A Creole “Thanksgiving Casserole”

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here’s a link about a “Thanksgiving Casserole” I made.  It was a mixed bag of successes and mistakes.  Plenty of Roman for improvement, but I’m planning on doing it again…when I get the proper cooking vessels for it.

https://imgur.com/gallery/AjqmL14

A couple of selected pix:

 

 

The main issue was what I cooked it in.  It was too loose to be served fresh out of the oven from a standard baking pan- it just disintegrated.  

 

Dishes like this are best made & served in an individual cocotte/crock/bowl of some kind, like a chicken pot pie or French Onion Soup…which im ALSO interested in cooking.  So now I’m shopping for something in the 16-22oz size that can handle 350-500degF and doesn’t have protruding handles.

[Dave Bryce]

Nice, Danny!  Looks like basically a turkey/potatoes/stuffing thing?
 

The only casserole I've ever triede with turkey is a Turkey Tetrazzini that I typically do after Thanksgiving eith some of the leftovers.

 

Re: chicken pot pie - I hope you'll get a chance to try the one I posted a while back.

 

dB

[Dannyalcatraz]

Basically, yeah.  The core idea was our traditional creole thanksgiving leftovers as a casserole/pot pie thing.  Like I said, it was pretty good, but there was clearly room for improvement.  
 

Mom & I are definitely delving into finding the right size and shape individual portion oven-safe cookware for this.  We’ve looked at dozens of crocks, au gratins, tarts, ramekins, coquettes and other cookware to find something we can work with.  We’ve weeded out some with odd shapes, vague assurances of being oven safe (without listening temp ranges) and difficult care or storage requirements.  We’ve found some strong contenders, but no clear winners, yet.

[Threadslayer]

20 hours ago, Dannyalcatraz said:

 

Mom & I are definitely delving into finding the right size and shape individual portion oven-safe cookware for this.  We’ve looked at dozens of crocks, au gratins, tarts, ramekins, coquettes and other cookware to find something we can work with.  

That's the sort of thing that Crate & Barrel used to excel at. Probably Pottery Barn and Sur La Table also. Not sure who's stocking what these days though.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’ve checked out all of those, with mixed results.  So much of what I’m finding is on the smaller side or too shallow.  Still, I’ve definitely got some options at each of them.

 

I think PB had some reasonably priced ones from a brand I’d never heard of that were a good size and depth, and they came in a variety of colors, including one that looks like it is close in coloration to our current set of everyday dishes.  The hangup?  They’re enameled carbon steel, and ideally, Mom wants something that’s also microwave safe.

 

 

[Dave Bryce]

7 hours ago, Dannyalcatraz said:

The hangup?  They’re enameled carbon steel, and ideally, Mom wants something that’s also microwave safe.

I opt for metal bakeware in many cases, as I typically find I get a more even bake from it (especially on the bottom of the dish) because metal gets hotter than the ceramic pans/dishes.

 

dB

[Dannyalcatraz]

That’s as I suspected, but that might not be as good for things like French onion soup.  I suspect the ceramic crocks THOSE are served in tend to retain the heat better than metal ones would.

 

I may need both…