Frogleg wrote:
>
> 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!
> :-)

Tee hee hee! You could be right, but I never thought
it odd. I just made my favorite grits casserole. I
made a recipe of grits in the microwave so they were
hot and I browned a pound of hot sausage, so that was
hot. Mixed it all up with 3 beaten eggs, a can of diced
green chiles, 2 cups shredded cheese, 1 tsp. cumin. Poured
into a large glass oval casserole and baked about 40 minutes -
recipe said 50 minutes - at 350F (except that my oven is a
little high so it was probably really 375F. The insides
were piping hot and well blended and it was just nicely
browned on the bottom and sides and the top was just barely
golden brown. The contents of the casserole were about
3 inches deep in the center. I think you really need
that amount of time to get everything hot and browned.

Now if I'd made it in my rectangular casserole it would
have been more spread out and only 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep
over all so it might have been done in 30 minutes. But
even with all the 2 major ingredients already being piping
hot I think it still needed that amount of time.

Why don't you experiment and try a casserole that you
think shouldn't take that long to cook and make several
of them and cook them for different lengths of time and
see which ones come out the best.

I agree that they Shepherd's Pie that calls for 1 1/2
hour of baking would probably be way overdone for my
taste (read "burnt") but I think anything between 30
minutes and 1 hour is reasonable for most casseroles.

Kate
the bottom
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?