cookbooks 1, 2 and 3: hotdish, mashed potatoes and collards

This past Sunday we had a 4-H potluck at the bowling alley in town and we were assigned to bring a "hotdish" (or a casserole for all you non-midwesterners).  That seemed like a perfect opportunity to find a recipe in one of my cookbooks, especially when one is called, The New Midwestern Table.

I found a recipe perfect for the occasion called "Classic Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish." I had some leftover turkey in the freezer so I decided to substitute that for the chicken. Otherwise I had almost all the ingredients on hand:  wild rice, leeks, celery, milk, cream, aged cheddar, and butter. The only thing I needed to buy were some "butter crackers" like Ritz or Club. Fortunately, there is a brand of crackers similar to Club that the Co-op carries - Field Day Baked House Crackers - that did the trick.

The morning of the potluck, I started working on it. It was not difficult to make, however I made a critical error in my timing. When I read through the recipe, I thought I would need to bake it for 25 minutes. I decided to bake it so that I could take it out and bring it hot to the potluck.  Smart, right?  Except that I missed the fact that after baking 25 minutes, I needed to add the crushed crackers on top and then bake for another 25 minutes. Oops. I realized this as I was going to put it in the oven, 30 minutes before the potluck.

I ended up having to go online to find a super-fast salad recipe (not my assigned dish, but at least it was a dish to bring). Luckily, I had a variety of veggies and some spinach in the fridge.  I ended up making Garbanzo Bean and Zucchini Salad and we made it to the potluck just a couple minutes late. Not bad considering my last minute scramble.

And so the hotdish became tonight's dinner instead, much to Annika's dismay (her response, "I hate hotdishes.") I decided to go the whole comfort food route and add some mashed potatoes and collard greens.  In the past, I've gone online for my mashed potato recipes but this time I found a recipe for "Classic Mashed Potatoes" in Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop (he's the taste-testing guy on America's Test Kitchen, FYI).  I have actually used this cookbook quite a bit when trying to figure out how to use vegetables from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture - from late spring though fall we get a box of veggies a week!) The recipes are arranged by vegetable and most are pretty straightforward. The mashed potatoes were quick and after cooking the peeled cubed potatoes I added some butter and milk. The potatoes were a little too similar in texture to the hotdish.   I thought the hotdish would have more of a gravy to it and that it would work with the mashed potatoes. It turned out to be thicker than I thought, which was good on its own, but not with the potatoes.

For the collard greens I went to another cookbooks that I use often for vegetable preparation ideas, the Fairshare CSA Coalition cookbook, From Asparagus to Zucchini.  Here I found a recipe for "Will's Collard Greens." Again, a fairly simple preparation as I sauteed them in oil, salt, pepper and garlic.  The collards were a nice texture and flavor contrast to the hotdish and potatoes.

My family's verdict?  Jacob said I should make the hotdish again, although it does make a 9x13 pan, so either I should make it when we have company or only make a half recipe.  Annika said the hotdish was "tolerable" and "not as bad as some things," which I took as a compliment.  The potatoes were good; Annika was thrilled because she loves mashed potatoes and I almost never make them (it's really a Thanksgiving thing for me, but maybe I'll change...)  Jacob and I both liked the collards; I didn't even ask Annika to eat them.  I figured that trying the hotdish was enough for one night, so she had other veggies.

So I ended up checking 3 cookbooks off my list and getting 3 keeper recipes.  Of course, here is the obligatory plate shot:

Vær så god!