Rosie Makes A Squash Casserole.

 

  I love summer squash

and a neighbor was kind enough to share some with me.

 

 I decided to make a squash casserole.

 You can use either yellow squash or zucchini.  

As for the size, 

I prefer small to medium squash.

You don't want a zucchini the size of a baseball bat

and the skin on the yellow squash gets tougher as it ages.

 Rosie's Squash Casserole

 2 small to medium yellow squash, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

splash of oil and 1 TB unsalted butter 

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 cup + grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium high heat.

with a splash of oil and a tablespoon of butter.

Add in diced squash and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.

Add in onion and cook an additional minute or two.

Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Pour squash and onions into a buttered 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

Beat eggs with sour cream

and add in a pinch of salt and pepper.

Pour over squash mixture.

Stir in cheese, saving a bit for topping.

Top with crushed Ritz crackers.

(At least 1/2 a sleeve.)

Sprinkle a little cheddar over top.

Bake in a 350° oven for 40 - 45 minutes

until cheese is set and topping is golden brown.

Let cool a bit before serving.

Enjoy!

Rosie Makes Mama Hawthorne's Squash Casserole.

Rosie found a new squash last year which she ordered from Burpee's - Golden Egg Hybrid.
I saved the seeds and planted another crop this year.
Tastes the same as the regular crookneck squash, but it's a neat shape.
I likee!

I decided to make one of my favorite squash preparations - Mama Hawthorne's Squash Casserole.
Daddy had a huge garden on his farm and Mama canned or froze Everything.
I remember a huge chest freezer in her basement - the kind you could stuff a body in.  It was filled with foil packages, all dated and labeled.  Her squash casserole featured prominently in that freezer.

When I first started my "cookbook" collection of Mama Hawthorne's recipes, I'd ask her how she made something and it was always, "You put in some of this...  some of that...  until it looks right."
I dutifully typed her "recipes" on her ancient Underwood typewriter.  Always trying to get her to be more exact.  And never really getting it.  (Case in point - her cornbread.  I'm still searching for the ultimate cornbread.)

That said, I got her squash casserole down.
And I've embellished upon it from time to time.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Mama Hawthorne's Squash Casserole -  By Rosie

4 cups diced yellow squash

1 small onion, chopped

½ cup chopped green pepper (The addition of green pepper is mine.  I’d just picked it from my garden and it seemed right.)

1 TB unsalted butter

1 TB oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 eggs

½ cup skim milk

½ cup cream

1 ½  cups grated cheddar cheese

About a sleeve of Ritz crackers, crumbled by hand

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet.  Add squash, onion, and pepper and cook over medium heat, tossing or stirring, for about 3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Beat eggs with milk and cream.  Add in ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.  Stir in squash mixture and 1 cup of the cheese.  Pour into buttered 9 x 13” baking dish.  Top with remaining ½ cup cheddar and crumbled Ritz.  Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes, or until custard mixture is set and top is golden brown.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing.

I love this.
Takes me back home.
Every time.

Rosie Makes A Squash Casserole.

 I'm growing a new squash this year -  Golden Egg Hybrid.

They're the size of a small to medium eggplant.

 
So I'm making a squash casserole for lunch today.
I love squash casseroles.
There's something comforting about casseroles
although I don't recall eating any casseroles in my youth.
But they do comfort me now.
And this one tastes even better because I grew the squash.



Rosie's Squash Casserole

1 Golden Egg Hybrid Squash, peeled and diced
That would be 4 cups of diced squash.
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
1 TB unsalted butter
1 TB oil (I used peanut.)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 heavy cream
I use that combination because I always have
I always have skim and cream on hand, never whole milk.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
about a sleeve of Ritz crackers, crumbled

In a large skillet, heat butter and oil.
Add in diced squash and sauté,
giving the pan that little flip every now and then,
for about 2-3 minutes.
Push the pan forward so the food slides up the sides
and comes over like a wave
and then pull the pan back to catch the vegetables.

It's all in the wrist and, most importantly,
 you must commit to the flip.

Add in chopped onions, and sauté until translucent
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into a buttered 7 1/2 x 9 inch baking dish.

Whisk together eggs, skim milk, heavy cream, and salt and pepper.
Stir in grated cheese
Pour mixture over squash and onion mixture.
Crumble Ritz crackers over top.
The more, the better.
Dot with butter if you're so inclined.

Bake at 350° for about 30-35 minutes,
until no longer jiggly.
Let sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Mr. Hawthorne Fries Shrimp.

What a lovely dinner we're having tonight - Mr. Hawthorne's fried shrimp with a lemon sriracha aioli and my squash pie.

The shrimp were expertly fried. Light, crisp breading on the outside, succulent sweet shrimp on the inside. I love the lemon sriracha aioli. It's the perfect accompaniment to fried shrimp - a lemony hot sweet chili pop. The squash pie was summery goodness - squash, sweet peppers, tomatoes, basil. And ooooh ... the cheese.

First, Mr. Hawthorne soaked his peeled and deveined shrimp in buttermilk.

2 parts flour 1 part cornmeal Old Bay seasoning

Fry at 350 degrees about 1 minute.

Drain.

This is some beautiful shrimp.

There's no cookin' like home cookin'.

Rosie Makes A Squash Pie.

I love summer.
 I love being able to walk in my yard 
and pick fresh vegetables and prepare them.
 My first squash are coming in now 
and Rosie is coming up with lots of ways to use this versatile vegetable. 

Today, I'm making a squash pie.

Rosie is Semi-Ho'ing it today.
 She's using a Pillsbury frozen pie crust.
 If you're going to use a pie crust from the store, 
get the kind that rolls out, 
not the kind that's already in an aluminum pan. 
The ones in the pan will harden and crack in the freezer. 
Plus they're smaller than the Pillsbury rolled dough.
 Use the rolled dough.
 It's better. 

Instant pie crust.
 

Press the crust into a deep dish pan. 
Spread liberally with Dijon mustard.
 Feel free to use a coarse grained mustard. 
 

Grated Mozzarella cheese. 
You want enough grated cheese to cover three layers in the pie. 
That's enough above for one layer. 

Two young squash. I half-way peeled them.
 

My mise en place: 
2 squash, sliced
 1 small onion, sliced
 1 tomato, peeled, juiced, and sliced
 1 small green pepper from the garden
 (It looks like a jalapeno, but it's not. It's sweet.)
 grated Mozzarella (enough to cover three layers in the pie)
 3/4 cup skim milk 
3/4 cup whipping cream 
1/3 cup sour cream
 2 eggs
 grated cheddar cheese to top
 bunch of basil from the garden 
 

I nuked the milk and cream for about 2 minutes,
 then added the sour cream.
 I think having the milk mixture warm helps the pie cook a bit quicker.   

Whup the eggs. 

Slowly whisk in the milk/cream ... 

... and sour cream mixture. 

Everything is ready to assemble. 

First I layered Mozzarella cheese and squash. 

Add a layer of pepper, onion, tomato, freshly ground salt and pepper, and basil.

 

Add a layer of the Mozzarella.
 

Another layer of squash, tomato, onion, pepper, basil, and salt and pepper.  

Top with Mozzarella and cheddar.
 Wait. 
Rosie is forgetting something. 

Oh yeah, the custard. 

Ready for a 375 degree oven.
 I baked this for one hour. 

Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
This is so the custard can set.

This is quite a tasty dish.
 I love the summer flavors here.
 And what says summer more than fresh tomatoes, squash, and basil? 
 Here's a Rosie Gardener's Tip: I germinate my squash seeds in cups on my deck, so I can walk out several times a day to water. This way, they germinate in just a few days. After the plants get their first true leaves, I transplant them in the garden. Then I start another set of squash seedlings on the deck. I'm eating off the first batch while I'm transplanting the second batch. Which reminds me - I need to start another set of seeds today. Try successive plantings and extend your season of summer's bounty.