Awhile back I bought this book. At the time, it just seemed like the right thing to do. I was at The Strand, which in my opinion, does not have 18 miles of books. It seems to me they might have 1 mile of books, and what makes up the other 17 miles are repeats and remainders. But 1 mile of books is still a hefty sum. So Brian and I went to the bookstore and split up accordingly– he goes to philosophy and music, and I go to cooking and fiction. So I’m browsing, and I pick up The Big Book of Casseroles.

I thought to myself, as I thumbed through the recipes, I’m American, I should know a thing or two about casseroles. I have a Pyrex pan, an oven. I like rice; I’ve been known to eat elbow macaroni. I don’t really come from casserole people, my family is Jewish, but there is no reason not to give this casserole thing a try. And the book is quite large, 310 pages of rib-sticking recipes. I am bound to find something that I like.

So I brought this book home, and it just sat there, occupying precious shelf space. I would look at is occasionally and wonder: what was I thinking? Beef Strips with Mushroom and Artichokes just doesn’t sound that appetizing. And no, I am not tempted by Salmon Loaf. I had made an impulse purchase. But determined to give this book a shot, I finally decided on this recipe.

New Potato and Blue Cheese Pie. Sounds simple and wholesome, and it was, but the recipe definitely needed tweaking. Made in a pie plate (hence the name) this dish was like a potato gratin sprinkled with blue cheese. If the recipe was followed exactly, I would have had my warm and bubbly potato pie in 45 minutes using just 1/2 cup of chicken stock and baking at 350 degrees. What I got was neither warm not bubbly; it was pale and crunchy. The potatoes didn’t brown, they remained crisp, and the cheese had hardly melted.

To save my dinner side dish I had to raise the heat to 400 degrees, add about 1/3 cup more chicken broth, and wait another 20 minutes. And then the dish was okay, not terrific, but fine. The cheese that had been nestled under the top layer of potatoes had melted to a pleasant blue mess, and the potatoes baked into a dense, crisp mass. Weren’t casseroles supposed to be easy, not stress inducing? Maybe the Beef Strips with Mushroom and Artichokes is the way to go after all.