Turkey and Ham Bake Supreme
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 14 servings
- Prep 5 mins
- Cook 50 mins
This old-fashioned casserole features lots of crunchy topping.
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn
"This is the quintessential American casserole," says James Villas, former food editor of Town and Country magazine. The recipe, from a faculty wife at the University of Missouri where he was teaching, was tweaked by his mother, who added the sherry and water chestnuts. Bake it in a shallow pan for lots of crunchy topping.
Ingredients
- Casserole:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups 2 percent reduced-fat milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 5 tablespoons dry sherry
- 5 cups chopped cooked turkey
- 5 cups chopped cooked ham
- 2 -- (5-ounce) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Topping:
- 2 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To prepare casserole, melt 6 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Gradually add milk and half-and-half; cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Remove from heat.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.
- Add milk mixture, mushrooms, sherry, turkey, ham and water chestnuts to a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cheeses.
- To prepare crumb topping, combine breadcrumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl; spoon over casserole.
- Bake 35 minutes or until lightly browned.
Recipe adapted with permission from Crazy for Casseroles by James Villas (Harvard Common Press, 2003).
