It’s been several years since I’d made this, and it’s a winner of a recipe.

When I made this last week I was reminded how much I love this casserole. Just now I had to look up when it was I posted it – in 2009. But I’ve been preparing this dish for over 50 years. It’s definitely stood the test of time. A recipe from a friend of my parents. She served it to my family one night we went to her house for dinner, back in the 1960s-70s. She also made a big green salad with tomato and cucumber in it and offered some bread on the side. A complete meal. I also posted this recipe in 2016 but made with ground lamb, which is more traditional in Greece.

This recipe is called “easy” because it’s not a traditional moussaka – which is made with eggplant and with a rich Bechamel sauce poured over the top. Here it’s a simple mock Bechamel sauce made with cottage cheese, a bit of yogurt, Feta, some seasonings and Parmigiano cheese. And then there’s the meat part – usually it’d be lamb. Here it is ground beef instead.

First  you cook the zucchini – it produces a lot of liquid, so either drain it a bit or keep the heat high enough that it doesn’t produce much liquid. You don’t cook it all the way, however, as this bakes in the oven. Then you make the meat layer – onion, ground beef, garlic, tomato sauce and seasonings. That’s poured over the zucchini. Then throw together the topping – the cottage cheese, eggs, yogurt, Feta, cinnamon and Parm. Into the oven it goes for about 30 minutes until it’s bubbling hot. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

What’s GOOD: well, easy, that’s for sure, although there is layered cooking or prep involved. So tasty with the saucy meat in the middle, the zucchini on the bottom, and then the cheesy sauce on top. Altogether delicious.

What’s NOT: nothing, really. Maybe 25-35 minutes of prep cooking before it goes into the casserole and into the oven.

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Scrumptious breakfast dish sure to please the palate.

As it happened, daughter Sara and her husband John stopped by my house on their way home from a concert from the night before, so I decided to serve a lunch/brunch.

I did begin with a recipe I’d found online, but I changed it so much, it bears no resemblance to the original, so I won’t even mention it. I’d purchased some beef chorizo at Sprout’s. I’m very picky about where I will buy Mexican chorizo – grocery store blends end up being a gloppy red mess when you try to cook it, but I assumed Sprout’s would prepare something meaty and not loaded with fat. It was. I’d definitely buy it there again.

First I cooked the chorizo in a frying pan, chopping it up into smaller pieces as it rendered some. Once it was mostly cooked I added about 1/2 cup of red onion (chopped) and let it cook until translucent. Meanwhile I’d shredded a bunch of Monterey Jack cheese (more than 2 cups) and mixed up 6 eggs with some salt, pepper and half and half. The chorizo mixture went into the casserole dish, then I dotted the top with cottage cheese (optional), then added a bit more than half the cheese, then poured in the eggs and sprinkled the remaining cheese on top.

The dish baked at 350° for about 35 minutes until the center of the casserole was firm. I sprinkled the top with some fresh cilantro and served it. Alongside, I served a hot (lightly) smashed potato salad – I’ll post that in a day or two. I also served a green salad with lots of veggies in it and a sliced avocado on top.

What’s GOOD: Oh gosh, chorizo in anything is pretty darned good. Loved the combo of chorizo and Jack cheese. My family loved it and I did too. I’d definitely make this casserole again.

What’s NOT: not a thing. Be sure to drain any fat from the chorizo as it’s cooking. Chorizo is very rich; why, I don’t know, but it makes any dish taste particularly fat-forward. Delicious, however.

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The last recipe from the meatloaf cook-off. This one was the winner.

It’s kind of funny – Dianne was convinced her Turkey Meatloaf with Swiss Cheese would win the cook-off, hands-down. We made four meatloaves – one from Erin French’s dad, my favorite with a sweet/sour topping, Dianne’s turkey meatloaf, and on a whim, Dianne decided to make this one, with Italian sausage (along with ground beef too) in it and has grated Mozzarella on top. We served them with creamy mashed potatoes.

Note that she used parchment inside the pan, and it really helped getting it out of the pan, ready for slicing and serving.

Meatloaves, in general, have some similar ingredients – the beef or pork or turkey (the protein), bread crumbs, an egg or two, probably onion, and then it’s up to you. Herbs? Sauce inside? Grated cheese? In this case, there’s some diced up red bell pepper, Italian-style bread crumbs, an egg, some grated Parm, dried oregano and red pepper flakes. In this one you add some jarred pasta sauce IN the meatloaf and the remainder is spooned over the top, then the grated Mozzarella added during the last 5 minutes of baking.

What’s GOOD: well, as I mentioned, this one won the cook-off .. . everybody loved the texture of the meat (the mixture of beef and Italian sausage) and the pasta sauce on the top too, and the gooey Mozzarella as well. Altogether delicious meatloaf.

What’s NOT: not a thing. Really delicious meatloaf.

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Such a nice, tender corned beef with a semi-sweet apricot glaze with mustard.

Change of subject here: It’s been a long time since I’ve talked (written) about grief. In another week or so it will be 10 years since my dear husband Dave died after having a stroke. I can’t believe it’s been that long . . . time sometimes dragged after it happened; every day was a misery, then as grief does, a day of less angst, then more of them, until eventually the days upon days of grieving were mostly in the past. It took about a year or more for that to happen. At first there were lots of business-y things to deal with, the trust attorneys, the special tax return to be filed. Money to be moved here and there. Some of that busy-ness kept me grounded, distracted from the grieving. It was always there in the background, though. Erupting in the evenings when I felt so alone. I still have moments, memories arise and cause a fall of my stomach, sometimes from seeing an old photo, or a fragment of a memory of old times.

Recently I’ve had some issues with my main house. I had a major leak and mold to deal with. Teams of people had to come in to fix, repair. It took weeks and weeks and weeks to get it repaired. Then a roof leak during the last heavy rains. Fortunately I was able to get someone to come and find the leak and repair it. Then I needed termite work done. Money has been pouring through my checking account. Dave would have been front and center making the phone calls, weighing the bids, watching the repairs. Since he’s been gone those things fall on me. Sometimes it’s a heavy load.

As I’ve mentioned before, grief is a fickle thing. It comes and goes. I feel it today – I’m writing this on Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day. I am out in the desert, a small condo Dave never knew since my daughter Sara, her husband John, and I bought it just a few years ago. Knowing St. Patrick’s Day was coming up, I decided to make a celebratory dinner. Celebratory. What was I celebrating, I asked myself? Just me. I bought a corned beef, had cabbage and onions on hand, a few carrots, and then I decided to make Irish Soda Bread.

As the day has progressed, the corned beef slowly simmered on the stove, soda bread was made, and vegetables prepared. And I suddenly felt very bereft. Lost. Sad. Alone. Dave would have loved the upcoming meal – he loved corned beef. At one point I weighed, did I really even want this dinner? Many holidays since Dave has been gone go unmarked, no special fanfare. And I’ve been fine with it. Not Christmas or Thanksgiving because I’m almost always with family then, but other holidays like July 4th, Easter, or this, St. Patrick’s Day. Tears began to form in my eyes, me feeling sorry for myself. I took a deep breath. Talked to myself. Pick yourself up, Carolyn, make it festive. Could I hear Dave’s voice saying, enjoy it, honey, wish I was there with you. Yes, I could imagine him saying that, though I didn’t really hear him. Can’t waste a perfectly good (and expensive) corned beef. Get a grip. And so I did.

The Irish Soda Bread is already on the blog – it’s Ina Garten’s, lightly flavored with orange zest. Wonderful as toast with butter and jam. The corned beef was made differently – although I like the recipe I’ve used in the past (more than one) I was interested in making one with a fruit glaze. Found one online that suggested orange marmalade as the base. Shopping at the store, they were OUT of marmalade, so I substituted Bonne Maman’s apricot fruit spread instead. Mixed with Dijon mustard and brown sugar.

The corned beef was simmered for hours, then put into a low baking dish, glazed and baked for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile I cooked the vegetables in the same pan I’d simmered the corned beef. Sliced a piece of the bread, still warm from the oven, spread with butter. A dinner made. The corned beef was great, but I wasn’t by that time, really in the mood. I ate. I washed a mound of dishes, watched TV and went to bed. Now I’m writing this on Monday morning, back home. Feeling fine today, not sad. That little grief spell is overwith now. Glad to see it go .. . meanwhile, do try the corned beef and especially the Irish soda bread.

What’s GOOD: I loved the corned beef, particularly with the kinda sweet/savory glaze (the savory coming from the mustard). I had a bit of the glaze with every bite. The veggies were okay. Loved the bread, especially the 2nd slice I had not just with butter, but some of the apricot fruit spread on top too.
What’s NOT: nothing really .. . all of it was good. And yes, I’d make it again with the apricot glaze.
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There were a couple of posts I’d forgotten about writing up. This one for sure. Herbdacious is an herb paste you prepare in bulk (well, it makes a cup or so) and  you use it judiciously in other things. The meatloaf? With Kalamata olives? How’s that for different?

You have to hand it to chefs these days – well, maybe for a long time. It’s their job to make ordinary things better; or to create some new method of cooking, or combine unusual ingredients to make an all-new flavor of something. The latter is the case here – who would have thought of using Kalamata olives in a meatloaf? Never in a million years would I have created that! I was skeptical. Yet, this meatloaf is delicious. It’s definitely savory – you know what I mean in that some meatloaves have a sweet topping, like ketchup. My old family favorite is one of those with a sweet and sour tomato-based topping. This one – although it does have a bit of honey in it, it’s still a very savory meatloaf.

Over the  years I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Kalamata olives. Early on, I was in love with them, put them in everything. But they’re fairly bitter, and as my taste buds have changed with age (is that a thing?). I do use them occasionally, but not often. My first instinct was to use a different olive, but then I’d be changing the recipe from what Vivian Howard intended, so I did use the Kalamata. Thank goodness they sell them pitted these days. And indeed, I liked them in the meatloaf.

But first, we have to talk about Herbdacious. This is another one of Vivian Howard’s flavor heroes. So what is it, you ask? It’s a thick olive oil, garlic and herb/cheese/lemon juice paste. It stores well in the frig (with a little olive oil film on top to keep it fresh) or you can freeze it. The meatloaf recipe calls for 2/3 cup of Herbdacious. The Herbdacious recipe below makes 2 cups (mostly it’s made in a blender), so you’ll have plenty leftover to use in something else (soup?, a vinaigrette? stew? see below). For ideas, Vivian suggests:

. . . mix with mayo for/on a BLT, slather on corn on the cob, drizzle over bean soup, on grilled or sauteed veggies, over a baked potato, add to guacamole or avocado toast, dot on a tomato or watermelon salad with creamy cheese, slather on bread with cheese for garlic bread, as a green base for pizza, to dress pasta or grain salads, in deviled eggs or egg salad, toss with stale bread to make croutons.

The meatloaf is mixed up like any other meatloaf although it have one unusual ingredients: Greek yogurt. This recipe makes one huge meatloaf. If I made it again, I think I would shape it into two loaves, but if you’re feeding a crowd, then go for the full 2 1/2 pound loaf. Instead of bread crumbs, Vivian calls for crushed saltine crackers. With the herbdacious in it, the mixture is a pretty unusual color – kind of green/brown.  See the photo below, kinda greenish. But the finished product doesn’t look unusual at all.

In her cookbook she included recipes to use herbdacious: a clam dish, as a marinade for leg of lamb, part of Italian meat sauce (gravy), a chicken salad, a new version of Chex Mix (Chex and Cheez-Its, nuts, saltines, bagel chips), a Caesar salad vinaigrette, a zucchini sauce for fettucine, in a citrus salad, and lastly, in mashed potatoes. I haven’t made any of those yet. I should!

If you’re willing to try a very different kind of meatloaf, I recommend this one.

What’s GOOD: the meatloaf is wonderfully moist and flavorful from the Kalamata olives and the sun-dried tomato topping. I’m not a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes, but this topping was good; I ate it. The meatloaf would make great sandwiches afterwards, and certainly is something I’d be willing to make for guests (since it’s so unusual).

What’s NOT: this has a couple of unusual ingredients, and it makes a huge meatloaf. Am sure it could be scaled down to a 1 1/2-pound variety, however.

MEATLOAF: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

HERBDACIOUS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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You know how it is when you read a recipe saying it’s “the BEST” around? There are too many of them, so how do you decide?

Fall has “arriven” here in SoCal. So happy to have cooler days. Lighting my fireplace in the evenings, even wearing a sweater part of the time. I was craving chili, and couldn’t decide whether I should just defrost a package of some I made last spring, or to try something new. When I looked through the America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for chili, claiming it’s the “best,” I thought why not try it. But then, I didn’t have all the ingredients (chuck roast for one). I didn’t have fresh jalapeno peppers, either. Nor did I have beer on hand (I don’t drink it). I had a handyman working here in my house so decided I’d make do with what I did have (ground beef and ground pork) and canned chiles, and I used beef broth instead of beer. So the bottom line to this recipe is that I changed it a lot, but I also liked it a lot.

Ancho chiles are my new favorite thing in chili – they add so much complex flavor. The chiles I had weren’t hard-crisp-dried, but still somewhat soft, so it took a bit of doing to get them chopped up. The food processor didn’t do a very good job of it, so I plopped them out on my cutting board and used a big chef’s knife to chop them up into much smaller pieces. Back into the food processor, and whizzed them for a long time – eventually I got tiny pieces and a lot of coarse chile dust. Perfect.

First I sauteed some chopped onion, then added celery (not in the original recipe) just because it adds some more flavor and fiber, then garlic. I removed all that to a bowl while I browned the ground beef (as it happened I’d purchased some wagyu ground beef at Costco) and ground pork. Then I added the ancho chiles, some chili powder, cornmeal (gives it a little texture and thickening), dried oregano, ground cumin AND some cocoa powder. Say what? Maybe this is a take on Mexican mole, which uses chocolate. It’s not like you can taste the chocolate (there were only two teaspoons). Also an unusual item, molasses. Canned black beans (and you can add more – I used just one can) and canned tomatoes were added too, then canned green chiles and beef broth. Here’s where  you could add the lager if you had it (instead of broth).

The onions went back in and I set it to simmer for about an hour. Done. It needed salt and toppings to finish. Usually I prefer to let chili sit overnight in the frig (helps it develop better flavor, as in a lot of dishes like soups and stews), but I had some for my lunch yesterday, with shredded cheese (Mexican cheese blend) and some cilantro. You could add lots of other toppings: freshly grated raw onion, green onions, crushed Fritos, tortilla chips, fresh chopped tomatoes and even some minced Jalapeno peppers. So even though it hadn’t melded overnight, I thought the flavor was wonderful!

What’s GOOD: you can make this in an hour or so. It probably could be made in the Instant Pot in a lot less time too, though you’d need to scale down the recipe as I think it would make it too full. I liked it a LOT. Very nice, deep, complex flavors. Notice how dark the color is – a lot from the ancho chiles, but also the cocoa. This recipe is a keeper. Certainly I didn’t stick to the America’s Test Kitchen recipe very well, but I liked my riff.

What’s NOT: only that it does take at least 90 minutes to make, maybe a bit longer. It makes a big batch, and even more if you added another can of beans. I try to limit carbs, so used just one can. Great for freezing.

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Need a quick, easy soup – even if it’s summer – taco soup is always welcome.

It’s been a few weeks ago that I made this, but I recall that I was in a hurry to get it done – so I perused some online recipes for quick taco soup, and came up with this variation. It has all of the usual ingredients (although I added celery – not sure that’s an authentic addition to taco soup, but I like celery, what can I tell you?) and a shortcut of using a packet of dry taco mix. First I sauteed onion and celery, then added garlic, chopped red bell pepper, a chopped up poblano pepper, the package of taco seasoning mix, a punch of ground cumin (because I like it a lot). Then I added a package of ground beef (you could use ground turkey or one of the non-meat substitutes, or it could be vegetarian easily enough without any protein added). Once it was no longer pink, and separated into lots of little bite-sized pieces, I added tomato sauce, a can of tomatoes and pinto beans. And some water. It simmered for a grand total of 30 minutes. Done. You could make this in the Instant Pot – but the sauteing of the various veggies and the beef would take longer, but probably under pressure it would be done in 8 minutes.

Garnishes are optional – but they help – I used cilantro, sour cream, green onions for sure. The second time I had it I added a few crumbled tortilla chips and some bell pepper. Any of those work – whatever suits your family’s preferences.

It was better the next day – soups always are. And what I didn’t eat in the first three days I froze for another quick meal another day.

What’s GOOD: only that it was finished in about an hour – the prep work did take a bit of time, but some of it can be done while the initial sauteing is being done. Easy soup. It didn’t have time to develop a lot of complex flavors – a simple soup, cooked in a jiffy.

What’s NOT: nothing really – it isn’t going to win any blue ribbons at the fair, but I was happy I got it done in under an hour and provided a bunch of meals afterwards.

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There are SO many recipes out there in the ‘verse for meatloaf. How do you choose?

My friend Dianne and I hosted a PEO fundraising event awhile back and did a menu from Erin French’s cookbook, The Lost Kitchen. I already posted the cocktail we made, the Cider & Rosemary Prosecco Cocktail, and in the photo for the cocktail was a cute little board with the whole menu on it. Here’s the next set of recipes.

We’re talkin’ meatloaf here. So, can I say this meatloaf is all that different from others? Well, yes and no. What’s different: quite a lot of carrots, a lot of shallots, pecorino cheese (that’s certainly different!) and more than a usual amount of bread cubes. Listening to podcasts, or reading articles about meatloaf, more and more chefs reveal that they use a lot of bread in their meatloaf – because it makes it tender. I don’t think my mother used any bread or breadcrumbs in her meatloaf. I might have used a little bit in my old tried and true meatloaf. Hence my old standby is kind of a firm, very firm chunk of meat. I definitely like this better, despite not really wishing I have to add carbs to make it tender. But hey, if it tastes better, then yes, I guess I’ll have to incorporate this into recipes from now on.

Erin suggested a variety of sides to choose from (including just mashed potatoes) but I thought the parsnips would be a different side not many people would make themselves. Many of our guests had NEVER had parsnips before – some didn’t even know what they looked like. They’re shaped like big carrots, but they’re a kind of off-white color. They’re quite hard to cut, but become tender when they cook. They’re naturally sweet – not as sweet as sweet potatoes, but still they have a lot of natural sugar in them. Trader Joe’s carries them now and then – I guess when they’re in season. Particularly around the holidays.

The glaze on the meatloaf is a ketchup based one (with brown sugar and Dijon added). I love the topping – wanted some of it with every bite. And I wanted a bit of parsnips with every bite too. Make plenty – you’ll be surprised how well it goes with meatloaf.

All of our guests raved about both dishes and wanted the recipes. We got to talking about meatloaf and many at our table had their own little twists that became family favorites. It was decided that next year Dianne and I are going to do a meatloaf cook-off. She’s going to make two types and I’m going to make two types (all four of them different) and we’ll have sides and a dessert. Maybe we’ll include Ina Garten’s turkey meatloaf in the mix too — not sure. It’s excellent, but I think we’d be comparing apples and oranges to choose between and try to compare a beef/pork meatloaf with a turkey one.

Really, I loved Erin’s Dad’s meatloaf. It WAS very tender, and tasty from the added carrots, shallots and Pecorino  – and the bread! The recipe below makes two big loaf pans of it – you could easily halve it, though. I’m sure portions would freeze easily, however! And the parsnips were a big hit. I have loved parsnips ever since I first tried them in England many years ago. They’re a standard side dish in British cuisine. You don’t have to do much to them to make them delicious – this with butter and heavy cream. Yummy.

What’s GOOD: Loved the meatloaf and the parsnips. The additions in the meatloaf make for a very tender loaf – more tender than usual. And the parsnips are such a lovely sweet surprise. And they go so well with meatloaf. Both recipes are keepers.

What’s NOT: the meatloaf does take a bit of prep (you could use a food processor to hasten the process) but so worth it. Parsnips are a cinch.

MEATLOAF: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

PARSNIPS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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So I understand, tri-tip isn’t a cut of meat available everywhere. Maybe you can ask for it at the meat counter?

What is it, you ask? Tri-tip is a triangular cut of beef cut from the bottom of the sirloin. Which means it’s not super tender to begin with. It’s an odd shape – kinda-sorta triangular in shape, hence the name. The narrower end tends to cook too much (because it’s thinner) so you have to cook the meat for the thicker center portion. Which is what we did here.

This was a big dinner I did a year ago – and totally forgot about it – about posting it. I think it was a celebration of my granddaughter Taylor’s graduation from nursing school and the whole family visited. I served this and some other meat (so people could have a choice). I don’t even remember what else I served! Here in SoCal we can buy already marinated tri-tip, but that’s not what I bought – I wanted the un-marinated one so I could use my own. The recipe I’ve had around for a long time – it came from an old Sunset magazine article. And got rave reviews. And I’d give this good reviews too.

The marinade is very easy – soy sauce (I use the low-sodium type), fresh cilantro, liquid smoke, dried oregano, garlic and pepper. See? Simple. I had to dig deeply into my cabinet to FIND the liquid smoke. Likely I’ve had that little bottle for 15 years! The meat marinates for 24 hours – that will guarantee you’ll get tender meat. The tri-tip does contain a few stripes of gristle, so you need to eat around that, but otherwise the cut of meat is easy to cook and because it’s so nice and tender when it’s done, it’s easy to slice into thin strips. I don’t believe this cut of meat has much fat in it – which is why it’s necessary to marinate it.

The soy marinade flavor doesn’t overpower the meat (there’s only 1/4 cup in the marinade) but the soy sauce is the magic power that tenderizes this meat so well. It’s grilled for about – note ABOUT – 10 minutes per side. I think I assigned the grilling duty to someone else as I was busy in the kitchen doing the last minute salad and veggie prep and plating. I know we ate outside. One interesting technique for this was instructions to make small slits in the meat, both top and bottom – so that marinade will reach deeper into the meat.

That dinner may have been the only time I used my patio last summer as I had such a problem with mosquitoes. Oh my gosh, it was awful. We had the regular sized ones, but we also had the no-see-ums, or ankle-biters, as most people call them. They’ve become a new thing in California, probably because of our changing climate. It was an abundant infestation of them last summer, even though – then – we were in a terrible drought. This year they’re anticipating another bad siege of mosquitoes, so I’ve hired a mosquito service. They come every 3 weeks until early November. So far it’s worked well, although they don’t guarantee it’ll completely remove them, I think they said about 90% improvement. So far, so good.

Back to this tri-tip. Use an instant-read thermometer and remove it when the thickest part reaches 125°F. Then just let it rest 5 minutes, lightly covered with foil (otherwise it’ll get cold quickly). Slice and serve immediately. Slicing tri-tip into thin pieces is important – if you do thicker, it’ll be too chewy.

What’s GOOD: loved the flavor – tri-tip has really good, beefy flavor, and the marinade did it’s job of tenderizing the meat. I think the guests ate it all. It’s easy to slice, easy to grill. Great recipe.

What’s NOT: only that you need to start this 24 hours ahead, turning over the meat every few hours so the marinade reaches every crevice.

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Forgot to take a picture once it was out of the oven . . . sorry about that. On top is a nice flavorful layer of Gruyere cheese and buttered bread crumbs.

A post from Carolyn. If any of you are “of a certain age,” you may remember that serving authentic beef stroganoff was a frequent entertaining entree way back in the 60s and 70s. It required copious amounts of sour cream and of course, some kind of tender beef. Whatever type I bought wasn’t ever tender enough. I think tenderloin is the authentic beef recommended – that was way out of my price range, so I used some other substitute (and probably overcooked it, or it was a type that might never get tender) so I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the results. My other go-to company meal was turkey a la king, served in puff pastry cups – a more inexpensive entree served elegantly in those little buttery vessels. Vaguely I remember when someone decided to make stroganoff with ground beef, but it was considered to be a cheap substitute (and oh, hand up to forehead – gasp – certainly not worthy of a company meal). Over the ensuing years I know I’d made that substitute casserole many times, but it never came into regular rotation. Probably because it was thick, gloopy (is that a word?) and over-the-top too rich.

How times have changed. When I watched Rachael Ray make this on her show, I was intrigued. Why? Because she used a max of 1/2 cup of sour cream (not 1 – 2+ cups as I’d used in my other recipes), it didn’t contain any canned soup (cream of mushroom), and it used sherry wine plus a moderate amount of Worcestershire sauce. Plus it was a much dry-er casserole – no gluey or thick mushy type serving.

Did you know that Worcestershire is an umami flavor? Yup. You can add a little bit to dishes and you’ll not know it’s there, but it adds nice flavor. Mushrooms also have umami, and there are plenty of them in this recipe too. Rachael called for rye or pumpernickel bread crumbs . . . I didn’t have those and wasn’t about to buy a loaf of that bread to garner a cup of breadcrumbs, so I used panko, because that’s what I had on hand. Others who have made this recipe and posted it online mention those rye or pumpernickel bread crumbs as being a real game-changer. I like it just fine with panko crumbs, but agree, the other types might make this casserole even better. The addition of Gruyere cheese also added to the high-flavor profile here.  I buy Costco ground beef – I think it has more flavor than many others, like my local grocery store variety. I keep those Costco cubes in my freezer all the time (they’re 1 1/2 pounds, just what’s called for in this recipe).

If you make this and have leftovers, heat them in servings in the microwave, maybe with a sprinkling of water on the bottom. As I mentioned, this makes a kind of “dry” casserole. I’d reheat them in a bowl rather than a flat plate.

What’s GOOD: really delicious comfort-food casserole. Liked the depth of flavor in this (from the mushrooms, Worcestershire, sherry wine, Gruyere) and will definitely make this again. It should freeze well – I made two small casseroles and one large one. The smaller ones I froze, so I’ll enjoy them in coming months.

What’s NOT: only that it takes about an hour to prepare (plus baking time), with a moderate amount of cutting and chopping; nothing is difficult. You’ll find that the mixture seems quite dry, but it works out fine.

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