As I mentioned yesterday, I’m Brokey McBrokerson lately. And last night I wanted nothing more than something warm and comforting to eat. Plus, I had three unidentified squash from my final CSA share I needed to use before they went bad.
At first I thought I’d just roast the squash, so I cut it open, reserved the seeds for toasting (!), and proceeded to roast its meat with with olive oil and sea salt. But then I figured I could make that squash go a lot longer if I put it into a casserole. Not that I had too much to work with. Still, I decided I would attempt a version of a recipe that appeared in my cookbook “Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven,” using only what I had on hand.
The original recipe was contributed by my friend and former roommate Maria. It was her grandmother’s, and one Maria swore by. Made with yellow squash, crumbled Ritz crackers and lots of butter, it was low-class comfort food at its best, and perfect for “Casserole Crazy” (it appears on page 47 in case you’d like to try it yourself) and exactly what I needed last night.
Given my affinity for onions, I’d added some to the recipe when it came time to write the book. And it called for butter. And milk. I had none of those things. It also called for a cup-and-a-half of cheddar cheese. I had about a half a cup.
But I did have three unidentified squash (which I identified as Delicata after the fact), olive oil and even some Ritz crackers (don’t ask… they were football shaped, too!). Oh, and eggs. It called for eggs.
Because I’m sort-of the MacGyver of the kitchen, and always use enough salt, the result was delicious, gooey and perfectly comforting.
The recipe is after the jump.
