
/
₂
to 4 pounds), cut up

1 bay leaf

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic

Handful of celery leaves

1 to 2 sprigs fresh parsley

1 tablespoon salt

¹
/
₂
teaspoon dried sage

4 cups water

FOR THE CHOWDER:

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups half-and-half

¹
/
₂
teaspoon dried thyme

Salt

Pepper

•••••

1. To make the chicken:
   Wash the chicken pieces. Put in a Dutch oven and add the bay leaf, carrot, garlic, celery leaves, parsley, salt, and sage. Add the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until the chicken is done. Cool in the broth.
   
2. Remove the meat from the bones and cut into chunks. You should have about 3
   ¹
   /
   ₂
   cups of meat. Discard the bones and skin. Strain the broth and discard the residue. Skim the fat from the broth and boil until reduced to 2 cups.
   
3. To make the chowder:
   Preheat the oven to 300°F. Clean out the pot, and melt the butter. Add the onion and potatoes and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the onion is tender. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth. Add the chicken, half-and-half, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Place the pot in the oven, and bake, covered, until the potatoes are tender and the flavors have developed, about 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Serve hot.
   

What an effortless and delicious way to roast a whole chicken! This is an adaptation of a recipe from Julia Child’s
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
.

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1 chicken (3
¹
/
₂
to 4 pounds)

Salt

Pepper

4 tablespoons butter, divided

2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves, crushed

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

6 cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, sliced

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

¹
/
₄
cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth,
homemade
or prepared

1 tablespoon Madeira or port

Fresh herbs for garnish, such as tarragon, rosemary, parsley, or whatever is in season

•••••

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
   
2. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper to taste. Rub the skin with 1 tablespoon of the butter and the dried rosemary leaves. Put 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in the cavity and stuff the rosemary sprigs and 3 cloves of the garlic inside the cavity. Tie the legs of the chicken together and turn the wings so that the tips are under the back of the chicken.
   
3. Put the remaining 2 tablepoons butter into a deep, heavy Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and remaining 3 cloves garlic and stir until they are coated with butter. Push most of the vegetables to the sides of the pot and place the chicken, breast side up, in the center of the pot. Cover the pot.
   
4. Roast the chicken and vegetables for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, you can easily wiggle a chicken leg, and the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a knife. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and surround it with the vegetables. Keep warm.
   
5. Place the pot over medium heat and whisk the flour into the drippings. Whisk in the chicken broth to make a smooth gravy. Taste for salt and pepper and add the Madeira.
   
6. To serve, spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and surround with fresh herbs.
   

Like baked beans in New England, there are many versions of this dish in France. Usually it contains a variety of meats, but there are always beans. Serve this with a steamed vegetable and a loaf of bread.

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4 slices bacon, diced

4 sweet Italian sausages, cut crosswise into chunks

1 chicken (3
¹
/
₂
pounds), cut up

1
¹
/
₂
cups chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups chopped fresh parsley

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon salt

¹
/
₂
teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1 bay leaf

6 cups
cooked white beans

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1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
   
2. Place a large Dutch oven or heavy cast-iron casserole over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble the bacon when cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pot.
   
3. Add the sausages and chicken pieces, raise the heat to medium-high, and brown, turning once. Push to the sides of the pot, and add the onion, garlic, and parsley. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onion softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, wine, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and beans. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Sprinkle with the cooked bacon.
   

As the polenta cooks beneath the chicken and vegetables, it rises up to almost encase the chicken. Serve with a platter of roasted red and yellow bell peppers.

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1 cup stone-ground or coarse cornmeal

4 cups hot chicken broth,
homemade
or prepared (or water)

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1 whole chicken (3 to 3 pounds), cut up into 8 pieces

¹
/
₂
teaspoon paprika

¹
/
₄
teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons butter

1 package (10 ounces) frozen artichoke hearts, cooked

¹
/
₂
pound mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons dry sherry

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, or
¹
/
₂
teaspoon dried, crushed

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
   
2. Spread the cornmeal over the bottom of the dish and pour chicken broth or water over it. Add 1 teaspoon salt if using water rather than chicken broth.
   
3. Remove the skin and visible fat from the chicken and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, the paprika, and pepper.
   
4. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chicken pieces, a few at a time. Place the chicken on top of the cornmeal and broth mixture in the baking dish. Arrange the artichoke hearts between the chicken pieces.
   
5. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the flour to the pan, stir until the flour is very lightly browned, and stir in the sherry and rosemary leaves. Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly over the chicken and artichokes.
   
6. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the polenta is done.
   

A dear friend, Harriet Viksna, a Latvian refugee, gave wonderful dinner parties and often served Chicken Marengo. Her table held eight, but she always invited twelve. The extra four sat at the corners of the table and ate off salad plates. One of the evening’s delightful moments was when Harriet dramatically told the story of
Napoleon and Chicken Marengo
.

Here is what Harriet served with Chicken Marengo: First, an apéritif of vermouth or Asti Spumante. Then a salad of potatoes and aïoli. We washed that down with an excellent red Barolo wine. For dessert,
spumone alla piemontese
, a mousse of mascarpone cheese and rum, was a sweet finale. We ended the evening with an espresso and an Italian liqueur.

•••••

1 chicken (3 to 3
¹
/
₂
pounds), cut into serving pieces

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper

¹
/
₄
cup olive oil

¹
/
₂
cup dry white wine

1 small clove garlic

10 small mushrooms

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 white truffle, sliced, or 3 dried morels, crushed

A few tablespoons water or chicken broth as needed

FOR GARNISH:

6 slices bread

6 small eggs

Butter for frying eggs

Minced fresh parsley

•••••

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready a 3-quart casserole with a cover.
   
2. Wash the chicken pieces, pat dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the chicken pieces. Remove to the baking dish.
   
3. Add the wine, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, and sliced truffle or crushed morels to the skillet. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes, adding a little water or chicken broth if the sauce gets too dry.
   
4. Pour over the chicken, cover, and bake for 1
   ¹
   /
   ₂
   hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.
   
5. Meanwhile, make the garnishes:
   Cut each slice of bread into a heart shape using a cookie cutter if you have one, or a round one if you don’t. Toast on both sides. Fry the eggs in a small amount of butter until still runny in the middle and trim with a round cookie cutter. Arrange the eggs on top of the toasts.
   
6. To serve, arrange the chicken on a platter, pour the sauce over the chicken, and sprinkle with parsley. Arrange the eggtopped toasts around the edge of the platter.