Email to Kim Shook      

Recipe Categories: Kimberlyn's HOME PAGEAPPETIZERS ASIAN BEEFVEAL BEVERAGES BREAD BREADMACHINE BREAKFAST BURGERS CAKESandPIES CANDY CASSEROLES CHEESE CHEESECAKE CONGEALEDSALADS COOKIES CROCKPOT CSOCooking DESSERTS DIABETIC DIPSSPREADS EGGS ETHNIC FISHandSEAFOOD FixedUpConvenienceFoodss FrozenDesserts FRUIT GlutenFree GREEKMIDEASTJEWISH InstantPot JAMSandJELLIES LAMB MAINDISHSALADS MARINADES MEXICANSAMERCARIBBEAN Miscellaneous PASTA PASTRIES PIZZA PORK POULTRY PRESSURECOOKER QuickBreads Relishes RICE SALADandDRESSING SANDWICHES SAUCES Seasonings SIDEDISHES SNACKS SOUPSandSTEWS SousVide SWEETBREADSROLLS SweetSaucesandFrostings VEGETABLES

Un-Campbelling Casseroles




Source of Recipe


Help from eGullet.org folks


Recipe Introduction


I have always been a devotee of gooey, cheesy, creamy casseroles. Momma didn’t make them, but I could get my fix from friends’ mothers and my Grandma Jean. Early in our marriage, needing to be frugal, I made my share. Chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce. Grandma Jean’s Beef Casserole (long before Hamburger Helper), ham and potatoes, the divine turkey and dressing one. The only one that was unwelcome was tuna. I tried making it once. Despite being church mice and despite Mr. Kim’s pathological inability to throw away food that was not actively rotten, we tossed it and ordered pizza. Hot tuna is not edible, in our opinion.

Almost without exception, all those casseroles included a can of Campbell’s ‘Cream of…’ – something. We got a little older and a little more financially stable and neither Mike nor Jessica is a big fan of casseroles. So I got out of the habit. But never forgot my love. Recently, I decided to try them again. And every single one of them had a weird ‘off’ flavor. Turns out, while I was busy trying to educate my palate all those years, I’d smartened that tongue up right past Campbell’s. But I still wanted that ooey, gooey casserole luxury. So I asked my friends at eGullet.org. Apparently, the problem is not mine alone. Basically, they suggested that I make a béchamel to sub in for the ‘Cream of…”. I’ve made a béchamel a millions times and it never occurred to me to sub it for soup!



List of Ingredients




Eje said:
I usually use a light béchamel for casseroles.

In a big sauté pan, I will start my mushrooms, onions and whatever else I’m going to add. In a 2 quart saucepan, I’ll use 2 T. butter and enough flour to make a stiff roux. 1 cup each milk and chicken broth, heated close to boiling. Add liquid to roux, stirring. Add a little nutmeg, bay, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Deglaze the vegetables with a little wine, stir in the béchamel and any other ingredients that don’t need cooking (meat, peas, etc.). Pour this over half a pound of cooked pasta and mix. Pour into casserole dish, cover with bread crumbs and brown in oven.

Hjshorter said:
I have redone my tuna casserole recipe to use a béchamel (usually 50% skim milk and 50% light cream). I use a veloute for recipes with chicken as the main ingredient.

DTBarton said:
Make your own cream of mushroom soup. For use as a binder/thickener:
Sauté 2 or 3 shallots and 1 lb. mushrooms until golden brown in about 4 T. butter. Sprinkle about 3 T. flour over the butter/vegetable mixture and stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes to form a light roux. Add about 1/4 c. Marsala and stir. Add liquid (I use a combination of chicken broth and 1/2 & 1/2. For richer, use less broth and even heavier cream, for leaner, go the other way). Start with a couple of cups of liquid and stir for a few minutes to see how thick it’s going to get. Add more liquid to desired consistency remembering to heat it for a few minutes each time to let the roux do its thickening. Salt and pepper to taste and puree in a blender.


Recipe