Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook [Paperback]

Clifford A. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2008

Bake until Bubbly

"Everybody who grew up on tuna noodle casserole or macaroni and cheese remembers that bubbling dish brought to the table with its top dappled golden brown, piping hot and inviting. My passion for casseroles was born from memories of my childhood and my mother's lasagna, thick and rich and gooey and delicious. But once I had three children of my own, casseroles were the solution to many frenzied nights. We all loved the simplicity, ease, and satisfaction of a well-baked casserole. One of my favorite dessert casseroles was the Pear Crisp my kids and I made in late August when our pear tree was groaning from the weight of those luscious orbs ripening. We'd cut them up and arrange them in a casserole with cinnamon and then blanket them with a streusel made of flour, butter, and sugar before baking until bubbly. Hey, what a great name for a book!"
—from Bake until Bubbly

Advance Praise

"Bake until Bubbly . . . the name says it all. Visions of creamy, tender casseroles with crusty, crunchy tops immediately come to mind and Clifford Wright's book delivers. You will find easy-to-make one-dish recipes like the rustic but elegant Veal Saltimbocca and Cassoulet and comfort food such as Blue Cheese Halibut Bake; Sausage, Red Bean, and Apple Casserole; Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Crisp; and Blackberry and Cream Cheese Crepes Casserole. I love the fact that you can find everything from breakfast casseroles to vegetarian options to desserts. The Potato, Bacon, and Gruyère Casserole is coming to my next potluck."
—Dede Wilson, Contributing Editor to Bon Appétit magazine and public television host

"Just when I thought there was little left to be exploited in casserole cookery, Clifford Wright comes up with an herby tamale pie with cornmeal mush, an Irish rutabaga pudding, a baked rigatoni with meatballs, a nectarine and almond dessert casserole, and numerous other fascinating dishes guaranteed to add new and exciting dimension to this succulent style of cooking."
—James Villas, author of Crazy for Casseroles and The Glory of Southern Cooking

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few dishes say comfort food more than the cheese- and egg-laden casseroles that are favored in small towns in heartland America, but Wright (Real Stew) shows that casseroles are part of a long international tradition that continues as strongly today in the Middle East as in the Midwest. He features casseroles from the intriguing higher end, like the French Escargots en Casserole or a Spanish tapa with bacon, cabbage, potato and apple, as well as simple, familiar crowd-pleasers exemplified by Tuna Noodle Casserole and the Nebraska frittata, aka Cheesy Ham Poof. The chapter range is another testament to casseroles' versatility, beginning with hearty breakfast recipes such as the simple Sailor's Omelet, then running the gamut of main ingredients (meat and fish, pasta and grains, vegetables) and concluding with desserts, where he makes a convincing case for fruit cobblers and crisps and even brownies as casseroles. Ingredient lists are often long, but few of the recipes have more than four or five simple steps, which cooks of most any skill level can easily handle. Wright's headnotes give extensive information about the recipes' provenance and preparation, and his frequent text boxes provide tips on what people really care about with casseroles aside from ease: how to incorporate leftovers from other meals. Not just casserole fans but also those who may previously have looked down on the thought of such dishes will find this a great resource for most any occasion. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Wright, author of numerous cookbooks on the cuisines of the Mediterranean as well as Real Stew, here turns to another enduring comfort food. He presents 250 recipes for casseroles of all types, including both breakfast and dessert dishes (think crisps and crumbles). The recipes come from around the world and all across the United States. Along with beloved classics, some in updated, fresher versions, there are unusual recipes that will be unfamiliar to many readers. The headnotes provide history and context, and most of them offer serving suggestions; there are also ideas for leftovers (if there are any!). With its informative, readable text and tasty recipes, this is highly recommended. (Library Journal, February 15, 2008)

"a great resource for most any occasion.... Few dishes say 'comfort food' more than the cheese-and-egg-laden casseroles that are favored in small towns in heartland American, but Wright (Real Stew) shows that casseroles are part of a long international tradition that continues as strongly today in the Middle East as in the Midwest." (Publishers Weekly, November 19, 2007)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471754471
• ISBN-13: 978-0471754473
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clifford A. Wright is a cook, food writer, and independent research scholar who won the James Beard/KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year award and the James Beard Award for the Best Writing on Food in 2000 for A Mediterranean Feast (William Morrow). His book A Mediterranean Feast was also a finalist for the cookbook of the year award given by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He is the author of fourteen other books, twelve of which are cookbooks, including his latest The Best Soups in the World (Wiley, 2010). Colman Andrews, former editor of Saveur magazine called Wright 'the reigning English-speaking expert on the cuisines and culinary culture of the Mediterranean--the real Mediterranean, the whole Mediterranean.' Clifford writes regularly for Saveur, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Fine Cooking, and Food and Wine and wrote all the food entries for Columbia University's Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East. Clifford has also lectured on food at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, Georgetown University, and the Culinary Institute of America among other universities and venues. As a cooking teacher he has taught cooking classes at the Rhode Island School of Design, Sur la Table, Central Market in Texas and other cooking schools around the United States and Italy.
Before writing about food, Clifford was a foreign policy researcher at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., a Staff Fellow at the Institute of Arab Studies, Belmont, MA, the Executive Director of the American Middle East Peace Research Institute, Cambridge, MA and the publisher of Raising Kids, a child development newsletter for parents. He was written two books on the politics and history in the Middle East.
You can visit him at www.cliffordawright.com and read his food writing at www.zesterdaily.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not at all reliable, September 16, 2008

By 

Scott Bright "scottypotty" (Grayslake, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook (Paperback)

Okay, I admit it. I'm a cookbook junkie. I probably have hundreds of cookbooks, although there's no way I'm going to count them since I don't really want to know. I think because of this, I'm very picky about what I consider to be a great cookbook. Great cookbooks, in my opinion, are ones that produce fabulous results without any adjustments. The recipes work the first time, and I don't have to figure out how to fix them. My favorites include anything by Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, the Barefoot Contessa and Jean-Pierre Brehier.

This cookbook doesn't fall into the category of great, even though I thought it was going to. I'm married to a man from Wisconsin (to really get the flavor, it's pronounced "wis-CAN-sin") who loves casseroles. He sat down with the book before I did and picked out more than a dozen recipes he wanted me to try. And the recipes sounded really homey and heartlandish -- things like Hamburger & Potatoes Hot Dish and Cheesy Ham Poof.

The problem is that none of the recipes even worked without adjustments. For instance, one recipe called for a 2-quart baking dish yet nearly overflowed a 3-quart dish and another was incredibly bland before I added quite a few more seasonings. Many of the recipes called for a weird cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup substitute that included pulverizing veggies in a blender with enormous amounts of heavy cream and other ingredients. These recipes ended up being extremely rich (and loaded with calories) and sometimes very runny because of it. I would've had to play around with this, too, to get it palatable.

I tried four of the recipes and then gave up. Had I received rave reviews from my family I might have continued, but the dishes just weren't as great as they sounded. I wish the book had been tested more thoroughly and advise you not to get sucked in by the gorgeous cover photo (the only photo in the book, by the way).

(review by Mrs. Scott)

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cookbook!!!! No Campbell's Soup needed!!!, May 17, 2008

By 

MILUCA "Mary" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook (Paperback)

I've been looking for a casserole cookbook that doesn't require a lot of processed foods. I am thrilled to discover this cookbook, which doesn't require a can of this (no Campbell's mushroom soup) or a packet of that. It's simple, basic cooking from scratch. Sure, it may take a bit more time, but I have found the results from this cookbook to be well worth it. Right now, I am working my way through the chicken casseroles and have found them all to be doable and delicious.

I will add that the author is a big fan of cooking a whole chicken (preferrably an organic, free range chicken) for his chicken casseroles. Even though I am a fan of "from scratch" cooking, not everyone has the time and financial resourses to do this. I have cheated when time has been short and have bought the rotisserie chicken you can buy precooked at the grocery store (of which the author is not a fan). The results are still delicious!

I agree with a previous review's comment about some of the "casseroles" are not what I typically would consider a "casserole." Also, the recipes are more on the sophisticated side that young, picky eaters may not be so crazy about. I've been using this cookbook mostly for dinners for my husband and me.

I like the explanations that the author has inserted. Yes, there are no pictures but the author's explanations prior to each recipe are informative and helpful and bring the recipies to life. I found his writing style witty and entertaining.

Definitely a must have recipe book!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best cookbooks in my collection, July 14, 2008

By 

Justin S (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook (Paperback)

I've never written an Amazon cookbook review before, but I noticed some strange reviews of this fantastic book, so I had to speak up. Some of the other reviews appear to be written by people who have never cooked from the book. There are complaints that the book doesn't have photos. One complains it has too many recipes?!

Yes, this book has a lot of recipes -- that's why I buy cookbooks. No, there aren't any photos inside (except for the amazing photo on the cover -- one of the best recipes in the book, by the way). But what's really important to know is that I've made a lot of the recipes in this book, and they're fantastic. I've been impressed again and again, and dinner guests beg me for the recipes. I highly recommend: Baked Rigatoni with Sausages (unbelievably good), Baked Swiss Chard and Spinach with Chickpeas and Feta (great for veggies)and super easy, Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping (perfect for Thanksgiving, although I could eat it for dessert), and Baked Macaroni with Broccoli (I'm addicted to this).

Don't expect any canned cream of mushroom soup in the recipes in this book. That's so old-fashioned. The author has a genius technique in the Broccoli-Spinach casserole for whipping up some fresh mushrooms, milk, flour, salt & pepper in the blender. It's so easy, and so much better for you than canned soup.

And so many of the recipes, after a little prep work, pretty much cook themselves. That's why I love this book, and casseroles in general. I'm too busy with a daughter at home and a full-time job to be standing over the stovetop. This book is just what I needed. Very highly recommended.