Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook
by Clifford A. Wright
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Book Summary Information
Author: Clifford A. WrightEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-26
ISBN: 0471754471
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Wiley
Book Reviews of Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook
Book Review: Wonderfully Broad Selection of Simple Recipes. Buy It!
Summary: 5 Stars
`Bake Until Bubbly' by distinguished culinary writer and teacher, Clifford A. Wright is billed as `The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook', which is a figurative sticking out of the chin, daring one to poke holes in the author's pretensions for claiming to write an `ultimate' treatment of any subject. My skepticism is muted a bit when I see a very complementary blurb on the back cover from James Villas, the author of another recent casserole treatise, `Crazy for Casseroles'. Looking back at Villas' book, I see one immediate difference between the two. Villas' clearly stated range is purely American, while Wright's range is global, with special attention being paid to those great Mediterranean culinary powerhouses, France, Spain, and Italy. This is all quite appropriate, as Villas is the great American cookery writer, an inheritor of James Beard's mantle, while Wright is quite in the tradition of Elizabeth David, focusing on European cooking.
Upon opening the book, I discover that Wright has stretched the notion of a `casserole' far beyond what I would imagine. Being something of a linguistic purist, I would call `casserole' anything baked in a traditional casserole dish, whether it's the American Corning Ware rectangle, the Spanish Cazuela, or the French Cassoulet. I also tend to limit the notion to savory dishes, with baked desserts having their own extensive taxonomy of crumble, pan-dowdy, cobbler, buckle, and the like. Wright cuts an incredibly broad swath with his definition, including such cousins as all sorts of baked pastas (ziti, lasagna, bucatini, and so on). Wright clearly relishes the great diversity, as in America alone there are many regional names and styles for a `baked dish' such as pilafs, poofs, perloos, puddings, pies, surprises, suppers, shroups, royales, stifles, supremes, bakes, gratins, cobblers, crisps, crunches, delights, dishes, hot dishes, hot pots, medleys, and melodies, oh my!. In the end, Wright seems to include virtually every kind of dish which is baked in a dish with raised sides, does not have a pastry crust, is not a meat roast, and is not covered like a braise or a stew. This range goes so far as to include meat loafs, meat balls, and baked stuffed crepes. A significant symptom of the range of dishes is the fact that Wright cites sixteen different baking dish sizes needed to do all his dishes, ranging from ½ quart to 10 quarts.
While Wright relishes presenting a broad range of very ethnic dishes, he is thankfully not limiting himself to ethnically accurate dishes. This is, after all, a handy reference for the everyday cook who specifically likes the relatively quick prep times unattended baking. Therefore, Wright adapts many recipes to eliminate some of the less healthy or less accessible ingredients found in the provincial originals to these dishes. He is especially diligent in eliminating all use of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup as a replacement for simple white sauces. My favorite discovery in Wright is for a corn and oyster casserole with all the good flavors and none of the carb laden pastry of my dear Pennsylvania Dutch corn pie.
One improvement over Villas' `Crazy for Casseroles' is a simplified organization, making it easier to find the most recipes which fit a particular need. His chapters are:
Breakfast and Brunch Casseroles
Meat Casseroles
Poultry, Dairy, and Game Casseroles
Seafood Casseroles
Rice and Grain Casseroles
Vegetable Casseroles with Meat
Vegetable Casseroles without Meat
Dessert Casseroles
It is no surprise that most of the pasta and noodle casseroles are Italian (especially since Wright previously wrote a book on lasagna). What may be a bit of a surprise is that almost every rice casserole is Spanish. This is due in no small part because of the great Spanish tradition of rice culture and the fact that the cazuela (earthen casserole dish) is as much or more the national dish of Spain than the more famous paella.
I could think of no better way of comparing Villas to Wright than to compare their macaroni and cheese recipes. While Wright has eight (8) macaroni casseroles, he has only one mac and cheese recipe. Villas has six (6) macaroni casseroles, and four (4) of those six are variations on mac and cheese. On that basis alone, I suggest you own both books. Wright's single mac and cheese recipe is a straight béchamel recipe flavored with onions and mustard and dressed as a gratin with breadcrumbs. Villas simplest recipe is even simpler, but is based on custard instead of a béchamel. Now `Cooks Illustrated' claims the custard based mac and cheese is superior to the béchamel recipe, but I disagree. Of course, on the very next page, Villas gives us a béchamel based recipe with extra cheese and extra flavors. All the recipes are utterly simple.
Both writers are thoroughly engaging, and I can enjoy reading both from cover to cover. Both writers include many culinary tips; however, some culinary verities such as the meaning of a `roux' goes unexplained in Wright. These books are for people who know how to cook.
I tried to find a common sweet recipe in both books, but I am happy to say I could not, giving us all the more reason to own both. The closest I could come was a raspberry and blueberry crunch in Villas and a blueberry cobbler with raspberry thumbprints in Wright. And, while Villas had three recipes with rhubarb, Wright had none. Both books are cheap and both books have more useable day to day recipes than any five books by celebrity chefs.
Summary of Bake until Bubbly: The Ultimate Casserole Cookbook
Bake until Bubbly"Everybody who grew up on tuna noodle casserole or macaroni and cheese remembers that bubbling dish brought to the table with its top dappled golden brown, piping hot and inviting. My passion for casseroles was born from memories of my childhood and my mother's lasagna, thick and rich and gooey and delicious. But once I had three children of my own, casseroles were the solution to many frenzied nights. We all loved the simplicity, ease, and satisfaction of a well-baked casserole. One of my favorite dessert casseroles was the Pear Crisp my kids and I made in late August when our pear tree was groaning from the weight of those luscious orbs ripening. We'd cut them up and arrange them in a casserole with cinnamon and then blanket them with a streusel made of flour, butter, and sugar before baking until bubbly. Hey, what a great name for a book!"
?from Bake until Bubbly
Advance Praise
"Bake until Bubbly . . . the name says it all. Visions of creamy, tender casseroles with crusty, crunchy tops immediately come to mind and Clifford Wright's book delivers. You will find easy-to-make one-dish recipes like the rustic but elegant Veal Saltimbocca and Cassoulet and comfort food such as Blue Cheese Halibut Bake; Sausage, Red Bean, and Apple Casserole; Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Crisp; and Blackberry and Cream Cheese Crepes Casserole. I love the fact that you can find everything from breakfast casseroles to vegetarian options to desserts. The Potato, Bacon, and Gruyère Casserole is coming to my next potluck."
?Dede Wilson, Contributing Editor to Bon Appétit magazine and public television host
"Just when I thought there was little left to be exploited in casserole cookery, Clifford Wright comes up with an herby tamale pie with cornmeal mush, an Irish rutabaga pudding, a baked rigatoni with meatballs, a nectarine and almond dessert casserole, and numerous other fascinating dishes guaranteed to add new and exciting dimension to this succulent style of cooking."
?James Villas, author of Crazy for Casseroles and The Glory of Southern Cooking
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