Tears of joy, tears of sadness

It’s been a week of mixed blessings on our block of Park Place Avenue. One family lost a beloved grandfather; another welcomed a brand new baby girl. So Jordan and I are making a double batch of our standby recipe—Doris’ casserole.

This is a family favorite, beloved by all but one of my children (she doesn’t like cream cheese, sour cream, etc.). It was served to me at a dinner party nearly fifty years go by a woman named Doris. If I remember the story correctly, it was called Mrs. America’s Beef Casserole. A friend who also makes it calls it American lasagna. Doris’ husband was a resident in training, with my ex, and when he completed his training, they moved to Granbury. I didn’t see much of Doris in later years but when I did she barely remembered the casserole. Doris died several years ago, and I think that the recipe lives on is a nice tribute to her.

In fact, the recipe has become ubiquitous. It was included in my first cookbook—Cooking My Way through Life with Kids and Books. It’s been served at a TCU luncheon and one son’s decade-changing birthday, served to countless guess in my home and Jordan’s, and reprinted in countless guest blogs. I guess you’d call is my signature dish, though Jordan makes it as often as I do

Doris Casserole

First layer:

1 lb. ground beef

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed in garlic press

2 tsp each sugar and salt (I cut back on those but sugar is important in tomato-based sauces—my mom taught me years ago it sort of rounds it off.)

Pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain grease and return to skillet. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes, until it thickens a little.

Spread in a 9 x 13 pan.

I gave the recipe to a friend who insisted the noodle layer should come first. I assured her it shouldn’t.

For noodle layer:

5 oz. (approximately—they don’t come in this size pkg.) egg noodles

3 oz. pkg. cream cheese (here again, you have to fudge; cream cheese doesn’t come in 3 oz. pkg. anymore)

1 c. sour cream

6 green onions chopped, with some of the tops included

Cook egg noodles and drain. While the noodles are hot, stir in cream cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Spread over meat mixture.

Topping

1-1/2 cups (or more) grated cheddar cheese (do not ever buy pre-grated cheese; it has wood particles to keep it from clumping. For heaven’s sake, it’s not that much trouble to grate it yourself. No, that is not something I read on Facebook and took for gospel. The cheese monger at Central Market told me about this.

Top the casserole with grated cheddar, bake 35 minutes at 350 or until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned.

This is supposed to feed six, but it disappears quickly. Leftovers, if any, freeze well.