The Casually Ignored Casual Elegance Line by Corning

So in my quest to document patterns on Corningware, I seem to have forgotten to include some of the various "shapes" of Corningware.   I have mentioned Corningware "Round" and Buffet Servers which are both of the B-Series.  I have expounded upon both French White (F-Series) and French White II (?-Series).  I have even eluded to French White's predecessor, the Designer Casserole (DC-Series).  But I seem to have left out a very important, yet very late to the party, shape produced by Corning in the mid 90's, 1994 to be exact.  The Casual Elegance Line....

They are shaped similar to French White II, in that they have flared rims and the glass lids are decidedly different than any previous lid produced by Corning, as they fit down inside the "flare", just like the French White II lids.  (please note, that the handles of the Casual Elegance lids are different than the French White II lids.)

Unlike French White II, however, the rims of the Casual Elegance Line have embossed designs on them.  I know of three different designs in this product line...  Though at least one of the "books" specifically states that there was only one design in this shape.

White Flora 

(which seems to be the most prevalent)

Calypso

(This is the same pattern that was later released on Suprema dinnerware as "Lucerne")

Vineyard 

(of which I have only seen a Broil and Bake Tray)

The casseroles are embossed on the bottom, rather poorly I might add, with an L-Series.

I currently am in possession of an L-21 and an L-32 (My mom has the H-15 platter in Vineyard), but there is also an oblong open roasters (L-13 & L-15)

as well as various other Round and Oval pieces such as L-20, L-22 & L-23 (Round) and the L-30 & L-31 (Oval).  I currently have no other information on what volume measurements these pieces have.

Plastic covers for storage were also available and imprinted with "Casual Elegance".  Unlike the glass cover, the plastic storage cover encompasses the whole of the piece, including the rim. (on French White II pieces the plastic covers sit down inside the flared rim, like the glass lids do)

The Broil and Bake Platters are embossed with an H-Series instead of "L", my assumption is because the L-15 was already used on the Open Roaster.

Both Calypso & White Flora are oval in shape (H-14 & H-16)....

 (Both of the above pictures were "Borrowed" from eBay)

but Vineyard is Oblong (H-15)......

Hopefully this help shed some light on a somewhat obscure and late released Corningware Product line.  To make matters more confusing, I am pretty sure that I have seen these in stoneware just like French White and French White II.  So check the bottoms for firing rings to make sure you are not getting a hunk of stoneware!

Where is your Corningware??
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Freaky French White Fenomenon Finally Figured Out - French White II?

A while ago I posted about the weirdly shaped pieces of "French White" I was finding around town, all of the sudden.  They tend to be squared off, such as the 13x9 baking dish or the 7x5 Loaf pan.

But there are round versions as seen with the 2 quart (CW-22-B with CW-22-C lid)

As well as oval versions. (CW-34-B with CW-34-C lid)

All of them sort of have "flared" handles on the ends.  Well, a round dish doesn't really have "ends", as it were, however the 4 quart roaster that I recently found at PACS (Portland Adventist Community Services) does have "ends", kind a, sort a.

None of these pieces have series or model numbers on the bottom.  Oh, they have numbers, but they don't seem to really mean anything in particular...  I have 2 of the bread pans and they each have a different number on the bottom.  One has a 02 and the other has an 18.   I find this rather interesting, since pieces from the Casual Elegance Line (like White Flora and the mysterious grapevine broiling tray I recently found for my mother) are usually marked with an L-#.  Evidently, these pieces were not part of that line, nor were they part of the Everyday Gourmet line.  Judging by the lids, they are from their own CW-series

So, as fate would have it, I was thumbing through one of my older cookbooks looking for something or other when a piece of paper caught my eye.  I had made a notation about buying an "8x8 FWII baking dish".  That particular cookbook was a Christmas gift from 1996, so it was sometime after that.

Translating my own chicken scratch, I am pretty sure that I needed and 8 inch "square" French White dish. Granted, I never did purchase the baking dish, but it jogged my memory and removed a few cobwebs.

If my aged mind can remember correctly, about the time the Casual Elegance line (White Flora) hit the market in 1995, or soon after, there were changes made to the French White.  The original version (the Every Day Gourmet Line) was still available, but there was an "updated" version as well that was suppose to be more conducive to standard recipes.  Thus the actual rectangular 13x9 dimensions on the "roaster", which was much more convenient to the layering of a nice lasagna than the original oval design was/is. (CW-13)

The lid for this piece is plastic with a blue vent cover...   It is marked as CW-13-VPC (I am assuming VPC means "Vented Plastic Cover")

The Loaf pan (CW-315) fosters the baking sandwich bread instead of boule in a Souffle dish.

The cover for the loaf pan is designed the same way as the cover for the 13x9 casserole (above).   It is marked as CW-315-VPC.

The 8x8 inch square baking dish (which is what I had made the notation about in the cookbook) allows for straight lines when cutting brownies and bar cookies.  Mind you, at the time ('97 or '98) I didn't have a P-322 in Cornflower like I do now.  In fact, I think I only had a couple of Vintage Saucepans (P-1 3/4-B and P-2 1/2-B) and a Loaf Pan (P-315) for baking bread.  Everything else I owned was of the Everyday Gourmet French White persuasion, like the 16 oz Ramekins (F-15), the 1.6L Souffle (F-5-B), the 10 & 8 inch Quiche (F-3 & F-8) and a 2.5qt Roaster (F-4-B).

The base design is/was the same, so old and new versions coordinate together fairly well.

I believe, from my notation, that is was called "French White II".  I may be wrong (It's been known to happen on many occasions), but that is what has been in the back of my mind since I found the cryptic note in that cookbook.

So, I did some poking around the internet, and while I cannot find any specific reference to a French White II, I DID find a reference to French White III.

It's currently being made by World Kitchen, thus it is made of stoneware, as are all pieces of French White since 1999, but I find the use of the III to be intriguing.  If they are on "version 3" of the French White design, then it bodes well for my theory that this other stuff is "version 2".

OK, so now that I have solved this little mystery, I would like to move on to the recipe that I supposedly needed the French White II baking dish for...  Blondies   Muah ha ha ha!

It appears that I had tried the recipe from the cookbook and then called my Mom to get Grandma's recipe.  (Thus the REALLY bad penmanship and shortened words like "B Sugar")  I just bet that Mom told me that Grandma baked them in an 8x8 Corningware baking dish (P-322).  I am also fairly sure that by 1997 the original P-322 had been discontinued, in fact, it was more than likely discontinued a lot earlier, since it seems to only be available in Cornflower, Floral Bouquet, Country Festival, Spice O' Life, Wild Flower and Just White; all of which are older patterns.  I am thinking that the 8x8 in French White II was probably the closest I was going to get at the time.

Grandma's "Better" Blondies

1/2 cup (4oz) Unsalted Butter
1 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup AP Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Pecans, chopped

1 1/2 quart Saucepan (P-1 1/2-B) I'm using my 2 1/2 quart Rangetopper (N-2 1/2-B), cause I haven't cooked in it yet, but a 1 1/2 quart is plenty big enough.
8x8 French White II Baking Dish (or P-322)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and prepare your baking dish with Baking Spray or Oil/Butter and Flour. (you can even cut a square of parchment for the bottom if you like, but I can guarantee my grandmother used waxed paper, then greased and floured that)
Melt the Butter in the 1 3/4 qt saucepan set over medium flame.

Add both Brown Sugars and whisk until combined (it will look like a thick custard)

Continue cooking until little bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, or pitcher, whisk Eggs and Vanilla together.

In a small bowl, combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Pecans and set aside.

When the sugar mixture begins to bubble, remove the saucepan from the flame and slowly pour the Egg mixture into the Sugar/Butter mixture, whisking constantly to prevent egg scramble-age.

Now you will need to switch to a spatula.....

Add the Flour/Nut mixture to the Egg/Sugar/Butter mixture and fold them together.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Smooth with a spatula......

Bake 30 minutes for slightly gooey and 35 minutes for slightly chewy, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out with only a few particles on it.  :-)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Let cool completely before cutting.

 Now kick back with a large cup of coffee and enjoy the salted butterscotchy goodness.

Where is your Corningware??
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