Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot-Dish Classics (Non) [Hardcover]

James Villas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Non | Publication Date: January 7, 2003

This book illustrates perfectly what authentic, original, regional American cooking is all about. They are food at its most appealing:simple,delicious fare that leaves lots of room for variations and that the home cook can feel proud to serve anytime.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his newest book, Villas, the food and wine editor of Town & Country for 27 years and author of Between Bites, indulges his love of the traditional dishes that make up much of America's regional cuisine. After covering the "Essentials of Modern Casserole Cookery," including a guide to casserole dishes and their baking dish equivalents, he moves on to freezing and the basic pantry before throwing himself into the recipes. The recipes cover the gamut of courses and ingredients, from appetizers like the flavorful Crusty Wild Mushroom Bake to desserts such as Hot Brandied Fruit Casserole. In between he includes many classics such as the Yankee Hot Pot, All-American Chicken Pot Pie, Jambalaya, and Country Captain as well as many modern adaptations and innovations like the light yet robust California Tuna, Potato and Olive Casserole that uses fresh tuna rather than canned. In "Casserole Chat," Villas imparts helpful hints such as how to store dried mushrooms or how to reheat leftovers. The resulting volume highlights why Villas has maintained his position as one of America's foremost traditional cooks.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Villas, who was food and wine editor of Town & Country for almost 30 years, has written eloquently about American regional cooking in many cookbooks, including Stews, Bogs, and Burgoos. His latest is something of a companion to that title, as he believes that casseroles "boast a versatility that is matched only by soups and stews." He also believes that they, more than any other dish, "illustrate what authentic regional cooking is all about," and he offers dozens of recipes from around the country to prove his point: Chicago Shrimp de Jonghe, Portland Oyster and Bacon Pie, Yankee Corned Beef and Vegetable Pot, and Ann Arbor Venison and Wild Mushroom Bake. Villas's text is informed, opinionated, witty, and a pleasure to read, and with its wide-ranging selection of recipes, it will interest culinary historians as well as home cooks. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558322167
• ISBN-13: 978-1558322165
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and bred in the South, have 3 university degrees in language and literature (Fulbright scholar), and taught in 3 universities before changing careers and becoming Food and Wine Editor of TOWN and COUNTRY (1972-1999). I've published 14 cookbooks and 4 literary books on gastronomy. My first novel, DANCING IN THE LOW COUNTRY, was published in 2008; my second, HUNGRY FOR HAPPINESS, in 2010; and I'm currently working on a dog novel titled NUTMEG: THE BEAGLE WHO PLAYS BRAHMS. My last cookbook, PIG: KING OF THE SOUTHERN TABLE, won the James Beard Award for 2010, and my newest one, FROM THE GROUND UP, will be published in October, 2011. I live in East Hampton, Long Island, where I devote my time to writing cookbooks and fiction and pursuing my love of great music.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Cookbook Ever, August 13, 2004

By 

T. L. Wilson "Cookbook Lover" (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot-Dish Classics (Non) (Paperback)

I hate to disagree with the glowing reviews for this book but since I relied on the other reviews I had read to buy this book, I thought maybe a differing view would be useful. I am a seasoned cook and can say that this is one of the most poorly written cookbooks I have ever cooked from. I have made 3 recipes thus far. All have had major proportion issues and have lacked flavor. Even corrections I made as I went based on previous experiences could not save these recipes. If you like food that is basic in flavor (kinda like standard cafeteria fare) then you will probably like this book. If you like flavor in your food, then I suggest not buying this one.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-rounded, all American comfort food, April 7, 2003

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot-Dish Classics (Non) (Paperback)

Homey fare, from Texas Hash Casserole, to Portland Oyster and Bacon Pie, and Michigan Baked Fish Casserole, Villas' (The French Country Kitchen") collection of one-dish meals takes us across the country from breakfast (Weekend Egg and Feta Cheese, Plantation Grits and Cheddar) to dessert (Raspberry and Blueberry Crunch, Florida Key Lime Pudding). All the old favorites are here - Yankee Hot Pot, Sally Lunn Casserole Bread, Tuna Noodle - plus some new-fangled favorites like Minnesota Quail with Wild Rice and Raisins, and some local curiosities like New Hampshire Turnip, Beet and Hazelnut Soufflé (Villas even makes this sound good). But New England holds it own with Cheddar, Onion and Walnut Pie, Indian Pudding, Yankee Oyster Pie and Vermont Walnut Casserole Bread. Eggs, butter and cream abound as does macaroni and cheese in various combinations. Succulent meat dishes are also well represented, from Georgia Chicken and Peanut Bake and Country Captain, to Spiced Lamb Chops and Radicchio Casserole, Baked Spareribs with Apples and Prunes, Nevada Basque Chicken, and Venison and Wild Mushroom Bake.

Villas sprinkles this well-rounded, all-American comfort-food collection with tips on everything from freezing to condiment brands and baking dish equivalents. Recipe prefaces provide background history and cooking suggestions. Useful for entertaining as well as everyday, this book will see plenty of use in any kitchen.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old School Cooking from an Old School teacher, January 15, 2004

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot-Dish Classics (Non) (Paperback)

James Villas has written a book which may succeed in single-handedly succeed in reviving an interest in the great American casserole. I'm not entirely sure what the trendy term `old school' means, exactly, especially as I have mostly seen it in connection with motorcycles, but I am certain that Jim Villas is an `old school' culinary writer and that casseroles are an `old school' kind of food.

Jim Villas, although much younger, belongs to the James Beard school of culinary writing, along with his Beard protégés Barbara Kafka and Marian Cunningham. As he recounts in this book, the American casserole, based on several different European precursors, clearly reached it's apotheosis after World War II and went into eclipse in the late seventies and eighties with the scorning of canned and otherwise processed ingredients.

That the casserole is making a comeback is also clear from both this book and from it's starring role in a recent episode of Alton Brown's very trendy `Good Eats' Food Network show.

In the introduction to the book, Villas eschews some of the less savory casserole ingredients of yore such as canned meats and vegetables, frozen chives, dried parsley flakes, processed cheeses, liquid smoke, MSG, crushed potato chips or canned fruit cocktail. He is not entirely born again, since he does embrace some traditional casserole roles and ingredients such as canned soups, frozen vegetables, dried noodles, bread stuffings, and leftovers. In fact, some themes are so close to the `Good Eats' episode that I suspect Alton Brown may have used this book as a reference for his show.

The book opens with a very worthy introduction on casserole `hardware' materials and sizes plus advice on freezing casseroles. The casserole pantry repeats the theme of a reasonable use of prepackaged ingredients, citing Campbell's condensed cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of celery soups as essential. Some recipes even state that he tried to create the casserole with a homemade replacement for the Campbell's product and found the home brewed substitute wanting.

The names of casserole types are a feast for the crossword puzzle addict. There are quiches, stratas, scrambles, pilafs, pies, perloos, surprises, suppers, shroupes, royales, supremes, puddings, bakes, gratins, souffles, cobblers, crisps, crunches, and delights. Some of these names such as quiches, pilafs, and souffles indicate that the author may be coloring outside the lines a bit here and there, but I do not find this a criticism of the book. It adds to the value of the book as a source of good one-dish meals centered on the American classic. The author also seem to color outside the lines a bit when he includes some of his own recipes, but as Jim Villas has recently acquired the status of a classic American writer, I will give him a pass to contribute classic recipes himself.

This is one of my favorite kinds of cookbooks, as it makes it easy to find a recipe to fit a particular need. Anyone who shares that attitude about cookbooks will do well to purchase a copy of this book.