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A casserole from Hill Country

By Daisy Carrington | dcarrington@am-ny.com

5:11 PM EST, January 15, 2008

Corn puding from Hill Country (michelle repiso/amNew York)

For most of us city dwellers not raised in the south, the idea of entertaining guests with a casserole seems laughable. We equate the dish with something base: processed food. In our minds, casseroles are often made with Campbell's soup. To a Southerner, however, it's standard potluck fare.

"[Back home], everyone has a bunch of Pyrex," admits Elizabeth Karmel, the North Carolina-bred executive chef at Hill Country, the city's newest barbeque hot spot.

Karmel maintains that casseroles actually make for varied and complex entrées. "They run the gamut, from something I call cupa cupa can -- a cup-a this and a can-a that -- to something very sophisticated," she says.

At the Chelsea restaurant, Karmel serves up her mother's recipe for pudding made from white shoepeg corn -- a sweet white variety common in the south. As proof of the dish's highbrow nature, Karmel admits her mother served it in a soufflé dish.

Casseroles are practically bred for entertaining. Not only are they relatively simple to prepare, but they are portable, can be made in advance and are incredibly versatile.

"Anything can become a casserole," Karmel says. "Just think about that. Come up with any meal, and I can make it into a casserole."

To prove her point, when I told her I was craving Cornish hen, Karmel came up with a recipe on the spot: Butterfly the game hen, mix it with wild rice, garlic, white wine and olive oil, then bake it for 45 minutes and, voila, a Cornish hen casserole is born.

Not only has Karmel brought her casserole to the big city, she's also introduced a countless number of women to tarbecue -- which until recently was often seen as a man's domain. She is one of a handful of female 'cue grillers, and she teaches a Southern barbecue class at the Institute of Culinary Education.

"I don't know why there aren't more women in the barbecue business," she says. "It is rare, but how much fun do I have?"

Hill Country 30 W. 26th St.; 212-255-4544

Q&A with Elizabeth Karmel

Why is barbecue seen as a man's domain? Way back when, outdoor cooking was all about building a fire, and it was charcoal and wood, and it was messy, so women gradually gave that task to a man. Like taking out the trash. Really, what woman wants to take out the trash?

When did you first get involved with barbecue? I grew up in the South and had been away, and I missed it so much that I had to teach myself how to make it. I traveled all over the South to teach myself Southern barbecue.

How did you begin working at Hill Country? Marc [Glosserman, the owner,] wanted to open up an authentic Texas barbecue restaurant, and I loved the concept and loved his commitment to keeping it authentic, which is what I'm all about. That was the biggest thing that attracted me to this project. That and that I love country music.

Recipe

Ingredients:
8 cups frozen white shoepeg corn, thawed
2 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar