Recipe: Yellow Squash Casserole

I am not usually a big fan of the generic casserole with loads of cheese and cream-of-something soup. However, this one doesn't have too many ingredients to cover up the principal veggie, and the way it makes usually bland yellow squash taste so creamy and flavorful wins me over time.

My mom made a squash casserole regularly growing up, but the cream corn in this recipe made it the special-occasion squash casserole. Now I only make this one. My memory of the taste even convinced me to break my preference for seasonal eating to make a giant recipe of the crowd-pleaser -- half for community group everything-but-turkey Thanksgiving dinner and half for a dinner to serve residents of a low-income housing facility.

Squash Casserole

2 cups cooked and drained yellow squash

1 cup cream corn

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ cups breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs (I like Kashi 7-grain TLC crackers), optional

Sauté onion with butter until tender. Mix everything together. Pour into a casserole dish and addcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Recipe: Summertime Squash and Potato Tort

Upon searching epicurious.com for something to make with my yellow squash, I found a recipe that not only had rave reviews but also conveniently incorporated the other produce item I had on hand, red potatoes.  I roughly halved the recipe, making just one pan, and my round pan filled up with only two layers. I also used my friend PAM Olive Oil instead of drizzling. And because it took so long to bake, I made baking it a late-night project and reheated it the next day.

Summer Squash and Potato Torte with Parmesan

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

12 ounces yellow crookneck squash, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

6 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter two 8-inch-diameter cake pans. Set aside 1/4 cup sliced green onions. Toss remaining green onions, cheese, flour, thyme, salt and pepper in medium bowl to blend.

Layer 1/6 of potatoes in concentric circles in bottom of 1 prepared pan, overlapping slightly. Layer 1/4 of squash in concentric circles atop potatoes. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture. Repeat with 1/6 of potatoes, then 1/4 of squash and 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture. Top with 1/6 of potatoes. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1/6 of cheese mixture and press gently to flatten. Repeat procedure with second cake pan and remaining potatoes, squash, oil, and cheese mixture.

Cover pans with foil. Bake until potatoes are almost tender, about 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered until tortes begin to brown and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes longer. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cool. Cover with foil and chill. Rewarm, covered with foil, in 350°F oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.)

Cut each torte into wedges. 

Makes 8 servings.