I was raised on casseroles: tuna noodle casserole; a ground beef, tomato and elbow macaroni concoction my mother called "goolash" (not to be confused with the Hungarian dish of similar name); stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage; ham and green beans with new potatoes. Casseroles were a good way to stretch the food budget. In addition, they were regular staples at the monthly church pot luck dinners (for our denomination, the monthly pot luck was nearly a sacrament!).
Natalie Haughton has compiled a very creative collection of one-dish recipes. She shows a lot of flexibility with the term "one-dish," including the wok, pressure cooker, and salad bowl in the definition. The result is a nice mix of easy, plain, fancy, and more complex recipes, a number of which are good company fare.
Among my favorites are a version of Irish Lamb Stew very similar to one I was served at Bunratty Folk Park near Shannon Airport in Ireland (a dish that I'd enjoyed immensely, and had been searching for the recipe for several years!); a very nice Over Beef Stew; a good-enough-for-company Meat and Spinach Torte, made in a springform pan with puff pastry crust; a stick-to-your-ribs Cheddar Noodle Casserole, made with spinach fettuncine, smoked turkey breast, and cheddar cheese.
All in all, a surprisingly good book, full of creative virtually fool-proof recipes. This is another of my "desert island" cookbooks!