Pyrex?  We’ll get to that, but first, let’s paint the picture here.  It’s Sunday morning, and Grandma Betty is up just before sunrise.  After a nice wake-up yawn, a big stretch, and a shaking of the waking-up cobwebs, she puts on her favorite slippers and makes her way to the kitchen.  She knows that in 12 hours, she’ll be enjoying a festivity of foods with her family, friends, and friends she considers family, and she wants her dish to be perfect.

Hot, Creamy, Cheesy, Potato Casserole!

Now, what in the actual heck is someone doing waking up so early to make a casserole?  You throw some stuff in a pan and toss it into the oven, right?  Well, right.  But Grandma Betty is not using frozen hashbrowns or instant mashed potatoes as her base.  She’s not even tossing some cheese into the microwave and calling it a “sauce”.  She has too much pride in herself and too much love for her family to take shortcuts.

Busting Out the Gold!

Since Grandma Betty takes no shortcuts, she knows her stuff.  Due to their creamy texture and butter flavor, she’ll only use Yukon Gold potatoes for this dish.  A key staple for sure.  Since they’re on the smaller side, she’ll take the time to dice them Goldilocks style.  Not too big, not too small, just right.  And she has to dice a lot to ensure everyone can get seconds.  Maybe even a few lucky ones can get some thirds, but first, she will cut them into chunks and parboil them without risking damage to her pyrex.  Who else has a grandma who does that?

She wants those potatoes to have a nice crunch when you first bite in and be so easy to chew that she won’t need her dentures in to enjoy them (but she’ll probably leave them in any way if I’m being honest).

Cheese!

Grandma Betty also needs to make the cheese sauce, of course.  She could make a classic cheese sauce using a can of condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup, but does Classy Betty seem like the type to take this classic route?  Correct, she does not with her pyrex.  Not for this dinner, at least.  She’s going to make her roux! (roo).

She gets her Kerrygold butter meltin’, adds her flour, and, for extra creaminess, uses heavy whipping cream instead of milk.  A veteran move right there, for sure!  And to finish the roux off, she adds a generous portion of original Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and that’s no shortcut either.  Good is good, regardless of convenience. She throws everything all together in her most trustworthy Pyrex pan, pops it in the oven, and then takes a well-deserved break.

Traveling HOT!

Grandma Betty wants to ensure that the casserole is still piping hot, like it just came out of the oven, by the time her friends and family eagerly dig in. She takes that pan and pot and ensures the food meets her standards.  Satisfied, she puts the pan into a Pyrex Portable Carrier with reusable unipack inserts.  Grandma Betty’s non-classy and extra cheesy casserole did not survive the night because everyone was returning for fifths, and Pyrex helped her make everything full circle for her family.