Casserole Crazy

The New Casserole: An Unlikely Manifesto
The Portland Mercury, 5/15/08

The casserole is alive and well, both in the hearts and cookbooks of moms everywhere, and in the irony-drenched corners of Brooklyn, where hipsters congregate each year for the Annual Casserole Party (organized by a woman who blogs at casserolecrazy.com). Read more.

How to Judge a Casserole Contest
The Amateur Gourmet, 10/23/2007

When I gave up a career in the law for a career as a food writer, who knew I’d wind up a judge?

Well that’s exactly what happened last week when I went to Brooklyn Label to co-judge The Third Annual Casserole Party, the brainchild of casserole enthusiast Emily Farris. I was a second choice judge: the first choice, the godmother of foodblogging (and friend of Emily’s) Julie Powell couldn’t do it and so Julie wrote me (our first contact) and asked if I would replace her. I said “sure” and that’s how I ended up on the panel you see above, along with Ruth Graham, senior editor at Domino, and Miriam Garron, a sous chef at The Food Network: a casserole court to be reckoned with. Read more.

Tasty Restaurant Gossip
The Brooklyn Paper, 10/20/2007

Congratulations to Zach Schulman and Graham Kelly for taking home the grand prize at casserole queen (and GO Brooklyn contributor) Emily Farris’s third annual Casserole Party on Oct. 16. The boys won prizes from The Brooklyn Kitchen and Word bookstore, and their “Cheese Love” casserole will grace the menu at Brooklyn Label (180 Franklin St. at Java Street in Greenpoint) for the next month. Read more.

Cheese Glorious Cheese: The Third Annual Casserole Party at Brooklyn Label
Gawker, 10/17/2007

Last night at new Franklin Street neighborhood institution Brooklyn Label, a lot of messy-haired people got in touch with their Midwestern roots by eating concoctions with names like “Texas Casserole Massacre” and “Practically Perfect Pairing.” Organizer Emily Farris, whose casserole cookbook comes out next Fall, was in high spirits. “I am running around like a crazy lady!” she said, doing just that. “I have to get some waters for my judges!” The water-needing judges included Adam Roberts, author of “The Amateur Gourmet,” and a lady who is a sous-chef for the Food Network. Read more.

Calling All Casseroles; Jonathan Waxman to Cook Southern on the UES
Grub Street, 9/19/2007

Greenpoint: Casserole fanatic turned cookbook author Emily Farris is hosting a cook-off at Brooklyn Label on October 16. Register now! [Brooklyn Based] Read more.

In the Oven
Brooklyn Based, 9/19/2007

The third annual Casserole Party is coming to Brooklyn Label Oct. 16, and considering nine teams have already signed on, you may want to get cooking, especially since this year, celebrity judges Adam Roberts of The Amateur Gourmet fame and Domino senior editor Ruth Graham will determine the winning one-pot meal.

It’s a lot of pomp for a humble dish, but organizer and writer Emily Farris, whose favorite rendition is a twist on her cheesy mac and corn casserole called “Seduction,” knows how the low-brow casserole can melt the hearts of uppity foodies. Read more.

Cracker-Barrel 2.0
The New York Times, 7/8/2007

Among individuals in this last category was Emily Farris, who is at work on a casserole cookbook and whose blog Casserolecrazy.com contains her recipe for the Greenpoint, inspired by her neighborhood’s Polish flavors: kielbasa, cheese, mushroom, potato and sauerkraut.

Sex Advice From Casserole Bakers
Nerve.com 6/21/07

Each year, Emily Farris hosts a cut-throat casserole-baking competition in Brooklyn. Here, we present sex advice from four recent competitors. Read more.

Squashing the Competition
Time Out New York 3/29/2007

The future Queen of Casseroles may qualify as a trendy Brooklynite (she works as a freelance website designer and writer), but her Casserole Party is not an exercise in kitsch. “Given that I grew up on casseroles, the idea is not ironic,” remarks Farris over coffee in Greenpoint. “It’s part of [my] childhood.… People forget or don’t know how good casseroles are.” Though Farris cites her aunt’s tuna noodle as a favorite, her own specialty is a mac ’n’ corn concoction. Read more.

Use Your Noodle
The New York Post 10/25/2006

Indigenous to Midwestern church socials and potlucks, the humble one-dish delight is the latest in retro artifacts appropriated by hipster creative types - a flock of whom gathered on a recent Saturday night in Brooklyn for the Second Annual Casserole Party.

Missouri native Emily Farris, 24, hosted the event with a down-home élan, lending a touch of “domestic bliss” to foodie irony. Read more.

One Dish Wonders
The New York Sun 11/2/2005

In a cramped Brooklyn apartment, a klatch of New Yorkers - some natives, some transplants, and even a few serious cooks - gathered recently for an experiment rarely tested outside of Midwestern church basements: a casserole contest. Read more.