Monday, November 12, 2007

farewell casserole (aka last supper)

I worked my last shift at the restaurant last night. About a week ago, I asked Chef if I could cook supper for the staff as my goodbye present. He prepares a "family meal," as he calls it, from time to time. Now it was my turn. For our last supper, I chose to prepare one of my favorite dishes growing up: King Ranch Casserole.

The King Ranch was a giant ranch that took of most of Texas that lies between Corpus Christi (the city of my birth) and Brownsville. It was a cattle ranch, so there is some question as to whether they really invented a chicken dish. Texas Monthly ran an article some time back that expanded on the origins of the casserole:

No one seems to know who invented it. The casserole may have come to King Ranch, but the descendants of Captain Richard King prefer to tout their beef and game dishes. "Kind of strange, a King Ranch casserole made with chicken," noted Martin Clement, the head of the public relations for the ranch. Mary Lewis Kleberg, the widow of Dick Kleberg, admits that her heart sinks every time a well-meaning hostess prepares it in her honor. Most likely the dish got its name from an enterprising South Texas hostess or a King Ranch cook whose preference for a poultry doomed him to obscurity.

Yet King Ranch casserole's general origins are easy to discern. Certainly it owes a deep debt to chilaquilas, which also contain chicken, cheese, tomatoes, tortilla chips, and chilies--the staples that campesinos often combine to stretch one meal into two while retaining a semblance of nutrition. But the dish owes as much to post-World War II cooking, when casseroles made with canned soups were the space-age cuisine. Because they could be made quickly and made for later use, casseroles liberated the lady of the house. " The perfect entree for a minimum amount of time in the kitchen for the hostess," the McAllen Junior League cookbook notes. The recipe made its way from one woman's club to another, networking in its most fundamental form. " It was one of those recipes that everybody just had a screaming fit trying to get," Mrs. Joe Gardner of Corpus Christi recalls.

If the women of the fifties loved this recipe because it freed them of the family kitchen, their children love it because it takes them back there. They have adapted it to their taste, of course: Trendy cooks now substitute flour tortillas for corn, while the truly convenience-crazed use Doritos. Purists doctor the recipe for sour cream--a move back toward Mexican authenticity. Houston's Graham Catering has come up with a low-salt version. Even that bastion of Junior Leaguedom, San Antonio's Bright Shawl lunchroom, has changed with the times. Chef Mark Green has followed the lead of the late Dallas gourmet guru Helen Corbitt by dropping canned soups; he now adds his own "roux" of milk, shredded cheese, garlic, and sliced mushrooms. "It sells good," he says. "It goes fast."

My version is more like Mark Green's than my mother's; I didn't open any cans. I made enough for at least twenty; the twelve folks working ate it all. I posted the recipe here.

I timed the serving of our meal to happen before the dinner service got busy, so we all stood around in the kitchen with our bowls and talked and laughed. "The reason I cooked dinner tonight," I told them, "was to say thank you. This has been my favorite kitchen to work in and, even though it's been a short time, I'm sad to leave. Thanks for our time together."

At the end of the evening, they gave me a card, a Red Sox lottery ticket with a chance to win season tickets for life (it wasn't a winner), and bought me a couple of Guinesses for the road.

"We'll miss you," one of the servers said. "You're nice and you can cook; do you know how hard that is to find in this business?"

I was grateful for the compliment.

Peace,
Milton

12 comments:

Towanda said...

"You're nice, and you can cook."

Don't get much better than that.

Blessings on your move.

Giddy said...

Thanks for inspiring our dinner tonight! A good friend made King Ranch chicken for someone's birthday a long time ago, and somehow it got dubbed Birthday Poulet, which is what it was called the first time I ever had it. Anyway, I threw in some enchilada sauce because, well, why not? and that's just how I cook. House is smelling pretty nice!!

Best wishes on your move. It all sounds very bittersweet to me.

Tee/Tracy said...

I have never heard of this recipe and I can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

milton -
if this is half as good as the tequilla black bean soup, it will be great. The soup is now a staple at our house.
stay in touch,
fishrock

Anonymous said...

i grew up on king ranch casserole. but never knew the history. thanks milton. ;) i also grew up driving through the king ranch way too many times on our way to San Benito/Harlingen. i always remember my parents making brad and me use the restroom before we started driving through because "it was going to be a really long time before we could stop again."
much love to you and ginger, anne

Beth said...

Oh, I haven't thought of King Ranch Casserole since Methodist potlucks in Grand Prairie, Texas, a gazillion years ago. I think I'll make it this week! Thanks for the reminder!

I think "He was nice and he could cook" is a most excellent legacy.

Go with God.

Real Live Preacher said...

Okay so what I'm going to do is print that recipe and then make it some evening. I don't cook much, and what I do cook is mainly "man-heating-things" kind of cooking. so I'll just drop this on the table real casual like. Eh, I thought I'd put together a casserole. Hope you like it. Jeanene will faint when she taste's it, I'm sure.

Now - how would I veggie this thing up? I got two vegetarians. Got any suggestions? If I was REALLY going to hit a homerun I would make two batches.

don't eat alone said...

Gordon

I think you can veggie it up rather easily: leave out the chicken, add more of the veggies listed and maybe some chunks of extra firm tofu.

Peace,
Milton

Anonymous said...

This was lovely to read. I think it says a lot about you and the people you worked with that your leaving meant so much given the short time you were there.

I have always made King Ranch Casserole the old school way, with the canned soup, but next time I will try your recipe.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Towanda.

Lori said...

"We'll miss you. You're nice and you can cook."

That's hard to find in any business.

What a lovely exit. And a great recipe. Never heard of that casserole before.

David said...

I can't wait to try the recipe. Blessings on oyur new adventure.