I'm Crazy for Casseroles

all gone!

Last night was the Fifth Annual Casserole Crazy Party hosted by Emily Farris, author of the book Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven!. Rob and I cooked up a mac and cheese creation that didn’t place in the competition but received an even higher honor – several people came to us and said that ours, more than anyone’s, captured the spirit of a casserole: comforting, cheesy, and just a little bit trashy.

We wanted to make a “man food” casserole and ended up calling it a Sooper Bowl Casserole (Because Super Bowl is trademarked!). I was envisioning a potato and cheese something, but last minute scrapped the potato idea entirely and wrote a new recipe. Late in the afternoon I had the inspiration to infuse it with beer, and last second Rob said, “Bacon would be awesome in this”. Since we keep kosher up in here he ran out and grabbed some Bacos (which are vegan) and we sprinkled them in.

Casseroles aren’t a usual part of my repertoire, but I think they should be. They’re a great mix of cooking and baking and a fantastic way to get rid of leftovers or disguise veggies for picky eaters – everything rocks when it’s smothered in cheese. I’m converted, and I’m going to be making more in the future. Friends, you have been warned.

Here is Emily’s recap on the competition and there are more photos over here at MetroMix New York, which is where I pulled the above photo of me holding up my empty casserole dish.

The recipe is below. I suggest you half it if you aren’t feeding a ton of people – this filled two 13×9″ dishes.

Sooper Bowl Casserole

1 small white onion
2 lbs. medium shell pasta, al dente
2 sticks butter + some for onion
12 tbs. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
3 cups milk
12 oz. lager, sipped once or twice
6 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup Bacos
potato chips

Cook and drain pasta. Chop onion into bits and then simmer in butter until caramelized. Preheat oven to 350 F. In large sauce pan, melt butter on low heat. Whisk in flour, salt and paprika. Cook until smooth and bubbling. Add milk, incorporate, and add beer. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, whisking slowly, occasionally. Add onions and cheese, cook to melting. Remove from heat, stir in Bacos. Mix with pasta and pour into greased dish. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake 25 minutes covered in foil, bake 5 minutes uncovered, until crushed potato chips are golden.

Beer – Brooklyn Brewery lager Cheeses – sharp cheddar, goat and gouda.