Not Your Mother's Casseroles (NYM Series) [Paperback]

Faith Durand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2011 | Series: NYM Series

Casseroles are quick, homey, and cost-effective one-dish meals, but they're also traditionally packed full of convenience foods like canned vegetables and condensed soups. Faith Durand's Not Your Mother's_ Casseroles introduces more than 200 recipes that totally revitalize the casserole, maintaining its trademark simplicity while incorporating fresh ingredients for more healthful dishes that are decidedly Not Your Mother's. Redefine casseroles with inspired recipes for Baked Basmati Rice with Saffron, Cashews, and Raisins; Root Vegetable Cobbler with Whole Grain Biscuit Topping; Baked Sweet Potatoes with Smoky Chipotle and Onions; Herbed Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Sauce; and Rhubarb-Lavender Oat Crisp.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a light tone and lightened-up recipes, Durand delivers the sort of book fans of the Not Your Mother's series expect: practical, user-friendly, and filled with plenty of everyday recipes for one-dish oven-baked meals. The author acknowledges casseroles' fuddy-duddy reputation, then proceeds to challenge it with ideas for everything from breakfast (breakfast brown rice with blueberries and almonds) to dessert (rhubarb-lavender oat crisp). In between are the bulk of recipes, perfect for weeknight dinners. Though some recipes actually are reminiscent of "your mother's" casseroles, such as a tortilla chicken casserole, many feel fresh and contemporary: tomato, arugula, and mushroom casserole; beet gratin with goat cheese and greens; roasted autumn vegetables with parmesan and sage; cinnamon lamb orzo bake. Because, as the author notes, "even the most complete casserole needs at least one complementary dish to round it out into a meal," she helpfully concludes with a "While it bakes" chapter of quick and healthy salads, soups, and breads, including a winter salad with fennel, cabbage, and citrus that will strike the right crisp balance with even the heartiest of traditional casseroles. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

No Bio

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; 1 edition (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558324844
• ISBN-13: 978-1558324848
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

By day, Ohio native Faith is executive editor of The Kitchn (thekitchn.com), a popular home cooking and kitchen design blog (sister site to Apartment Therapy) that receives 6 million readers a month and is an active, warm community for home cooks. And by night, Faith writes cookbooks. Her latest, Bakeless Sweets: Pudding, Panna Cotta, Fluff, Icebox Cake, and More No-Bake Desserts, is a bright and modern celebration of the classic puddings, icebox cakes, and no-bake desserts she's so crazy about.

Faith has also contributed to O Magazine, Vegetarian Times, and Reader's Digest, and her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, New Haven Register, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and The Columbus Dispatch, among many other newspapers.

She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband Mike, a house under permanent renovation, and an ever-growing collection of whisks.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring! January 27, 2011

By Kimberly Smith VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just received this book from Amazon, and I'll try to come back and add more comments as I try a few more recipes, but I just had to speak up to counter Mr. Protein who was so very disappointed with his purchase.

If you're looking for Salty Meat Goop With Crunch On Top (usually including a can of Cream O' Campbell's), this is likely not your book. However, if you're looking for comfort food to stretch your culinary repertoire while still pleasing your family's palate; or if you'd like to do more cooking with healthful ingredients, would like to know what exactly to do with some of the less mainstream veggies at your grocery store, or love the simplicity of one-dish meals on busy nights-- check it out.

So far, all I've made is the Asian Cabbage Rolls with Spicy Pork-- but this healthy riff on the Chinese friend dumplings that we (guiltily) adore was immediately filed in the "make this again SOON" category, and it's definitely whetted my appetite to try more.

I'm also particularly excited to have this on my shelf because of my familiarity with Ms. Durand's reputation and engaging work as the managing editor at thekitchn.com. I don't buy cookbooks often, but this one looks to be well worth the money and shelf space.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A casserole of a different sort February 8, 2011

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Faith Durand defines casseroles as a baked dish, and in this book has has more than 200 recipes. She uses no canned soup, which is one of the main premises that these are not your mother's casseroles.
She also changes the idea of casserole cooking, in that many of these recipes are meatless, which helps cut costs and for those with vegetarian leanings is good.
For each recipe she has a short description, including if it will "reheat beautifully', or if it can be prepared in advance or frozen. She also shows how rice or beans could be cooked in the oven. Some recipes have an international flavor- French, British, Italian.

A description is given of cooking equipment and pantry supplies needed.
Two problems with the book are, that it is printed in dark red print, which for some can be hard to see, and I have had books that have this type of print fade as time goes by. Many recipes extend past one page, and if they are on the right side, you then have to turn the page back and forth while you are cooking which makes it inconvenient

Included are recipes for breakfast, hot starters, vegetable dishes, oven-baked rice, potatoes and beans, oven baked pastas and grains, poultry, meat and seafood, desserts, then to go with it all, salads, breads and soups. Especially good is the version of the British bubble and squeak, and white bean casserole with herbs and pork sausage and the simple pot bread for something different.
You can cook some different recipes with this book, many do not include meat, but then these are not your mother`s casseroles.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Mistakes throughout! November 8, 2011

By B. Bagwell

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really wanted to like this book, but I've found it contains multiple errors. Cook times are off on so many recipes, I actually bought an oven thermometer because I thought my oven might be off. It wasn't. Tonight was the last straw. One recipe called for 3/4 cup of cream, then you are to add 2 tablespoons of it to 12 ramekins. 24 tablespoons is 1 1/2 cups, so now I'm wondering which instruction was right.

Boo! Grocery shopping, cooking and washing up takes too much effort for recipes that are carelessly wrong.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Casserole Book! May 5, 2011

By KH

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I checked this book out from the library and liked it so much I bought it. I generally check books out, copy the recipes that I like, and return it. With this book, I liked so many recipes that I actually bought it. We really like casseroles in our family because it is a good way for us to incorporate veggies into our diets. None of us in our family are huge fans of separate meat, starch, veggies kind of meals. This book offers some really interesting new twists on casseroles. The casseroles aren't run of the mill, but they also aren't so weird that they seem unappetizing. I highly recommend!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy and Useful Cookbook - Imaginative Casseroles April 20, 2011

By Nancy Mehegan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Wow -- what a great cooking book. Instead of "casseroles" the author prefers to call these "baked dishes". It's no longer canned string beans and fried onions with mushroom soup! Mouth-watering dishes such as: "Roasted Carrots with Lemon, Feta & Mint". Sweet potatoes are combined with cononut milk and herbs, chickpeas are baked into steaming casseroles with shallots and herbs. Even a baked spagetti combined with pine nuts -- you just slice it out of the oven and serve. Perfect for this recession economy --a modern herbal version of Mom's cooking -- just as good and maybe a little better!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to my cookbook repertoire! February 17, 2011

By F. Burke

Format:Paperback

I won this cookbook in a contect sponsored by the publisher, so I did not know exactly what I was getting until it arrived. That said, I am thrilled with the contents!

There is a large selection of creative and delicous looking breakfast casseroles, which I know will come in handy whenever my parents or friends visit. There is a large selection of baked starters and dips, which is such a bonus I cant even explain - it gives you perfect (and healthy) options to bring to potlucks, or for your superbowl parties. The vegetable recipes are great - they provide really nice options for sides that don't require a lot of fuss attention if you're cooking for guests or just have a lot going on and don't want to monitor your veggies closely on the stove top. The protein recipes seem like really great recipes you could make to bring to a new mom or someone else who you're trying to prep a meal for, without it being terribly unhealthy, or loaded with nasty ingredients. Having this cookbook is much more convenient than having to adjust other recipes on the fly for these 'flaws'.

I really must be a different type of cook than the fellow who gave this one star, because when I got the book I kept turning the page and seeing another recipe I wanted to try. I would read the titles aloud to my fiance and agreed... Yum!

The approach to the recipes perfectly satisfies my approach to cooking: real ingredients, not too fancy, but absolutely delicious.

As i just received it, I've cooked just one recipe thus far: the baked chicken and rice recipe, and it was delicious! I will definitely cook it again.

And as far as the "Not your mothers" aspect of it: I plan on giving this to my mom for christmas. She would love these recipes.