Casserole Dishes

Colorful, tasty, all-in-one dishes—casseroles—are ideal as the main dish for luncheon or supper. They are the solution to clever disguising of left-over foods. They are the answer to time-saving, before-hand meal preparation. The casserole dish can be prepared several hours in advance, refrigerated, and later placed in the oven so as to be piping hot by meal time.

As a rule, casserole dishes are made up of various combinations of a protein food, a starch, a vegetable, and a sauce. The sauce is either white sauce, plain or varied, or a cream soup. The starch may be noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, crackers, potatoes or potato chips, bread crumbs or a cereal. The protein food may be meat, fish, poultry or cheese. Often the vegetables and protein foods are leftovers which are cleverly combined to appear dressed-up in a new attire.

For the majority of casserole dishes, a medium white sauce is the right consistency—the proportions being 2 tablespoons butter to 2 tablespoons flour, ½ teaspoon salt, few grains pepper, and 1 cup milk. Thin sauce can be made by using 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour to 1 cup milk.

VARIATIONS: Added zest enhancing the flavor of casserole dishes can be obtained by varying the sauce.

SUGGESTIONS: (These proportions are for 1 cup white sauce.)

PARSLEY SAUCE: Add 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped parsley after sauce has cooled.

HORSERADISH SAUCE: Add ¼ cup grated horseradish, drained, and ¼ teaspoon dry mustard.

CHEESE SAUCE: Add ½ cup grated cheese and a dash of paprika. Stir over low heat until cheese is melted, or substitute 1½ teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce for paprika.

OLIVE SAUCE: Add 1 egg, unbeaten, ¼ cup light cream and cook over hot water 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add ⅓ cup chopped ripe or stuffed olives.

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