Casserole Ca-razy!

Yo yo Ma.

I've recently decided to have dinner parties at my place. My place is tiny so I can have up to five people including me.
And what's the perfect dinner party dish? A casserole of course!

And thanks to my dear friend Audrey who got me "Casserole Crazy" by Emily Farris a couple of Christmases ago, and to my lovely aunt for the Le Creuset, I am able to make casseroles all-the-time.

My first foray into Casseroletown was a doozy. I made THE GREENPOINT for my friends Anna, Greg, Marc and Didier. It was a mess of Polish deliciousness!!!!

Here's the recipe, with some modifications:
- (1) lb rotelle pasta
- TWO large heat and serve kielbasa *original recipe calls for one, but that was not enuf meat!
- (1) large white onion, finely chopped
- (2) packets of sauerkraut
- (4) TBSP of olive oil
- (10) small potatoes *original recipe calls for (2) portobello mushrooms, but one of my guests isn't a mushroom fan, so I decided to add more carbs!
- (2) cups of cream of celery soup *again, recipe called for cream of mushroom soup, see above
- (1) cup grated Parmesan cheese (I put the WHOLE container in)
- Salt n Pepper
- (16) oz frozen sweet peas

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water. Cook to just under al dente, drain, and set aside.
Cut the kielbasa into 1/4" slices. In a large saucepan (or wok) over high heat, saute the kielbasa slices, onion, and sauerkraut in the olive oil. When the kielbasa is browned *add the mushrooms and sautee for 3-5 minutes.
(At this time, I was also boiling the potatoes in super salty water).
In a LARGE pot over low heat, mix the kielbasa mixture and the soup. When well mixed, add the pasta. When the pasta is well coated with the soup, add 3/4 cup of the Parmesan while continuing to stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the frozen peas (they should be frozen) and stir.
Take the boiled potatoes out and cool down with cold water. Slice the potatoes and place at the bottom of a greased casserole dish.
Transfer mixture from large pot to the casserole dish on top of the potatoes. Sprinke the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake, uncovered, 40 - 45 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Let sit for a bit, then gorge!

And for dessert I made an amazing Triple Berry Pie! Reminiscent of Carey's berry pie, but I don't make my own crust ;-)