7 August Monday

A casserole came forth from the oven.

There was a time not long ago when casserole for dinner would cause the heart to sink, and not just because it was weighed down with cheddar cheese, but also because it meant to the diner a warm, sludgy mess of indefinably overwhelming blandness. Salt without direction, searching for purpose. It meant opening freezer bags and cans. The familiar plop suction sound of a freshly opened can of cream of something concentrate going into a pile of cooked meat. The sloppity gloppity of shoveling the mess into the baking dish with a flimsy plastic spatula. The heavy dusting of bread crumbs, potato chips, tortillas, rice, or a thick blanket of mashed potatoes. They were feared, dreaded by many American households of a certain era. Leftover casserole, AGAIN?!?! Well, let me tell you brothers sisters and others, that era has passed.

Thar she blows, a SouthWestern style casserole for a kitchen warming party. Chicken, fresh corn, onion, bell peppa, pickled jalapenos, crushed tortilla chips, and of course, plenty and plenty of plenty of cheese. It’s clean, it’s wholesome, it’s simple. There ain’t no cans of nothing in this here casserole. Although I must say there is absolutely nothing wrong with frozen fruit or vegetables, I use them all the time. Canned tomatoes and canned beans (not green, but you know, kidney and black and the like) are good but other than that, I do not often eat canned food. Pureed pumpkin, sure.

Back to the title, a casserole is never something one eats alone. Or at least one shouldn’t. I’m not talking about a leftover piece, I’m talking about casseroles are community food, meant to feed a large number of people. They are best when served piping hot and even if they improve with a day’s rest, they are at least intended to be eaten at once. A healthy minded person does not make a casserole for just him/her/them self(ves). It’s intimidating to say the least. Imagine tucking into a 9 by 13 pan of god knows what intended to feed twelve, your little spoon in hand. It’s depressing. Before moving on, I wish to point to two irrefutable chunks of truth: 1. Casserole servings are often on the higher end of caloric density. 2. Casseroles contain many complex levels and features, yet frequently don’t feel truly seen or tasted because of the shameful cloak of Bechamel or Chicken Stock or cheesy sauce our society foists upon them in a push for conformity. Those who hunger for justice in our broken world would do well to study the example of the American Dinner Casserole, hiding in plain sight among us. The same, and yet, completely different.

Casseroles are for us. There is no I in casseroles. They are meant to be shared. You can eat a casserole and look someone in the eye. There are two ss’s in casserole. Remember that, you need more than one in order for it to be a casserole. A Kaiser Roll, now that can be enjoyed alone sure, but a casserole must be shared.