Casseroles are so comforting. This one is especially delicious – made with ground turkey, a bit of corn, tomato puree, oodles of grated cheese, and an unusual bottom “crust.”

I really do love casseroles. I wish they’d come back into fashion. In some circles, they’ve never gone “out.” When I serve them, I always get raves. This one will be a repeater on my menu whenever I feel the urge to make a casserole for friends or family.

Occasionally my evening bible study group gathers for dinner – this one was a potluck, and everyone brought other things to round out the menu. The dish serves 12 – I made two of those pies like you see in the above photo – and every single, solitary bite of it was gone. It served exactly 12, though a couple of my guests went back for seconds.

I don’t remember how or where I acquired this recipe – but it won a chili contest in 1988, so the story goes, and the home cook who made it won $25,000. Does that give you a clue as to how good this is? It’s a Texas recipe, and when the one friend in our group who is from East Texas had some, his wife said, yes, this was very much like a lot of Texas casseroles.

A couple of days ahead of bake-day, I made the meat sauce.  It begins with chopped red onion and red bell pepper, then jalapeno minced up, a bunch of garlic and parsley. The recipe calls for parsley flakes – well, I used fresh. The ground turkey is added in, along with paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, a bay leaf, some dry mustard, a little jot of unsweetened cocoa powder, beef broth and tomato puree (I used tomato sauce). Here, though. is where I veered off the recipe just a little bit – I meant to buy a bottle of Mexican beer at the store – I forgot – and I wasn’t about to make a special trip just for that. It tasted fine without it, I thought. You can use your own judgment – however – if you do add the beer, you’ll need to cook off the fluid so it’s a thick sauce. There’s also some corn in it, a tiny jot of honey too.

There’s the casserole just before I slid it into the oven.

Meanwhile, you “make” the crust. THIS is what intrigued me – the crust. You mix up some crushed saltine crackers, cornmeal, a little vegetable oil, some Jack cheese shredded and a whole cup of water. Once the water is absorbed, this mixture is just plain odd. It’s not really a dough, although the original recipe called it that. You divide it between two deep pie dishes and kind of spread it around as evenly as possible. It gets baked for 15 minutes until golden brown. It cools slightly, then you add a bit of grated Jack cheese on top of the “crust,” then scoop in the hot turkey filling. Lastly, Jack and cheddar cheese is sprinkled all over the top. Into the oven it goes to get hot and the cheese gets a bit golden brown. DO let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving – it would burn your mouth!!

With a green salad, this is a complete meal. We had a slaw salad, a veggie-rich green salad, a kale salad and a Jell-O salad – all wonderful with this. The green salad went with it the best, I think. The recipe can easily be halved to serve 6.

What’s GOOD: it’s just a delicious, comforting meal – the turkey mixture is full of flavor, and you can pick up on the different texture of the “crust.” It’s delicious – almost has a tamale pie familiarity, although nothing like the thick cornmeal type casseroles my mother used to make. The crust in this is super-thin. Altogether wonderful and easy to make. Don’t fill the pies until you’re ready to put them in the oven, though. I think it would soften the crust on the bottom.

What’s NOT: can’t think of a thing. It was wonderful.

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What’s another marinated and grilled chicken recipe? Oh, but this one is really, really good. It contains some different spices (Indian) and a bit of kick, and it makes a nice presentation.

What I wanted for this dinner was Indian food, but not a curry or gravy, or a sauce – I wanted Indian spices. So I made the pepper and onion roast with soft Indian spices you read about a few days ago, and I made this grilled chicken. I can’t recall where I read about this guy (I think it’s a man – Bademiya – I misspelled his name in the text on my photos – apologies) who has a food stall near one of the upscale hotels in Bombay (Mumbai). He’s been there for years, and his grilled chicken is legion-famous. His, made there at his street stall is fiery hot, so hot most Westerners can’t eat it. Steve Raichlen, though, had it and went home and recreated it, taming down the hot spices. (I tamed it down too.) It’s from his cookbook: The Barbecue! Bible. Raichlen is a wizard behind the grill. He loves to travel the world, discovering new and different ways cultures adapt meat to a grill.

The marinade is easy-peasy with toasted and ground spices (coriander, cumin, peppercorns), garlic, ginger, oil, lemon juice, cayenne, salt and cilantro. The chicken legs (thigh and drumstick – the broiler leg) marinate for 4-6 hours, then they’re grilled until just done (about 20-25 minutes depending on how big/thick the thighs are) and you serve it with some onion slices, a lime or lemon wedge to drizzle over, and more cilantro. Done.

The ONLY thing I’d do differently, making it again, would be to soak the onion slices for 10-15 minutes in acidulated water, to tame down the bite. I don’t much like raw onion and in fact I didn’t eat it when I made this, but it looks nice. I don’t think anyone ate it. I served this with a mango chutney, but it’s probably not necessary – I just thought it would be a nice addition.

What’s GOOD: loved the flavors in this from the coriander seeds, peppercorns and cumin seeds, garlic and ginger. They make a great combo. Chicken was very flavorful and cooked just right. Yes, I’d make this again.

What’s NOT: nothing, other than you do need to make time to marinate the chicken.

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Oh yummy! After serving this to friends for dinner one night, I had about half of it left over. I ate it all over 3 meals. Cold or warmed, or hot. Delicious!

In a few days I’ll post a recipe for a grilled chicken that I made to go with this, but THIS recipe, to me, was the star of the menu. I found it online, but it’s from a book by Lynne Rosetto Kasper. She must enjoy Indian food just like I do.

What I wanted to do was use up 4-5 mixed colored bell peppers I had in my fridge. So I did a search for Indian bell peppers, and this one popped up. The chunks of bell peppers are mixed with chunks of red onion, canned, rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, with olive oil and some lovely spices. Nothing that would overwhelm any eater. The dish isn’t “hot,” just purely flavorful. It could be a vegetarian entrée; it could be a side salad, cold, or right out of the oven it’s purely sublime with some cilantro, lime juice sprinkled over the top. The recipe called for some yogurt on top – I forgot, and didn’t miss it.

First you combine the vegetables (raw) in a bowl, add the oil, salt, a pinch of sugar and the spices (cumin, black pepper and ground coriander that have been toasted, then ground to a fine powder). Meanwhile, you heat up the baking sheet in the oven, pour these veggies out onto it once it’s piping hot, then roast the veggies for about 40 minutes in a 450° oven.

If the pan is real crowded, I suggest you use two, as you want the vegetables to get caramelized and toasty on the edges. Those are the best bites of all!

With the left overs, I didn’t even bother to add cilantro – I just ate it straight out of the plastic dish I’d stored it in. Delicious down to the very last smidgen of roasted onion.I’ve increased the amount of onion (2 instead of 1), and I didn’t use the arugula – it might be nice added in after the mixture roasts – but I forgot that also, and didn’t miss it.

What’s GOOD: the combination of peppers, onions and garbanzos is just SO good. The roasting is easy, the chopping is really quite easy. I’d definitely make this again. Loved the spices – the only heat comes from the black pepper. Altogether wonderful.

What’s NOT: not a thing. It was delish.

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Might you think I’ve made a typo? PORK Osso Buco? Yes, it’s pork, not veal.

Ever since I had osso buco the first time (probably in the 1980s) I’ve loved it. But as time has gone by, less and less have I purchased veal, for one thing (on general principles) but also because veal is so gosh-darned expensive. SO, when I was watching some food tv show recently they mentioned making osso buco with pork shanks. What a great idea, was my reasoning.

The next dilemma was finding pork shanks. I’d certainly never seen them in the pre-wrapped packs at the grocery store. And having no idea they’d be a problem, I sought out the butcher at two upscale markets I go to. No, they didn’t have any, and wouldn’t ever be getting any, because most markets only get the hog body, without legs. Really? The butcher kind of leaned over the high counter and said quietly, go to a Mexican butcher; they’ll have them. He said they’re called a bodega. (I thought a bodega was a Spanish bar? It must mean “market.”)

So, sure enough, because we have a large Hispanic population where I live, it took me no time at all to locate a Mexican butcher shop. A bodega. A tiny place, where Mexican music was blaring inside, and filled with a variety of mothers and children, all speaking in rapid Spanish. I approached the meat case. The butcher spoke great English, and after clarifying what I wanted, he said SURE, come back on Wednesday. We get the legs in that day, come after 3pm. I did – he showed me a big, frozen shank bone and we discussed what part of the shank I wanted. I wanted meaty shanks. I also asked where the pork came from (I didn’t want to buy pork imported from Mexico). He assured me it came from the Midwestern U.S. Good! I asked him to cut them crossways about 3” thick. He did exactly that.

The shanks were frozen, so I left them that way until I was ready to prepare them. Meanwhile, I’d located a recipe online, from Jeff Mauro, at the Food Network. I also printed out my old, regular veal osso buco recipe, and compared them, side by side. They’re very similar. I haven’t made veal osso buco since I started my blog in 2007, so I’m going to print the recipe down below, even though I’ve not made it for this post. I’ve had osso buco in countless restaurants, and none have compared with the ones I’ve made here at home using the recipe down below.

A few weeks ago, when I made this, I was out in the desert (the California desert), and the night I made this dish it was greeted with great accolades from my friend, Ann, who was with me. She is home in Idaho now, and says she’s going to make it for friends. She LOVED it. So did I. It’s made just like making it with veal – it’s a braised dish. Easy. After browning the sides, the meat is baked (covered) in a slow oven for about 3 hours with the veggies and aromatics. The recipe indicated 2 hours at 325°. It wasn’t done after 2 hours, so I reduced the temp to 300° and cooked it another 45 minutes or so. I also didn’t have twine – once the shanks are cooked to perfection, they literally fall off the bone, so you do want to wrap them in twine if possible. I managed to hold them together by using a big slotted spoon.

While the shanks baked, I made the gremolata. Now, I must tell you – do NOT make this without the gremolata – I think the lemon zest, and orange zest if you use it, are key ingredients to the overall taste of osso buco. There’s something about that fresh zest that gives this dish a finished zing. I prefer to make the gremolata shortly before it’s needed, so the zest is still super-fresh off the fruit itself.

If I’d had a stick blender, or even a regular blender, I would have whizzed up the veggies and braise liquid, but there wasn’t one where we were staying. So it was just served with some of the braising liquid and veggies spooned on top of both the meat AND the lovely mashed potatoes we made to go with it. Traditionally you serve creamy polenta with this, but I had potatoes, and I thought they were just great with it. Maybe easier than making polenta. The gremolata is a garnish.

What’s GOOD: comfort food at its finest! Falling off the bone, luscious, tasty, tummy warming. Easy. A definite keeper. My friend and I licked our plates clean.

What’s NOT: only that you have to wait a few hours to eat it – it requires a few hours of baking time. Very easy otherwise.

printer-friend PDF and MasterCook 15/16 file (click link to open recipe)

printer-friendly PDF (below recipe) and MasterCook 15/16 file (also for recipe below)

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Why, oh why, did I wait so long to try these easy biscotti? They are just wonderful, and maybe even more so if they’re allowed to mellow for a few days. These must be easiest biscotti I’ve ever made.

Farmgirl Susan’s blog was one of the first ones I started following when I began reading blogs back in about 2004. I just loved reading her story about how she and her (then) husband wanted to move from California, got as far as Missouri, their car broke down, and the story starts from there. She shed the husband, found her hunky husband Joe, and has been writing and blogging from the backcountry ever since. She grows a lot of her own produce, barters all kinds of things with neighbors, and doesn’t get to grocery shop very often because they’re a loooong way from a town or city.

Susan posted this recipe years ago. And I’m just plain embarrassed to say it’s been sitting in my to-try MasterCook file for years. YEARS! Too bad, cuz these are going to make a more frequent appearance in my house in the future. I rescued one biscotti (I tasted one when I made them) from the bag as I distributed most of them to friends and that one got dunked into my morning latte. OH-SO-GOOD!. Trust me on this one.

Sometimes biscotti is a bit persnickety. At least I’ve found them so. You bake them in a flat log the first time around, then you have to cut them into those unique and very recognizable angled flats, and bake them again to get them extra crispy. Often, in my experience, cutting the once-baked logs is problematical – you often break off ends, etc. These, however, were cinchy easy and the knife just cut perfectly. Susan mastered this recipe to a T. The only addition I might make would be nuts, or chocolate chips. But they’re pretty darned perfect just the way they are. Thank you, Susan, for a really great recipe!

What’s GOOD: how easy they are to make. Flavor is fabulous. They keep well. They satisfy a chocoholic’s cravings, they’re relatively low in calorie. Altogether wonderful cookie. Do try them.

What’s NOT: I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like about these. They’ll be making a regular appearance in coming months.

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If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you may remember that I included a pdf download many years ago, for exactly what temperature to grill meat. It didn’t include every possible grilled item, but it was a chart I still refer to often since I can’t seem to remember what fish needs to be when done, or even chicken breast vs. chicken thigh.

BUT, I read an article recently that totally opened up the skies with all kinds of various baked things. I’ve known for awhile that most baked goods need to cook to about 200° or possibly 190°. My new chart has it all. I’ve grouped it by types of food, mostly.

Here’s a photo of it – don’t use it – go to the link below – I squeezed it down so it would fit here within my blog columns – so you can see what it looks like.

I also learned that a ground meat casserole only needs to be 165° to be cooked through. That’s a big help too. So, down below you’ll see a link to download the pdf and print it. It’s a one-page chart. Hope this helps you – I have mine in a plastic sleeve and it’s inside one of my kitchen cupboards – easy to reach for and refer to.

PRINTER-FRIENDLY PDF of the “Temperature Guide for Baking, Grill and Roasting.”

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You might think that all I eat is baked goods. A friend who looked at my blog recently thought that, but then, she didn’t delve very deeply into my posts. I probably have more desserts and cookies than any of the other categories. I just enjoy baking a lot. I have no cookies in my house at the moment.

Needing some cookies and things for an event recently, I looked at some newer recipes I’d added to my to-try list. This recipe came from Peabody, at SweetReciPEAS. She raved about them, so that was a good enough excuse to bake them for my event. They’re two layers – a brown sugar and butter base (with flour and egg), then you press walnuts into that layer; then you mix up the brown sugar meringue mixture and spread it on top. Bake. See? Easy. She used bourbon in the base and in the meringue topping too  (though you can use vanilla instead). Truly, I couldn’t taste the bourbon, but perhaps if they’d been omitted, they’d have been less flavorful – won’t know unless I try them side by side. Out of the entire 9×13 pan batch, I ate one and either served them at my event or gave them away to friends. I thought they might not keep all that long anyway.

They’re delicious. A bit of crunch from the bottom layer and a light crunch from the meringue. Plus the walnuts in there too. The meringue doesn’t exactly stick very well to the base, so be careful as you cut them up. Perhaps a whipped up raw egg in between might solve that problem, if you’re inclined to try it.

What’s GOOD: the flavor and crunch. They’re sweet – very sweet. If I make them again I’ll cut down on the sugar in both layers by just a tetch, but everyone I served them to raved about them. They almost have the sweetness of candy, but they’re definitely NOT candy. You could cut larger pieces, serve with whipped cream as a dessert portion. I made bars and got about 18 or so from the pan. Very different – the meringue has a golden hue – almost like taupe, from the brown sugar. Kind of different. Not everyone recognized that it was a meringue top.

What’s NOT: really, nothing. These are delicious. Easy to make.

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