The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever (39 page)

This venison stew simmers in the oven until it reaches tender succulence. Serve with a couple of vegetables to add contrasting colors, such as broccoli and baby carrots or Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce, lingonberry jam, or rowan jelly make great accompaniments, too.

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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 pounds venison, cut into 2-inch cubes

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup red or dry white wine

1 to 2 cups water

Pinch of dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 to 3 cloves of garlic

1 small celery root, peeled and cut into
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-inch dice

8 whole juniper berries

2 teaspoons salt

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teaspoon pepper

2 large onions (about 1 pound total), chopped

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pound small mushrooms

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon capers

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cup sliced green olives

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1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Put the flour in a shallow dish or plastic bag. Wipe the venison cubes dry and toss with the flour until lightly coated.
   
2. In a heavy 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven, melt the butter and add the venison pieces; cook over medium-high heat until browned. Add the wine and water and heat to boiling.
   
3. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, celery root, juniper berries, salt, and pepper. Stir to mix well, and top with the onions and mushrooms.
   
4. Cover tightly, place in the oven, and bake for 4 to 5 hours, until the venison is very tender. Stir in the sour cream and sprinkle with the capers and green olives.
   

If you have hunters in your family, it’s likely that you’ll have some frozen venison on hand. Venison can vary in tenderness, depending on the age of the animal. This recipe works for meats ranging from tough to tender because it is thinly sliced across the grain before cooking. The venison steaks are easier to cut into slices when partially frozen. The marinade is a classic Korean one used for beef. For a simple, authentic, and delicious meal, serve with steamed rice and stir-fried green beans seasoned with a touch of soy and sesame oil.

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2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 pound venison steaks, partially frozen

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons sliced green onion (white and green parts)

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teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

Dash of Tabasco sauce

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1. Put the sesame seeds in a small heavy skillet and stir over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Crush with a mortar and pestle or process in a blender until pulverized.
   
2. Cut the partially frozen venison across the grain into
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   -inch-thick slices. In a shallow 2-quart casserole or an 8-inch square baking dish, arrange the venison slices in a single layer.
   
3. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, green onion, sesame seeds, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and Tabasco. Pour over the meat. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight, turning over the venison slices once.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Tenderloin steaks will take 10 minutes to cook to rare.
   

Simple to assemble, this casserole is a classic Minnesota hot dish. Wild rice isn’t a rice at all, but rather the seed of a long-grained marsh grass native to some regions of the Great Lakes. It is now commercially grown and harvested, but the flavor of the hand-parched wild rice we buy from local Native Americans surpasses that of the commercial variety by far. Usually hand-parched rice cooks more quickly than the commercial rice because in the processing, less water is taken out of the grains. If you are lucky enough to be able to find hand-parched rice, reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.

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1 cup wild rice

1
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cups water

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cup all-purpose flour

1 pound venison, cut into 2-inch cubes

3 tablespoons oil or butter

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onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (14
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ounces) stewed tomatoes with their juice

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cup diced green bell peppers

1 teaspoon salt

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teaspoon chili powder

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teaspoon curry powder

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cups fresh or dried cranberries

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Rinse the rice in three changes of hot tap water and drain. In a saucepan, combine the rice with the water and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes. Drain off any remaining liquid. (The rice should not be entirely cooked at this point.)
   
3. Put the flour in a shallow bowl or plastic bag and coat the venison with the flour. In a heavy nonstick skillet, heat the oil or melt the butter and brown the venison with the chopped onion.
   
4. Transfer to a heavy 3-quart heavy casserole and add the rice, garlic, tomatoes with their juice, peppers, salt, chili powder, curry powder, and cranberries. Cover tightly and bake for 1
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   hours, or until the venison is tender and the rice is completely cooked, adding a little water if the casserole cooks dry.
   

Swiss chard is a member of the beet family, which is not surprising, given the reddish stalks and chunky leaves of one variety. Although it is available year-round, Swiss chard is best in the summer. It is considered a cruciferous vegetable and a good source of vitamins A and C. In this dish the Swiss chard is cooked and layered with polenta and cheese, making it a healthy and tasty one-dish meal. Polenta is the Italian name for cornmeal, but often the finished dish is called “polenta,” too.

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1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch red-stemmed Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped separately

2 tablespoons water

FOR THE POLENTA:

2 cups low-fat or skim milk

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cups water

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teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta, corn grits, or cornmeal

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

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cup sour cream

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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a shallow 2
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   - to 3-quart casserole.
   
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok with a cover over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds; stir in the Swiss chard stems. Add the 2 tablespoons water, cover the pan, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Swiss chard leaves and cook, covered, until the leaves are wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, uncovered.
   
3. To make the polenta: Combine the milk, water, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and slowly whisk in the polenta. Cook, whisking, until the mixture is thickened to the consistency of mashed potatoes, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, the butter, and the mozzarella cheese.
   
4. Spread half the polenta in the casserole dish and spoon the Swiss chard on top, distributing it evenly. Spread the sour cream over the Swiss chard. Spread the remaining polenta over the sour cream. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. (At this point up the casserole can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Add about 5 minutes to the baking time.)
   
5. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden on top and sizzling. Do not overcook.
   

Although fettuccine is the classic pasta paired with Alfredo sauce—a rich sauce made with butter, Parmesan, and heavy cream—Alfredo is wonderful used in many different ways. Here the sauce is combined with bow tie pasta and vegetables.

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3 cups farfalle (bow tie pasta)

2 cups fresh broccoli stems and florets

1
roasted red bell pepper
, peeled, seeded, and sliced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried

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cups
Alfredo sauce
, storebought or homemade

2 cups freshly shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole.
   
2. Cook the pasta as directed on the package until al dente, or firm to the bite. Add the broccoli to the pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.
   
3. Combine all of the ingredients except the cheese. Transfer to the casserole, cover, and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted.
   

Variation:
Add 2 cups diced cooked chicken to the casserole along with the Alfredo Sauce for a satisfying one-dish casserole.

Chipotle chiles are actually dried and smoked jalapeño chiles. They’re easiest to find either whole or minced in an adobo sauce, which is a dark-red piquant sauce made from ground chiles, herbs, and vinegar. The can may be simply labeled “adobo sauce.” You can use almost any tube-shaped pasta in this recipe, such as ziti, penne, rigatoni, or even macaroni.