General Topics

TheHuntress used to have a thing against casseroles, largely because of bad childhood experiences with them. "I remember prodding at that tasteless crud for hours," she says.

But some hounds are giving casseroles a second chance.

After leaving home and experimenting with the dish, TheHuntress realized that she loves casseroles. "It makes me so happy in Winter to bung it in the oven, invite a bunch of people over to share and have that amazing smell drifting around," she says.

eclecticsynergy had a similar change of heart. "I grew up on canned-soup casseroles," eclecticsynergy says. "But as an adult I found that the casserole universe [is] much wider than I'd thought." eclecticsynergy likes to make James Beard's mushroom-barley casserole, as well as a casserole of brown rice and cheese.

Hounds also note that casseroles can take many forms. "We often do baked pasta--often in a 4 cheese sauce--that gets finished under the broiler. If this is a casserole, I'm all for it," escondido123 says.

John E. grew up in Minnesota, the land of casseroles known as "hotdish." "A hotdish, like a casserole, can be anything and the results mostly depend on the quality of the cook and/or the recipe," he says. Most Minnesota casseroles he experienced "were based on ground beef and could either go the tomato route or the bechamel route (mostly people used cream of something soup, but my mother thought they had too much fat and salt)," he says.

Maybe one of CHOW's updated casserole recipes might help change your mind about this classic comfort food.

Discuss: Casserole: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

ramonasaur wants to know: Why do some cheeses come wrapped in a plantain leaf or other pieces of nonedible greenery? Does it serve a function, or is it just decoration?

thimes has a theory: Fresh cheeses used to be offered at the market wrapped in leaves—and in some areas, they still are—as an indicator of freshness. "If the leaf was old, rotten, or shriveled you knew the cheese wasn't fresh," thimes says.

So think of these bits of greenery as an ancient form of a "sell by" date!

Discuss: why are some cheeses wrapped in plantain leaves?

Ask a Texan and a resident of Cincinnati to describe what chili is, and you'll get two very different answers.

Cincinnati chili is essentially "something like a ground meat pasta sauce, with a Greek twist on chili spices," says paulj. Cinnamon, cloves, and even chocolate are the characteristic spices, mattstolz adds. The beans, if they're present at all, are served on the side.

Meanwhile, Texas chili is more of a "glorious beef stew" flavored with a mix of chile peppers, caseyjo says. Beans are not invited. "I defy my Texas-born parents by adding the tiniest bit of kidney beans, but they haven't disowned me yet," caseyjo says.

Of course, the popular conception of chili is a stew made with lots of beans, tomatoes, vegetables, and meat. "I grew up thinking I didn't like chili because all I ever was exposed to was canned chili with kidney beans," laliz says. "What a travesty!" "I wish they'd call Eastern chili, kidney bean stew, 'cause it sure ain't chili to me," Passadumkeg says.

Discuss: Cincinnati chili has no beans?

jameshig loves and heartily recommends Monterey Farms' packaged artichokes for their convenience and quality. "[Artichokes] are such a pain to clean and grill and I found their packs in the produce section and figured I'd give them a try," jameshig says. "The flavor is really good for pre-cooked artichoke hearts. I made a risotto with duck confit, the artichoke hearts and roasted beets on top."

DopplerDeb agrees that the brand is amazing. "Jarred artichokes always taste slimy and mushy to me," she says. "These are plump and firm and jam packed full of flavor. I eat them grilled right out of the bag they are so good!"

Discuss: Monterey farms artichoke hearts- FTW!!!