Gratin: Not Your Mama's Casserole (but kinda the same)

Casserole= Americana grossness favored by 60's housewives. Includes pantry staples such as egg noodles, canned tuna, canned green beans/peas/corn, Campbell's soup. Convenient way to feed your hungry brood of children when you are tired after a long day of drinking white wine and smoking Marlboros while waiting for your husband to come home from the office

Gratin= Fancy favorite of the yuppie crowd and natural food recipes, often found in the food & wine section of the NYT. Includes pantry and refrigerator drawer staples such as summer squash, potatoes, leeks, fresh herbs, cream, eggs, gruyere and arborio rice. Convenient way to feed your long-term live-in boyfriend or semi-employed friends after a long day of drinking white wine and smoking camel lights while waiting to hear back from those 20 jobs you found posted on idealist.org and applied to after you woke up at 10 am.

As the Thai people so famously say: "same-same, but different."

Gratins come in many shapes, sizes and levels of healthyness, but I think the majority of us crows agree that the Queen of all gratin recipes is this little gem that we dug up last summer:

This Summer Squash Gratin recipe from the NYT "recipes for health" section.

I have made this a least a half dozen times, and I know Mz Holly has as well. What is so great about this particular recipe is that is completely adaptable to whatever you have in your kitchen at any given time- zucchini can be substituted for sweet potatoes or butternut squash, Gruyere can be replaced by cheddar or chevre, leeks or shallots could be added, basil, parsley or organo can take over instead of thyme. Be creative!

Using rice in the gratin keeps it light yet filling (brown rice works just as well as aborio and makes it a little heartier), and personally, I like that this gratin isn't too cream-heavy, as many are.

The most important thing that this, and most, gratin recipes never mention is a classic ode to the casserole; always opt for a crusty top! A thick layer of breadcrumbs ups the yummy factor big time. After all, your Mama was right about a lot of things.