You Deserve a Hot and Cheesy Dumpling Casserole
Hello and welcome to Will It Casserole? , a column in which I take your delightful concepts and re-imagine them as delightful layered creations. I’m thrilled to share with you a project this week that tastes so delicious it’s almost painful.
So, first, let me agree with you: the Waffle House casserole by AA Newton actually got the most votes in our topic selection session, but after that and that, I was a little confused. (I know, I didn’t think that was possible either.) So instead of making a casserole with grated potatoes, I made a casserole with mashed potatoes, and I’m not even a bit sorry.
Using Jess Mariano’s comment as inspiration, I’ve put together the following to make my dumpling casserole:
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 120 ounce bacon, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 large onions, halved and sliced
- 1/2 glass of white wine
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 10 lasagna noodles
- 6 ounces chopped cheddar
- Salt and pepper
- 1 green onion, chopped
First, I paid attention to the potatoes. You can make your mashers however you want, but I decided to use Instant Pot. I peeled and cut the potatoes into chunks, and they put them in a pot on a rack, about an inch of water. Then, using the manual setting, I cooked them for seven minutes on high heat. While this was happening, I cooked bacon in a large stainless steel skillet.
At the end of the cooking time, I manually relieved the pressure using the release valve. While the potatoes were exhaling steam, I heated the milk in the microwave until it was hot, but not boiling. Then I took the potatoes out of the pan, drained the water and returned to the pan along with the hot milk and butter. I seasoned them with salt and pepper and beat them out with a damn wooden spoon until they were smooth and fluffy.
Around the same time, the bacon got crispy, so I put the crunchy pieces of pork on a few paper towels and then – because I’m very smart and good – tossed the chopped onions into the bacon grease and let them hang. until they are nice and caramelized.
When the onions were ready, I set them aside and removed the frosting from the skillet and half a cup of white wine. I let that drop by about half, added a chunk of cream cheese, and pushed it over the pan until I got what was basically a wine and cream cheese sauce. I cursed myself for not making such a mixture before, then scooped it out of the pot and set it aside. (In hindsight, I should have added cooked horseradish to this pretty pile of buttercream, so learn from my mistakes and add a tablespoon or two.)
Finally, I noticed the lasagna noodles. I immersed each in a pot of boiling salted water for four minutes and then put it in an ice bath to stop cooking. Then I was ready to overlay a layer.
I created my cheesy masterpiece by starting with a layer of mashed potatoes and continuing with onions, five noodles, a cream cheese mixture, grated cheddar and bacon, and then repeating it all over and over. It was placed in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes with an additional five minutes of frying for a crispy, bubbly filling.
I covered a great pile of cheese and carbs with diced green onions and ate myself in a daze. It was filling, cheesy, tasty, and a little deadly. You can, as Jess Mariano suggests, serve it with sour cream, but you really don’t need it. However, I would recommend a glass of water or maybe a green salad, but that’s only because I feel obligated to do so.