This past Thanksgiving, I rediscovered the yummy potential of rutabaga when my sister, Jackie, and her pal, Fraya (a former chef) made an ultra tasty casserole of rutabaga, sweet potato, and caramelized onion, plus a little Comte for good measure. When I posted my praise for the dish on Facebook, lots of you wanted to know the recipe. So I went back to my sis and asked about it. She said it was completely improvised by her and Fraya. There's no formal recipe, but if you're a comfortable cook, you can follow her lead in this note she sent back to me:

“Fraya used a mandoline to thinly slice the veggies—about twice as much sweet potato as rutabaga. I made a kinda light béchamel sauce with butter, flour, salt & pepper, pumpkin pie spice, thyme, chicken broth, and cream. I sauteed onions until caramelized. Fraya layered the veggies, onion, and a handful of grated Comte cheese in a buttered casserole dish. I poured the 3 cups of sauce over it. We covered the casserole and baked it at 350F for an hour. Then we removed the lid and baked it another 30 minutes until it browned a little and the veggies in center were fork tender. . . Yeah, it turned out pretty well considering we were in veggie overload at that point."

-elaine