Mini casserole dishes Archives

I have a bit of a weakness for food in miniature. Their diminutive size just makes me smile. Remember these, and these and how about these? These little short rib pot pies are freaking adorable! Such a clever idea to top them with thinly sliced potatoes. Wish I had thought of it, but the credit has to go to Martha on this one. Her version featured stout braised short ribs. I’m not a huge stout fan, so I used my favourite short rib recipe, from Chef Anne Burrell, which features red wine as the braising liquid.

After braising the ribs, remove the meat from the bones and shred it. You can use 2 forks, or just go at it with your hands. Mix the shredded meat back into the braising liquid. If you braise the ribs the day before you want to serve this, you can chill the ribs and braising liquid overnight and then just skim the hardened fat off the top of the braising liquid.

You could of course just make one large pie, in an 8×11 inch casserole dish, but mini ones are way more fun! Plus, leftovers can be frozen and stored for busy days when you just don’t have time to cook.

I used Yukon Gold potatoes because I wanted that gorgeous buttery yellow colour. I washed them really well and didn’t even bother peeling. They need to be sliced very thin. I used a mandoline. I love this one. Not too expensive and you don’t need an engineering degree to operate it. I have tried several brands and this one is my favourite from a performance and ease of use standpoint.

Arrange the potatoes over the beef. Overlap them so that at least 3/4 of the previous potato is covered. You want a tight concentric circle. The potatoes are quite thin so overlapping them prevents them from burning before the filling is hot and bubbling.

Brush with a flavourful olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Potatoes need lots of seasoning. Make sure you bake them on a rimmed baking sheet as the juices bubble up and over and cleaning your oven floor is not fun.

45 minutes later these golden beauties will emerge from the oven. A few fresh thyme leaves would be a pretty finish. Pour a big glass of a full-bodied red wine and congratulate yourself for making such a gorgeous dinner.

Click here to print recipe for Short Rib Pot Pie with Potato Topping.

Any time I can put a crisp topping on something and call it dinner is a great night in my house. This dish is inspired by a a recipe I had seen in the Spring Issue of the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine. I switched up the protein from shrimp to chicken, and made my own piri piri sauce, because I couldn’t find any ready-made at the supermarket. The sauce uses a mix of sweet bell peppers combined with a hot peppers. Above is the selection of peppers available at my local supermarket. I used the fresno pepper, around the same heat level as a jalapeño. Serrano peppers are hotter and habaneros are super hot. Here is the Scoville scale, which rates the heat of various peppers. The heat in peppers resides in the seeds and white ribs of the pepper, so remove them if you want to temper the heat. If pain-searing heat is more your jam, like my sister Bonnie and niece Kailey, then go ahead and use the entire pepper.

I marinated some diced boneless skinless chicken thighs in the sauce. While it was marinating, I cooked up a pot of jasmine rice and prepared the crisp topping. Unsweetened coconut, salted cashews and Rice Krispies make up this topping. Coconut oil is the glue that holds everything together. I love having breakfast for dinner.You could make this in a large casserole dish, but individual mini serving dishes are more fun. Any oven-proof vessel that holds around 2 cups will work. I used my little cast iron pans. Once the rice is cooked, add some frozen peas and corn. No need to thaw. A bed of fragrant fluffy Jasmine rice creates the first layer.Marinated spice chicken goes down next. Pour in any extra sauce from the marinating bowl.Finish with a blanket of coconut, cashew crisp topping. Half an hour in the oven is perfect to cook the chicken and crisp up the topping. Top with cilantro and a squirt of fresh lime.