Posted on 11/04/2015 4:00:38 PM PST by Jamestown1630
Back in the 1980s my girlfriend and I frequented a shopping mall in Montgomery County, MD that was one of the loveliest indoor malls of that extravagant era.
White Flint Mall, on Rockville Pike, had beautiful decor and lots of wonderful shops and department stores. I remember seeing what appeared to be polished copper lining the sides of the escalators; the indoor water fountains; and the see-through, bullet-shaped elevator that seemed to be made of lucite - and feeling a tinge of guilt at the money spent on all of it. And I remember being struck by the thought that most of the architecture that we retained from ancient times was devoted to religion and spirituality; and when future generations came to dig up 20th Century America, they'd find that the most durable structures were these immense buildings dedicated to consumerism.
But I liked going there anyway ;-) and now, it seems that all of these huge malls are coming down, and 'shopping centers' are morphing into a very different architecture and aesthetic.
One thing I always enjoyed when I went there, was a lunch plate that was sold in the "eatery"; I think this broccoli casserole was marketed as a 'healthy' choice, and it was served with a little salad, and a couple of crisp-bread crackers. I loved it, and I don't think I ever ate anything else at White Flint Mall.
I kept trying to figure out how it was made; and one day I happened to hit on the recipe in a magazine - I think it was the feature in 'Gourmet', where people would write in requesting recipes they'd had at restaurants (apparently, this dish was something served at many mall eateries.)
I usually do this in a large, oblong baking dish instead of a deep one; that way you can cut it into nice square slabs for serving:
Monterey Jack Vegetable Bake (6 to 8 servings)
2 T. Oil or Butter
½ lb. fresh Broccoli florets
1 to 2 T. Soy Sauce
1-1/2 tsps. Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Celery Seed
½ tsp. dried Dill
Salt and Pepper
½ lb. Carrots, sliced
1 small Onion, diced
1-1/4 C. Milk
7 Eggs
1 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut broccoli into ½ inch pieces. Melt Butter in medium skillet until foam subsides. Add broccoli stems and sauté briefly.
Add soy sauce, garlic, celery seeds, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add Carrots and Onions, cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Beat eggs and milk in large bowl. Add cheese and vegetables. Turn into lightly greased deep 3-qt. baking dish. Place in a large, shallow pan and add boiling water to a depth of 1 inch. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 or 60 minutes.
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Every year, my office holds two big parties: a Summer barbecue, and a Christmas party. We invite all the other departments in our institution that our office serves, and there is always a LOT of planning and cooking. This year, the party is coming earlier and at a time that's not convenient for me personally; so I'm looking for a casserole that goes together easily but has lots of flavor - and I don't think Broccoli will do it, for my crew ;-)
I've seen many references to the 'King Ranch Casserole', and this recipe looks good:
http://www.thekitchn.com/retro-recipe-king-ranch-casserole-recipes-from-the-kitchn-193912
But there are so many versions of it, I can't figure out which is 'Classic'. I think I'd like to do that, or some kind of Mexican or Southwest casserole. Any ideas?
This week: Potluck Casseroles! (A little early again this week, big weekend coming up.)
If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread, please send a private message.
-JT
Love casseroles. I’ll put up my beloved NY Times Tamale Pie recipe. Probably not technically a casserole but a one dish wonder.
That sounds good, I look forward to seeing it!
(I goofed - this is a ‘thread’, not a ‘thrad’. And I’m not sure how those ‘A’ things got in before my fractions. Probably the poltergeists we’ve been seeing of late ;-)
-JT
Just drove by White Flint Sunday afternoon. L&T remains open but the wrecker’s ball is swinging on what was once I Magnin, then Borders, then Dave & Buster’s. But Hank Dietle’s still operates a cross Rockville Pike.
Oh my haven’t had that in years...yummy.
Borders was wonderful! I always stopped at the one in DC, walking my way to the subway after work.
And I can’t believe that L&T is still operating anywhere; it’s the last one from the days of Woodward & Lothrop, Garfinckel’s, Hecht’s...
Going to see all of their window displays Downtown at Christmas time was a real treat, when I was tiny.
-JT
It’s basically chili with cornbread on top. When you spread the cornbread mixture on top and slip it into the oven, it sinks into the chili only to rise again.
DEE-licious as Teddy Roosevelt might say!
I don’t know any of these stores you’ve mentioned. Can you tell us more about them?
The A&P has finally died in the northeast much to my sadness. Well, it did have a very good run!
I just haven’t had it for years. Another one was ground beef and mashed potatoes. also tuna casserole with shoestring potatoes, mushroom soup and hard-boiled egg. I have the tuna recipe not the ground beef one.
L&T (Lord and Taylor) is the only one that still exists. The others were local to the DC area or the Mid-Atlantic /South. (I discovered Roger and Gallet soap at Garfinckel’s, a lifetime favorite.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfinckel’s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward_%26_Lothrop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecht’s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_%26_Taylor
We used to have A&P, too; one of the greatest store-bought cakes, the Spanish Bar Cake, was sold there:
http://www.tasteofsouthern.com/spanish-bar-cake/
Italian Casserole
(This will feed an army)
8 ounces cubed (not ground) pork, beef or lamb
1 can medium pitted black olives
8 ounces button mushrooms
8 ounces porto-bello mushrooms
8 ounces fresh tomatoes
12 ounces pickled artichoke hearts
2 Large green bell peppers
1 Large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
8 ounce frozen chopped frozen spinach (Thawed)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
Fresh basil
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh oregano
3 cups of Croutons
1 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese - grated
1 cup sharp cheddar - grated
2 table spoons of corn starch
Olive oil
salt
pepper
16 ounces shell pasta
1. Chop all vegetables to about the same size as the cubed meat.
2. Cook the 16 ounce bag (larger if you want) of shell pasta. When cooked drain and rinse the pasta and store in clean water.
3. Brown the meat with the spinach and one clove of garlic in a large pan. Do not add any spices
4. While the meat cooks begin cooking the chopped fresh veg + 2 cloves garlic and other herbs in a separate pan. Start with the onion then mushrooms then add the various bell peppers adding tomatoes and artichoke and drained olives last.
Saute these in a very large pan using olive oil and the herbs. Add salt and pepper and the herbs to taste.
5 Combine the meat & spinach mixture with the vegetable mixture making sure to include any drippings and the water that cooked out of the spinach. Mix thoroughly.
6. Combine with cooked pasta and mix thoroughly again
7. dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water and mix into the other ingredients until the sauce thickens
8. Transfer into a large baking dish. cover top with croutons and sprinkle with the cheeses
9. bake for about 15 minutes at 350/380 degrees until top is bubbly and golden brown.
Oh, Lord & Taylor. If I recall, it never had a food section unlike Macy’s in NYC. Macy’s used to have the most marvelous food hall. They went to war with Zabar’s on a regular basis in the 80s undercutting each other in price. In those times, we had Bloomingdales and B. Altmans. I used to stand on line at B. Altmans after a long day’s work to bring home my mother’s pies during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week. I also bought my mom langue du chat cookies at Bloomingdales, lol. Wonderful days, long gone. NYers, like Parisiens never baked because the bakeries were so splendid.
That sounds so good I do think I would attempt to eat it all in One Sitting
I think it really must be nice, when one can go to a dedicated butcher, baker, cheese store, etc., as in Paris. I’d be happy if I just had a real butcher nearby, instead of having to deal with only supermarket meat.
-JT
My aunt had a recipe for King Ranch Casserole that she’d make long before anyone in the northeast knew anything about it... her variant had cilantro in it and was a “from scratch” version instead of condensed soups. I’d wager dollars to doughnuts that it was a Southern Living recipe.
King Ranch Casserole Recipe ~ Noreen’s Kitchen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np7f410StLg
(I like how she does the tortilla layer configurations)
I've never purchased food at WalMart, though there are several supercenters near me. In Florida, we're lucky to have Publix, and I'll also frequent Winn-Dixie for their bargains and BOGOS. And I have a BJ's near by, which is great.
This past Sunday, we needed milk for our church breakfast. We bake muffins, biscuits, and cookies from scratch. The kitchen crew gets in early, so I stopped at WalMart at 6:30 AM for a gallon of milk.
I paid $ 3.96. I couldn't believe it. Publix is about $3.34, Winn-Dixie the same, and BJ's is about $3.15.
WM is always advertising VALUE, and how they'll beat the competition. And what's more basic a necessity than MILK...Kids need it. So yesterday I stopped back at WM, asked to see the manager, and politely asked him WTF? He said that a) price-matching applies ONLY to name brands, not in-house products, and more importantly, b) that pricing comes down from corporate..he has no control whatsoever.
I've always been partial to Wal-Mart...you could find most anything, and at a good price, and equally as important, their returns policy was first rate. They'd take back anything, anytime..no problem.
Yes, WM has embraced a more liberal/progressive bent these past years, and the stock is suffering, albeit for lots of reasons, but the idea that WM would be 20% MORE EXPENSIVE on MILK, the most basic of all commodities, is shocking to me.
Sam Walton must be turning over in his grave.
I'm curious if others around the country buy food and groceries there, and if they compare prices.
We don’t have a Walmart nearby; I think there’s only one thing there that my husband buys routinely when he goes home to PA.
If we need cheap bulk shopping, we do Costco a couple of times per year.
For everyday and staple-shopping, we’ve always found that we do better clipping coupons, checking the ads for the local stores every week, and stocking up on what’s on sale that week. After you do it for a few months, and get a little stockpile, we’ve found that you can save a lot more than going to the so-called ‘discount’ stores.
-JT
/johnny
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