Yellow squash casserole cracker#

Zinnias and squash scream summer to me and here we are at the season’s last gasp. Paul Costello took lots of images for the book there, including the gorgeous zinnia shot in this post and another that he got up at dawn to capture. Libby is a terrific cook and we have enjoyed many of these casseroles at the farm she and Ben share in Giles County, Tennessee. Whatever you serve it with, I think you’ll agree with Sam and me and my friend Libby Page, a party planner who is married to the brilliant landscape architect Ben Page. This weekend, I think I’m going with the Barbecued Pork Shoulder that’s in the same cookbook. In Julia Reed’s South, I serve it with fried chicken, sliced tomatoes, and okra fritters. Sam likes his casserole with roasted or barbecued chicken.

Yellow squash casserole cracker#

In another, he called it “transgressive,” a word I just adore and which, in this case (I think!) refers to the lavish amounts of butter, cheddar, cream, and buttery Ritz cracker crumbs that combine with the squash in what Sam calls “mysterious, marvelous ways.” Its richness is cut by a large chopped onion and two kinds of peppers that are also among the ingredients-if you like a touch of heat, you can definitely add an extra jalapeno or two. In one blog a few years ago, Sam declared it his favorite too. If you don’t subscribe, you should do so immediately. He’s one of the best writers out there and his Cooking site brightens up my morning each time it lands in my inbox. I really, really love Sam, and not just because he is forever writing nice things about me and my recipes. But Nancy’s, as I said in the Times way back in 2002, is the best one “on the planet earth.” Sam Sifton, who has since become the Times food editor, agrees with me.

Like most Southerners I grew up eating countless iterations of squash casserole and I have at least half a dozen recipes in my own repertoire. The shindig I’m hosting this coming Labor Day Weekend is no exception. I’ve also tinkered with it over the years and served it at more parties than I can count. My friend Nancy Peterkin’s squash casserole has made the rounds! Nancy, a justifiably renowned Houston hostess and a cook of uncommon talents, gave my mother the recipe years ago and since then, I’ve published it in the food column I used to write for the New York Times Magazine and two cookbooks, including Julia Reed’s South.