Casserole Queens and the Texas Book Festival
Oct 21, 2011 — By Layne Lynch
Famous authors and avid readers will take the place of liberals and conservatives this weekend at the Capitol during the Texas Book Festival. And for all you cookbook hoarders out there, you better start compressing the spines of the books on your cluttered shelves and make some room. A number of Texas cookbook authors including Tyson Cole, Lou Lambert, Lisa Fain, and the Casserole Queens Sandy Pollock and Crystal Cook will be joining the likes of Paula Deen and Alton Brown, turning the festival into a virtual Comic Con for foodies. Casserole Queens Pollock and Cook are first-time authors, and it was only a few years ago the two almost closed their Austin casserole delivery business. But then, the Food Network discovered the duo and featured them on its famous show Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Bad news? They lost to Bobby in the chicken pot pie challenge. Good news? Their business took off and The Casserole Queens Cookbook has landed on The New York Times best seller list. I caught up with the Queens about life after the throwdown, their new cookbook, and what the future has in store for them. (Catch Cook and Pollock at the Texas Book Festival this Sunday in the Cooking Tent from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.) Of all types of cuisine, why casseroles? Sandy: In our cookbook, every one of the recipes starts with a family story. We could have done other foods, but casseroles really seem to embody that family sensibility we wanted to convey. Crystal: The beautiful thing about a casserole is that it’s a meal in one dish. Everything you need is one pot right in front of you. You built your image on the 1950's housewife. Why is that? Sandy: Our whole idea stemmed from casseroles, so the 1950's housewife image was a natural progression from that thought process. Before we started the business I had visited my family over the holidays, and my mom made a bunch of casseroles. I enjoyed it and noticed how everybody, from my dad down to my youngest niece, enjoyed it.