What got this “Wow!” of “Wow!”s from Hubby? Not chocolate decadence but greens casserole!

After being my accomplice for all the 212 blog entries I’ve completed, Hubby has sampled every dish I’ve prepared before I entered each recipe. That’s a lot of taste-testing in more than a year—and a lot of “attagirl!” affirmations on his part.

I can’t think of any recipe in those 212 that Hubby hasn’t complimented—some more vociferously than others, of course, but Hubby always been free with the superlatives. Makes my job as chief cook and apprentice food blogger much easier, I must say.

But for him to be forthcoming with the remark, “This has to go down as my all-time favorite of anything you’ve cooked”, I had to take notice. “You mean one of your favorites?” I queried. “No, the ABSOLUTE favorite.” Well, that’s sayin’ somethin’, for sure.

Mind you, this wasn’t Chocolate Decadence or some sicky-sweet multilayer dessert he was puffing. It was none other than today’s blog subject, Greens Casserole with Mozzarella. Perhaps this happened because his own greens from his own garden (and the tail-end of them, mind you) represented the impetus for the recipe. But Hubby kept bragging and gushing and going back for more casserole. At one point he suggested that this was THE DISH I needed to bring to the next family gathering. At another point he walked into my office crunching a tortilla chip and murmuring, “This would make a good dip, too.”

Well, onto this attention-getting recipe, which took the last of the last of our 2011 crop of collard greens but was a fitting sayonara to them. It merely was a mixture of wilted greens, a sauce of milk, butter, flour, and cheeses and a topping of dry bread crumbs with Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on. I baked it in a 7-inch-by-11-inch casserole dish. It didn’t last long. (Recipe source: www.nikibone.com) Using my own homemade chicken broth, skim milk, part-skim (instead of whole-milk) ricotta cheese, and whole-wheat bread for the dry breadcrumbs were the redeeming health features, besides of course, the fresh-from-the-garden green leafies. As we know, collard greens provide anticancer properties and offer an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, carotene, chlorophyll, and manganese. One cup of collard greens provides more than 70 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C.

Bye-bye, collard greens. You’ve been a blast and taught us a lot and been the star of our winter garden. We’ll for sure remember you at the time of next year’s plantings.

Greens Casserole with Mozzarella

1 1/2 pounds collard greens, washed and trimmed

salt (or salt substitute) and freshly ground back pepper

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup skim milk

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, whole milk or part skin

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

2 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or casserole; preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut out and discard the tough stems from the greens; cut out thick center ribs. Rinse all the greens and shake off any excess water; chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet cook the greens over low heat; add them by handfuls and stir them down as they wilt. Add 1/2 cup of water if the greens seem dry; then cover the skillet and braise for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Pour off any liquid left in the skillet; then season the greens to your preference with salt and pepper. Transfer greens to a bowl and set aside. Heat the broth and milk in a saucepan, just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. In the large skillet melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring for one minute. Add the hot broth mixture all at once and stir over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Whisk in the grated Parmesan and ricotta. Stir the greens into the cheese sauce; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and then sprinkle the grated mozzarella over the top; bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella is melted and lightly browned. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Our own private "bring-a-dish" recipient of tasty Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole

Nobody could blame her one bit. In fact, most of us were green with envy at her courage.

A family member whose memorable annual Christmas marathon feast had given new meaning to the adjective gargantuan was throwing in the towel this year. Instead of packing out every room in her house with tables and chairs and tossing a potluck meal for countless kin, she called to convene us at a restaurant near her home and said we'd gather there to fellowship this year.

Unbelievable! But how wise, especially for her sake. Few people knew the extent to which she went to pull off her holiday festivity every year. An ever-growing family, plus the fact that none of us is getting any younger, made us all salute her discretion in saying "no" to things that cause Christmas stress. Sure, we'll be there for the restaurant party, we RSVP’d.

Only problem was, I already had picked out the recipe for the dish I planned to bring to this annual potluck. Notes I'd left for myself all over my recipe album had reminded me to make Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole for my contribution in 2010. Colorful, healthy, and easy, this selection would be great as an accompaniment to her buffet table.

Cotton-pickin! I'd simply make it for myself, I vowed. After all, it qualified as a veggie side, my ultimate quest to go along with my December meals that are waiting in the freezer (yes, on this 17th day of December, I still have a few left.)

Well, ultimately Hubby and I loved the casserole so much, we selfishly were a little glad we didn't have to share it at a bring-a-dish event. Savory Corn and Broccoli was so tasty and appealing, we knew we would have had little left to bring home. This way we could enjoy effortless (on everyone's part) fellowship with family at a restaurant and have this tasty dish all to ourselves.

Savory Corn and Broccoli Casserole

1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style golden sweet corn, no salt added

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (11-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, no salt added, drained (can sub corn from one ear of fresh corn, steamed)

1 1/2 cups small broccoli florets

1/4 cup sliced green onion

1 egg beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup (about 6 wafers) crushed low-salt shredded wheat wafers

In medium bowl stir together cream corn and flour until mixture is combined. Stir in whole-kernel (or fresh) corn, broccoli, onions, egg, and pepper. Spray 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Spoon mixture into pie plate. Sprinkle top with crushed wafers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Makes 6-8 servings.

Fresh corn makes vegetable medley a scene-stealer for a summer potluck

Look out, summer potluck meals and family reunion food tables! A new blockbuster recipe I've just discovered is sure to start making the rounds.

If the health-appeal factor doesn't wow you, the sheer colorfulness of it will! This recipe would be a sure scene-stealer at any covered-dish occasion.

"Lemony Vegetable Medley" that I prepared last night with the first ears of corn from our very own garden (yes, it finally got as high as an elephant's eye!) is the most inventive and most flavorful dish I've tried in a long time--and that's saying a lot, since we've had some winners lately.

Hubby cast his oft-skeptical glance at the project when I asked him to get some radishes for me in the produce section of the grocery store. He couldn't imagine how sliced radishes would "go" with corn and steamed green beans in this marinated mixture.

He was the first to sing the praises of the dish, however, and wanted more and more. He said it was the most colorful salad he'd ever eaten and that it was like devouring health personified. Can't get better reviews than that!

The ingredient that "made" this medley, however, was the fresh garden corn. How eager we'd been to go out and raid our very own stalks.

The good news was that what we brought in was great and tasted terrific; the bad news was that we'll use it all up in just a couple of dishes. No voluminous corn harvest this year, I'm afraid.

Hubby is bemoaning the fact that he left much of the garden planting to the yard man. In retrospect we can see that our yard man planted things too close together and not as carefully as he should have. The corn, the tomatoes, and the peppers are all tightly bunched without a lot of growing room. (Gardening was not our yard guy's thing and was done in haste so he could quickly get back to mowing.) Hubby resolution: he'll do the planting himself next season and let the yard man stick with mowing. When you care a lot--and he cares bunches--garden-tending's just not something you leave to someone else. We live and learn.

However, we can be thankful for what corn we were able to bring in. And when we dined last night on "Lemony Vegetable Medley" (thanks, "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest" recipe booklet), we enjoyed it down to the very last kernel!

Lemony Vegetable Medley

2 cups corn (about 3 large ears), cooked

2 cups green beans, lightly steamed

1 cups radishes, thinly sliced

1 cup red bell pepper, sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 tablespoons chives, chopped

pepper to taste

Mix dressing and set aside. Combine vegetables in large bowl. Add dressing and refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir and serve.