My family likes this casserole because its texture and flavors sidle up nicely to roast turkey. It also is terrific as a leftover, a crucial asset of any Thanksgiving dish. The hominy in it reminds me of the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims get the first feast up and running.
Like most family recipes, this one has its stories of struggle. Hominy, we discovered some years ago, can be hard to find in Boston groceries. So when we traveled to Massachusetts to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with relatives, we carried cans of hominy with us from Baltimore. Tracking down whole green chile peppers can also be tricky. This year, the Baltimore grocery stores seem to feature cans of chopped chile peppers, which work fine, but I prefer whole. Eventually, I found some.
Finally, I love the heritage of this dish. We first made it about 20 years ago while visiting with my sister-in-law and her family in Tucson, Ariz. She had clipped the recipe from a newspaper food section, which, as the casserole cognoscenti will tell you, is the source of all knowledge.
