On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 15:37:37 -0500, Kate Connally >
wrote:

>Frogleg wrote:
>>
>> This was touched on peripherally in another thread, but I'm still
>> wondering. How come so many casserole recipes include mostly cooked
>> ingredients, and then specify a 45-minute to 1-1/2-hr cooking time?
>
>Why does it matter? You cook it till it's done -
>which means hot through and nice and golden brown on
>top. Even though the ingredients may not be raw they
>are not usually already hot.

Thanks for all input. I'm still a little puzzled by how it'd take 30+
minutes at 350F to thoroughly heat cooked ingredients. I mean, if you
layer raw potato slices (with milk and s&p and maybe some cheese and
onion, and..., it's going to take a while for the potatoes and onions
to actually cook. But how long does it actually take to heat a
good-sized dish of tuna casserole?

I just looked up a number of Shepherd's Pie recipes on the web.
Cooking time ranged from 20 minutes to 1-1/2 hrs at temperatures
between 350 and 400F. All ingredients were pre-cooked (except in the
case of adding eggs to mashed potatoes and needing to cook for
'puff'),

Maybe this habit is the source of ads for dishwashing liquid designed
to "remove baked-on" foodstuffs. Oh, for an instant-read thermometer!
:-)