Fancy talk casserole
August 6, 2024 2:29 PM Subscribe
Whatever your thoughts are about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz becoming the USA Vice-President candidate on the Kamala Harris ticket, you probably have several questions along these lines: What is hotdish, how is it different from a casserole (because it definitely is)and why do Minnesotans call it that?!
Gotta start with jedicus' link from the thread that kicked it off: The recipes for all nine hotdishes [pdf] from the 2013 Senator Franken’s [!] Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Off
posted by achrise at 2:38 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
posted by achrise at 2:38 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
Tim Walz is an award-winning hot dish, eh?
posted by Going To Maine at 2:42 PM on August 6 [15 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 2:42 PM on August 6 [15 favorites]
Tim Walz is an award-winning hot dish, eh?
Your Drunk Aunt has entered the chat
posted by phunniemee at 2:46 PM on August 6 [68 favorites]
Your Drunk Aunt has entered the chat
posted by phunniemee at 2:46 PM on August 6 [68 favorites]
Interestingly, I learned about this from parenting Reddit this morning: finally child care policy has entered the chat
posted by freethefeet at 2:48 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
posted by freethefeet at 2:48 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
I'm from Michigan, and I have never seen a hotdish, much less tasted one. I know a Minnesotan who makes strawberry pretzel pie, and OK, that looked terrible and was great, but these look TERRIBLE. Are they great?
posted by acrasis at 2:51 PM on August 6
posted by acrasis at 2:51 PM on August 6
I can find several sources that point to macaroni & cheese, lasagna, shepherd’s pie, and cassoulet (A fancy French Dish) as a casserole.
Maybe they should find better sources.
(Side discussion: If it has hot dogs as an ingredient, is a hotdish a sandwich?)
posted by zamboni at 3:00 PM on August 6 [8 favorites]
Maybe they should find better sources.
(Side discussion: If it has hot dogs as an ingredient, is a hotdish a sandwich?)
posted by zamboni at 3:00 PM on August 6 [8 favorites]
> (Side discussion: If it has hot dogs as an ingredient, is a hotdish a sandwich?)
if it has tater tots both top AND bottom, i'd say yes
posted by Clowder of bats at 3:05 PM on August 6 [4 favorites]
if it has tater tots both top AND bottom, i'd say yes
posted by Clowder of bats at 3:05 PM on August 6 [4 favorites]
If it has hot dogs as an ingredient, is a hotdish a sandwich?
A fella could think that, I guess.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:05 PM on August 6 [20 favorites]
A fella could think that, I guess.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:05 PM on August 6 [20 favorites]
On an unrelated note, my wife didn’t know tater tots were a real thing until we went to an American chain restaurant on the weekend that recently moved to Canada and they were on the menu. She thought they were a made up food for tv shows or something.
posted by fimbulvetr at 3:08 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 3:08 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
These look TERRIBLE.
Hotdish is never about looks. Also, people concerned about their sodium intake need to be aware that they are very much about salt. I think these two sentences can be worked up into an extended metaphor about what's important in cooking and life, but it's been an exciting day, and I'm too tired to pursue it.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:14 PM on August 6 [13 favorites]
Hotdish is never about looks. Also, people concerned about their sodium intake need to be aware that they are very much about salt. I think these two sentences can be worked up into an extended metaphor about what's important in cooking and life, but it's been an exciting day, and I'm too tired to pursue it.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:14 PM on August 6 [13 favorites]
Are they great?
Not a midwesterner, so grain of salt and all that. But my impression is that hot dish is primarily about having a convenient easy to prepare meal that's practical for feeding a large group of people with mainstream tastes who like to eat. That doesn't preclude "great" food by any means, but that's not really the point.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:14 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
Not a midwesterner, so grain of salt and all that. But my impression is that hot dish is primarily about having a convenient easy to prepare meal that's practical for feeding a large group of people with mainstream tastes who like to eat. That doesn't preclude "great" food by any means, but that's not really the point.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:14 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
Not a mid-westerner but as a fan of Garrison Keillor I've heard about this 'hot dish', often; even tried cooking it - once. My mother (from Kansas) called her version tuna-noodle casserole.
posted by Rash at 3:15 PM on August 6
posted by Rash at 3:15 PM on August 6
Tuna noodle casserole is so good! And shares with the hot dish the key ingredient of cream of mushroom soup, which is a staple of midwestern cooking. (Grumpybearbride is from Michigan.) The hot tot dish looks like a whole lot more than I ever want to put in my gullet, but there have to be other versions, right? Feels adjacent to the shepherd's pie.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:18 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:18 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
As a Minnesotan with sensory and food texture issues, I need to warn the world that hotdish can be an enduring source and reminder of childhood food trauma.
posted by Maarika at 3:25 PM on August 6 [10 favorites]
posted by Maarika at 3:25 PM on August 6 [10 favorites]
GenjiandProust: A fella could think that, I guess.
Why do I get a such a strong Rebecca Pidgeon as Ann from State and Main vibe from this?
posted by achrise at 3:32 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Why do I get a such a strong Rebecca Pidgeon as Ann from State and Main vibe from this?
posted by achrise at 3:32 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
I'm surprised allrecipes.com doesn't have that many hotdish recipes. You'd think....
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:42 PM on August 6
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:42 PM on August 6
From a British perspective, this is very much in cottage pie / fish bake territory. Meat or fish and some vegetables in a sauce with potato on top. Brown the top, and maybe put some cheese on it as well. Tater tots are potato croquettes here, as we're fancy like that.
posted by pipeski at 4:00 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 4:00 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
Maybe The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota can finally become the National Park it deserves to be!
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 4:57 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 4:57 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
Grew up in Kansas, and yes, “Tuna wiggle” was our hotdish growing up. Might have had cream of celery soup instead of mushroom. It was good. And I hate celery and mushrooms…
OTOH, Hamburger helper dishes always felt like hotdish.
posted by Windopaene at 4:58 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
OTOH, Hamburger helper dishes always felt like hotdish.
posted by Windopaene at 4:58 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
I understand and sympathize but cream-of-anything soup makes my gorge rise. Even just thinking about it. The back of my tongue gets that feeling, you know, it's just, no, that is not food. That is anti-food.
Shepherd's pie should qualify because we ate it a lot when I was a kid for exactly the same reasons -- stretching food to fill hungry mouths. It was ground beef, mashed potatoes out of a box, and canned corn.
I mean I guess if you have to insist on creamed-of-bat-shit soup then shepherd's pie isn't hotdish, I mean for sure I didn't grow up in the midwest BUT MY MOM'S RECIPES did so what does that say.
(I couldn't stand the tuna casserole but my mom made it for her and my dad a lot.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:01 PM on August 6
Shepherd's pie should qualify because we ate it a lot when I was a kid for exactly the same reasons -- stretching food to fill hungry mouths. It was ground beef, mashed potatoes out of a box, and canned corn.
I mean I guess if you have to insist on creamed-of-bat-shit soup then shepherd's pie isn't hotdish, I mean for sure I didn't grow up in the midwest BUT MY MOM'S RECIPES did so what does that say.
(I couldn't stand the tuna casserole but my mom made it for her and my dad a lot.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:01 PM on August 6
cream-of-anything soup makes my gorge rise.
How do you feel about béchamel sauce?
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:38 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
How do you feel about béchamel sauce?
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:38 PM on August 6 [9 favorites]
America's Test Kitchen: How to Make Tater Tot Hotdish (Casserole)
Grew up in the midwest, now on the west coast. I unironically love this take on tatertot casserole, in which the cream-of-mush soup is replaced with real mushrooms and cream. I probably make this once a month (and it feeds us for a week, so...that's a lot of casserole).
It's cottage pie for lazy people. That's me!
And yeah, there is strong venn diagram between hotdish and church potlucks.
Next week: Ambrosia
posted by chromecow at 6:05 PM on August 6 [7 favorites]
Grew up in the midwest, now on the west coast. I unironically love this take on tatertot casserole, in which the cream-of-mush soup is replaced with real mushrooms and cream. I probably make this once a month (and it feeds us for a week, so...that's a lot of casserole).
It's cottage pie for lazy people. That's me!
And yeah, there is strong venn diagram between hotdish and church potlucks.
Next week: Ambrosia
posted by chromecow at 6:05 PM on August 6 [7 favorites]
How do you feel about béchamel sauce?
I was just about to say, chicken pot pie is virtually hot dish and I just make a really basic broth-and-a-little-flour sauce right in with the sauteed vegetables - you saute the flour a little bit when the vegetables are about ready and then add the broth and it turns out pretty good because the real secret is that the vegetables just cook in the broth as it bakes. I think one could easily adjust a hot dish to be much lower in salt and not really more difficult.
My idea would be: chop a big onion and cook it in some butter, adding any meat that needs cooking; drain your canned green beans and ready your other canned/frozen vegetables; make your little flour/broth-or-bouillon sauce in the onion pan; stir in your cheese and/or potatoes, season generously, top and bake. If you have a stove-to-oven pan, this could be one-dish cooking. The critical piece here would be that the onions and butter would anchor the flavors. I myself would probably make this with lots of black and white pepper and some bay leaves, just keep the flavor profile pretty simple because this is not a sophisticated dish.
posted by Frowner at 6:07 PM on August 6 [6 favorites]
I was just about to say, chicken pot pie is virtually hot dish and I just make a really basic broth-and-a-little-flour sauce right in with the sauteed vegetables - you saute the flour a little bit when the vegetables are about ready and then add the broth and it turns out pretty good because the real secret is that the vegetables just cook in the broth as it bakes. I think one could easily adjust a hot dish to be much lower in salt and not really more difficult.
My idea would be: chop a big onion and cook it in some butter, adding any meat that needs cooking; drain your canned green beans and ready your other canned/frozen vegetables; make your little flour/broth-or-bouillon sauce in the onion pan; stir in your cheese and/or potatoes, season generously, top and bake. If you have a stove-to-oven pan, this could be one-dish cooking. The critical piece here would be that the onions and butter would anchor the flavors. I myself would probably make this with lots of black and white pepper and some bay leaves, just keep the flavor profile pretty simple because this is not a sophisticated dish.
posted by Frowner at 6:07 PM on August 6 [6 favorites]
People get nervous about bechamel because you can burn it or let it get lumpy, but a little thickened broth is just gravy, much lower risk.
posted by Frowner at 6:08 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 6:08 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
I'd never heard the term "hotdish" before today, though as someone who grew up in rural/small town Ontario, I believe I've eaten what would qualify as a hotdish many times. We just call them casseroles here, but I do think it makes sense to have one term for the kind of casserole that you make out of leftovers and processed stuff like canned soup and bread crumbs and so forth, and the kind of you make from mostly fresh/whole ingredients.
posted by orange swan at 6:13 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 6:13 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
I'm surprised allrecipes.com doesn't have that many hotdish recipes. You'd think....
Coincidentally, someone at work posted an allrecipes link yesterday to our food discussion Teams channel that was a casserole with tater tots, cream of mushroom soup, hamburger and cheese... I commented on it, "so, hotdish?" with the wikipedia link. The person that posted it is from NY and lives in the South, so maybe never heard of hotdish, but that got me thinking about possible regional varieties of hotdish with tater tots, like could you make a southern-ish jambalaya version? And what would a SoCal version be? But then I realized we already have carne asada fries.
posted by LionIndex at 6:15 PM on August 6 [4 favorites]
Coincidentally, someone at work posted an allrecipes link yesterday to our food discussion Teams channel that was a casserole with tater tots, cream of mushroom soup, hamburger and cheese... I commented on it, "so, hotdish?" with the wikipedia link. The person that posted it is from NY and lives in the South, so maybe never heard of hotdish, but that got me thinking about possible regional varieties of hotdish with tater tots, like could you make a southern-ish jambalaya version? And what would a SoCal version be? But then I realized we already have carne asada fries.
posted by LionIndex at 6:15 PM on August 6 [4 favorites]
The set of all Minnesotan hot-dishes is a sub-set of all casseroles. In other words, there is no Minnesota hot-dish which is not a casserole, there are just many more casseroles that are not Minnesotan hot-dishes.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 6:30 PM on August 6 [14 favorites]
posted by Ignorantsavage at 6:30 PM on August 6 [14 favorites]
I grew up in Iowa (till 12) and never had tatertot hotdish (so far as I can remember) as a kid but had so many other casseroles which I truly do love. A couple years ago, I did try making a tatertot hotdish (based on a friend's rough recipe) and it didn't thrill me. But. I am willing to try again because easy casseroles with shelf stable ingredients are great. Easy to make dinners are a big and important part of food culture world wide.
posted by R343L at 6:55 PM on August 6
posted by R343L at 6:55 PM on August 6
I love cottage pies and fish pies and shepherds pies so I hope one day I'll get to try a hotdish! (Autocorrect has helpfully changed that to hogfish)
Not to derail but: I know a Minnesotan who makes strawberry pretzel pie, plus the blueberry key lime pie video linked in the VP thread made me realized that I can map American sweet pies to the same sort of thing the British would call either a trifle or a pudding. Huh!
posted by cendawanita at 7:15 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Not to derail but: I know a Minnesotan who makes strawberry pretzel pie, plus the blueberry key lime pie video linked in the VP thread made me realized that I can map American sweet pies to the same sort of thing the British would call either a trifle or a pudding. Huh!
posted by cendawanita at 7:15 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Also I realized something... asian cheese baked rice dishes got invented along the same lines, right down to cream soup in some versions, lmao.
posted by cendawanita at 7:18 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 7:18 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Anyone want to get into the discussion of what a salad is in Minnesota?
posted by LindsayIrene at 7:30 PM on August 6 [7 favorites]
posted by LindsayIrene at 7:30 PM on August 6 [7 favorites]
People get nervous about bechamel because you can burn it or let it get lumpy, but a little thickened broth is just gravy, much lower risk.
That's fair, but my point was that "cream of X soup" is equivalent to "X in a bechamel sauce". Bechamel is one of the venerated "mother sauces" of French cuisine; it's simply butter, flour, and milk (with a little seasoning). I just wondered where that one person's negative reaction was coming from.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
That's fair, but my point was that "cream of X soup" is equivalent to "X in a bechamel sauce". Bechamel is one of the venerated "mother sauces" of French cuisine; it's simply butter, flour, and milk (with a little seasoning). I just wondered where that one person's negative reaction was coming from.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
Metafilter has a semi-official (or at least much-favorited) hot dish of its own: the greasy honky pie. Finally made it myself last year, is delicious but probably would not make again because it uses too many dishes to be worth it to this lazy cook.
posted by ActionPopulated at 8:01 PM on August 6 [8 favorites]
posted by ActionPopulated at 8:01 PM on August 6 [8 favorites]
I can map American sweet pies to the same sort of thing the British would call either a trifle or a pudding.
There are also plenty of American sweet pies that a British person would probably call a pie.
I think the thing you're pointing at is that Americans are prone to calling any sort of dessert that sits on something crustlike a pie unless it's old enough to have a historical name. To whatever extent this is actually a thing, I wonder whether it's related to American dessert habits being more German while British ones went French, but I don't know what Germans would lump in with pies.
Unless it's cheesecake. Which is quite clearly a custard pie! But we call it cake. Though it's not cake. It's pie. Except when it's girls.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:03 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
There are also plenty of American sweet pies that a British person would probably call a pie.
I think the thing you're pointing at is that Americans are prone to calling any sort of dessert that sits on something crustlike a pie unless it's old enough to have a historical name. To whatever extent this is actually a thing, I wonder whether it's related to American dessert habits being more German while British ones went French, but I don't know what Germans would lump in with pies.
Unless it's cheesecake. Which is quite clearly a custard pie! But we call it cake. Though it's not cake. It's pie. Except when it's girls.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:03 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
I think the thing you're pointing at is that Americans are prone to calling any sort of dessert that sits on something crustlike a pie
Yes, exactly! There are definitely more traditional pies in American cuisine that are basically fruit pies, but those sort of trifle/pudding/custard-y things don't immediately feel pie to me but I have definitely observed what you're saying.
posted by cendawanita at 8:08 PM on August 6
Yes, exactly! There are definitely more traditional pies in American cuisine that are basically fruit pies, but those sort of trifle/pudding/custard-y things don't immediately feel pie to me but I have definitely observed what you're saying.
posted by cendawanita at 8:08 PM on August 6
Ladies and germs, I present Amanda The Great's comic series on making Tater Tot Hotdish (seven daily strips, er, panels in this case).
posted by lhauser at 8:31 PM on August 6 [6 favorites]
posted by lhauser at 8:31 PM on August 6 [6 favorites]
Hotdish swag from the MN Historical Society and Mill City Museum in Minneapolis
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 9:12 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 9:12 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
trifle/pudding/custard-y things don't immediately feel pie
Wikipedia, Boston Cream Pie
Wikipedia, Boston Cream Pie
A Boston cream pie is a cake with a cream filling. The dessert acquired its name when cakes and pies were baked in the same pans, and the words were used interchangeably. In the late 19th century, this type of cake was variously called a "cream pie", a "chocolate cream pie", or a "custard cake."posted by Rash at 9:52 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
She thought they were a made up food for tv shows or something.
They sell Tater Tots in Canada, they just call them something else - Potato Bites. Cavendish makes them.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:54 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
They sell Tater Tots in Canada, they just call them something else - Potato Bites. Cavendish makes them.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:54 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
OK, as I promised in the other thread, here's my recipe for Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole.
There's no canned soup or meat in it, so it's not a hotdish. It might qualify as vegetarian, but it's definitely not healthy enough to eat regularly. The recipe is already salty enough as is, so I wouldn't recommend adding more salt to it. I also strongly recommend not using "no fat" or "reduced fat" versions of milk, sour cream, or the cheeses; I'm not sure this would work with vegan substitutes. These ingredients are all what I keep on hand in Dad's house, so that's what I used; adjust the non-potato veggies and seasonings according to your preferences (caramelized onions are a delicious addition if you have the time to prep them).
This recipe makes a small batch (enough for Dad & I for a meal and for leftovers the next day), but the recipe will scale up.
Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 10:02 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
[Click for recipe]
This recipe makes a small batch (enough for Dad & I for a meal and for leftovers the next day), but the recipe will scale up.
Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole
- [Ingredients]
- 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 oz water
- ½ tsp roasted garlic base (Better than Bouillon)
- 3 oz whole milk
- 3 tbsp sour cream (do not use reduced/no fat versions)
- 1 (1 oz) packet dry ranch dressing mix
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ⅓ cup jarred fire-roasted red bell peppers, drained & chopped
- 3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 8 oz frozen potato patties (~4) or tater tots, rough chopped, return to freezer until needed (so they don't crumble apart further)
- 1 oz fried onions, slightly crushed
-or- garlic croutons, potato chips, or crackers, crushed
- [Directions]
- Place 1 tbsp butter into one 1 qt/1 ltr (~5½"x8") baking dish/loaf pan, place the dish in oven, and start oven heating to 350°F. Remove dish once butter has melted. Using potholders/oven mitts, carefully tilt dish from side to side for butter to coat bottom and halfway up the sides.
- Microwave remaining 1 tbsp butter in heat-resistant bowl on High in 20 second intervals until melted. Mix in the water and garlic base, then microwave ~45 seconds to 1 minute on High until water hot (but not boiling). Stir until base dissolved completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, sour cream, ranch mix, paprika, garlic powder, and peppers in a large mixing bowl. Add in roughly half the chopped potato patties/tots; mix to coat. Add in the shredded cheddar and half of the mozzarella; mix. Add and mix in remaining potatoes. Stir in water-bouillon base mixture.
- Once all tots are coated, pour tot mixture into buttered baking dish and bake uncovered at 350°F degrees for 45 min. Remove dish from oven, and increase temp to 400°F.
- Sprinkle top with remaining mozzarella cheese and fried onions, then bake for another 5-8 minutes until topping is golden brown.
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 10:02 PM on August 6 [3 favorites]
They sell Tater Tots in Canada, they just call them something else - Potato Bites. Cavendish makes them.
McCain also makes their own as Tasti Taters
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:39 PM on August 6
McCain also makes their own as Tasti Taters
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 10:39 PM on August 6
Lol, Western Family (a Canadian generic/ store-brand) call theirs Crispy Gems.
But yeah, I guess I learned "tater tots" from media/ internet, then lived it during undergrad in Iowa.
I'm not a starch-person, but I like them!
posted by porpoise at 10:46 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
But yeah, I guess I learned "tater tots" from media/ internet, then lived it during undergrad in Iowa.
I'm not a starch-person, but I like them!
posted by porpoise at 10:46 PM on August 6 [1 favorite]
Shepherd's pie should qualify because we ate it a lot when I was a kid for exactly the same reasons -- stretching food to fill hungry mouths. It was ground beef, mashed potatoes out of a box, and canned corn.
Shepherd. Sheep Herder. Shepherd's Pie is made from sheep, A.K.A. lamb, or mutton.
When you substitute beef, it's a cottage pie.
I used to wonder why this triggered me so hard, until I was speaking with one of my moms, with the last name Pastor and she mentioned that her lineage spent time in Spain, up until Queen Isabella expelled all the Jews, and it all became clear. (Pastor == shepherd)
posted by mikelieman at 4:40 AM on August 7 [4 favorites]
Shepherd. Sheep Herder. Shepherd's Pie is made from sheep, A.K.A. lamb, or mutton.
When you substitute beef, it's a cottage pie.
I used to wonder why this triggered me so hard, until I was speaking with one of my moms, with the last name Pastor and she mentioned that her lineage spent time in Spain, up until Queen Isabella expelled all the Jews, and it all became clear. (Pastor == shepherd)
posted by mikelieman at 4:40 AM on August 7 [4 favorites]
Just over 90 days to plan the perfect hot dish election night meal, ideal for either celebration or consolation, but preferably celebration.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:02 AM on August 7 [5 favorites]
posted by the primroses were over at 5:02 AM on August 7 [5 favorites]
When you substitute beef, it's a cottage pie.
In French Canada it's called Chinese Pie (for reasons) and it has a layer of canned cream corn between the potato and meat.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:22 AM on August 7
In French Canada it's called Chinese Pie (for reasons) and it has a layer of canned cream corn between the potato and meat.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:22 AM on August 7
Does Aunt Myrna's Party Cheese Salad count?
> Shepherd's Pie is made from sheep [...] When you substitute beef, it's a cottage pie.
I believe this is a, I don't know the word, neologism but for etymology? As older recipes generally use shepherd or cottage interchangeably to suggest a poor person's dish. That said, language shifts.
posted by lucidium at 7:06 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
> Shepherd's Pie is made from sheep [...] When you substitute beef, it's a cottage pie.
I believe this is a, I don't know the word, neologism but for etymology? As older recipes generally use shepherd or cottage interchangeably to suggest a poor person's dish. That said, language shifts.
posted by lucidium at 7:06 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
The fun part is when you have a Minnesota-based discussion forum where people start arguing over how the tater tots in a hot dish should be aligned, or else it isn't proper. They need to be all laying down and pointing in the same direction, not randomly strewn about. There will be old school Olympic-style scorekeepers holding up numbered cards to judge you for your execution score, so be prepared.
posted by gimonca at 7:17 AM on August 7 [9 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 7:17 AM on August 7 [9 favorites]
LindsayIrene: Anyone want to get into the discussion of what a salad is in Minnesota?
How I Met Your Mother, the Erikson family seven-layer salad (YT short)
posted by indexy at 7:29 AM on August 7
How I Met Your Mother, the Erikson family seven-layer salad (YT short)
posted by indexy at 7:29 AM on August 7
> arguing over how the tater tots in a hot dish should be aligned, or else it isn't proper.
i'd be kinda surprised if this hasn't overlapped with quilting.
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:46 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
i'd be kinda surprised if this hasn't overlapped with quilting.
posted by Clowder of bats at 7:46 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
GenjiandProust: A fella could think that, I guess.
My uncle, an Iron Ranger, phrases that as, "Well, a guy could...."
posted by wenestvedt at 7:47 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
My uncle, an Iron Ranger, phrases that as, "Well, a guy could...."
posted by wenestvedt at 7:47 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
Orange Dinosaur Slide: Hotdish swag from the MN Historical Society and Mill City Museum in Minneapolis
Speaking of which, here's Bob Mould holding the same hot dish towel that I own because we are [parasocial] best friends
(TBH the towel is kind of small and is made of pretty rough cotton -- so it's similar to genuine flour sack towels, but not as nice as, e.g., what I can buy at Target.)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:51 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
Speaking of which, here's Bob Mould holding the same hot dish towel that I own because we are [parasocial] best friends
(TBH the towel is kind of small and is made of pretty rough cotton -- so it's similar to genuine flour sack towels, but not as nice as, e.g., what I can buy at Target.)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:51 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]
Basic Tater Tot Hotdish
1 to 1.5 lb ground beef, I prefer 93% lean
One white onion, diced
One can of corn, drained
One can cream of mushroom
One can cream of celery
Shredded cheddar cheese
One bag of tater tots (32 oz is the typical size)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Brown the ground beef; drain if needed
Add the diced onions and let them cook a bit to soften, but they'll cook more in the oven.
Add can of drained corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside the meat/onion/corn mix.
In a separate bowl, stir together the cream of mushroom & cream of celery; set aside.
Fill a 9x13 pan or casserole dish with the meat/corn/onion mixture. (you do not need to grease the pan).
On top of the meat, place a full bag of tater tots; try your best to make it one single layer of tots, it is okay if they are crooked. I firmly believe in cramming in more tots over aesthetic orderly tots in rows, this is about SURVIVING THE LONG WINTER, every tot must do its part.
Spread the cream of mushroom / cream of celery on top of the tater tots, try to cover as much of it as you can.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
Remove the hotdish from the oven and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese generously (I SAID GENEROUSLY) on top.
Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve.
This hotdish has been confirmed "good!" by homegrown Minnesotans, a spouse by way of Idaho, a guy from California, and guests from Singapore and the French part of Switzerland who MAY have just been being polite but they did eat seconds, so I feel pretty confident that it is solid comfort food.
posted by castlebravo at 8:14 AM on August 7 [7 favorites]
1 to 1.5 lb ground beef, I prefer 93% lean
One white onion, diced
One can of corn, drained
One can cream of mushroom
One can cream of celery
Shredded cheddar cheese
One bag of tater tots (32 oz is the typical size)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Brown the ground beef; drain if needed
Add the diced onions and let them cook a bit to soften, but they'll cook more in the oven.
Add can of drained corn. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside the meat/onion/corn mix.
In a separate bowl, stir together the cream of mushroom & cream of celery; set aside.
Fill a 9x13 pan or casserole dish with the meat/corn/onion mixture. (you do not need to grease the pan).
On top of the meat, place a full bag of tater tots; try your best to make it one single layer of tots, it is okay if they are crooked. I firmly believe in cramming in more tots over aesthetic orderly tots in rows, this is about SURVIVING THE LONG WINTER, every tot must do its part.
Spread the cream of mushroom / cream of celery on top of the tater tots, try to cover as much of it as you can.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
Remove the hotdish from the oven and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese generously (I SAID GENEROUSLY) on top.
Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve.
This hotdish has been confirmed "good!" by homegrown Minnesotans, a spouse by way of Idaho, a guy from California, and guests from Singapore and the French part of Switzerland who MAY have just been being polite but they did eat seconds, so I feel pretty confident that it is solid comfort food.
posted by castlebravo at 8:14 AM on August 7 [7 favorites]
> arguing over how the tater tots in a hot dish should be aligned, or else it isn't proper.
i'd be kinda surprised if this hasn't overlapped with quilting.
Mixing tater tots and quilts would get quite messy real fast.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:48 AM on August 7
i'd be kinda surprised if this hasn't overlapped with quilting.
Mixing tater tots and quilts would get quite messy real fast.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:48 AM on August 7
I can only think of a few side dish casseroles, but if that's the distinction between a Minnesota 'hot dish' and a 'casserole', fair enough.
They are: green bean casserole, cream corn & cheese casserole. yams & mashed potato casserole. I'm sure there are a few more, but the vast majority of casseroles are main dishes.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:21 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
They are: green bean casserole, cream corn & cheese casserole. yams & mashed potato casserole. I'm sure there are a few more, but the vast majority of casseroles are main dishes.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:21 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
I've been subjected to this Chicken Water Chestnut Casserole on occasion by my mid-Atlantic relatives, and it seems to fit the hotdish criteria.
posted by credulous at 10:37 AM on August 7
posted by credulous at 10:37 AM on August 7
Coming in late with the news that some people put potato chips on top of their hot dish. (Which is gross, obviously, but not unheard of.)
Garrison Keillor would probably say these people are called "Lutherans," but I have heard of this heresy among Catholics, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:58 AM on August 7
Garrison Keillor would probably say these people are called "Lutherans," but I have heard of this heresy among Catholics, too.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:58 AM on August 7
I appreciated the explanation of Hotdish vs. Casserole.
Tim Walz has not just one but three award winning recipes for hotdish. posted by Nelson at 11:15 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
Tim Walz has not just one but three award winning recipes for hotdish. posted by Nelson at 11:15 AM on August 7 [1 favorite]
Hermann the German Hotdish
Pair with a Hermann the German bobblehead.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:21 PM on August 7
Pair with a Hermann the German bobblehead.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:21 PM on August 7
potato chips on top of their hot dish
Surely potato sticks would be superior to chips for uniformity, but french fried onions are still the best topper. Cream of potato soup is my preferred binder, because I don't care for mushrooms or celery.
posted by soelo at 1:21 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]
Surely potato sticks would be superior to chips for uniformity, but french fried onions are still the best topper. Cream of potato soup is my preferred binder, because I don't care for mushrooms or celery.
posted by soelo at 1:21 PM on August 7 [1 favorite]
I always want to eat this stuff, or make this stuff, but no one in my family would eat it, so I would be trying to figure out how to make little dishes of tater tots and cream of mushroom soup and cheddar cheese and ground beef (or whatever) and it's such a niche interest it wouldn't even be worth figuring out how to freeze it. But if there were a quarterly subscription service where someone sent you a (not fancy-I want soup that comes from a can. I want freeze dried onions. I want tuna in cans) hot dish subscription I would be so into it.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:36 PM on August 7 [3 favorites]
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:36 PM on August 7 [3 favorites]
King Ranch Chicken is just a Tex-mexified hot dish. And I love it.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:07 PM on August 7
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:07 PM on August 7
Sorry, firm belief that tots need to be arranged so that each one has plenty of surface area exposed. I prefer generally orderly rows, tots laying on their barrel sides (instead of on their flat ends), but if a tot needs to squeeze in on the diagonal in the corner so there's no bare spots, that's acceptable.
posted by Night_owl at 6:34 AM on August 8
posted by Night_owl at 6:34 AM on August 8
As an aside for those folks that haven’t had tater tots, know that while they’re typically baked in the oven, they become a different and much better food when they’re fried crisp. Since this is a pain in the ass without a fryer, most people never experience them this way.
My wife makes tater tot hot dish for the grandkids with leftover summer corn we’ve frozen. I like it with a lot of hot sauce. If I’m splurging (I only have a half bottle left), Harry Singh’s (another Minnesota tradition!).
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:18 AM on August 8
My wife makes tater tot hot dish for the grandkids with leftover summer corn we’ve frozen. I like it with a lot of hot sauce. If I’m splurging (I only have a half bottle left), Harry Singh’s (another Minnesota tradition!).
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:18 AM on August 8
WaPo: Cooking chat: Can I make a more healthful hotdish?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:47 AM on August 8
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:47 AM on August 8
on a related note, today i learned campbell's makes cream of bacon soup.
posted by Clowder of bats at 10:37 AM on August 8
posted by Clowder of bats at 10:37 AM on August 8
What an age we live in.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:50 AM on August 8
posted by kirkaracha at 10:50 AM on August 8
Here's my Hermann the German.
Had it last night, and it was terrific.
posted by MtDewd at 11:00 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]
Had it last night, and it was terrific.
posted by MtDewd at 11:00 AM on August 8 [1 favorite]
I bought supplies to try to make my own improvised hot dish recipe last night, though I won't have time to mess with it for a few days. Got shell noodles, canned potato chunks, canned corn, cream of mushroom soup, olives, mushrooms, bacon bits, fried onion bits and canned chicken to throw into...something. Not sure how it'll work, but we'll see, I suppose.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:41 AM on August 12
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:41 AM on August 12
Okay, I made it tonight. (a) cook the noodles, (b) lay bottom of the pan flat with the canned potato chunks, (c) mix everything else in bowl and pour it on top of the canned potato chunks, (d) cook at 350 for an hour, (e) sprinkle fried onion bits on.
It was pretty tasty, albeit that's probably due to my choice of foodstuffs being combined. It didn't really gel together into a bake-y loafy dish like I was expecting it to, though? I thought that's what the cream of mushroom soup was supposed to do? Oh well, it was EDIBLE and that's shocking enough for me and my lack of cooking skills.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:05 PM on August 14 [1 favorite]
It was pretty tasty, albeit that's probably due to my choice of foodstuffs being combined. It didn't really gel together into a bake-y loafy dish like I was expecting it to, though? I thought that's what the cream of mushroom soup was supposed to do? Oh well, it was EDIBLE and that's shocking enough for me and my lack of cooking skills.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:05 PM on August 14 [1 favorite]
I made a second one tonight, with eggs in it to gel it a bit and a few ingredients altered like type of pasta. Had to cook it for 1.5 hours, but came out great!
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:24 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:24 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
More hotdish discussion at WaPo.
Tucked into Walz’s Upper Midwest hot dish, in other words, are techniques that would not be foreign to anyone with a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
No, this recipe is sneakier than that. It conceals its sophistication in a hot dish that, on the surface, looks like the kind you’d find at any old church-basement supper. In this sense, Walz’s recipe feels Midwestern to its core. It reminds me of a phrase that was repeated often enough in my youth that it became not a directive, but a way of life: Don’t put on airs. The governor’s hot dish doesn’t put on airs — it doesn’t dare draw attention to the French techniques that give this thing its transcendent creaminess, transforming an austerity meal into something rich and delicious.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:29 PM on August 22 [2 favorites]
Tucked into Walz’s Upper Midwest hot dish, in other words, are techniques that would not be foreign to anyone with a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
No, this recipe is sneakier than that. It conceals its sophistication in a hot dish that, on the surface, looks like the kind you’d find at any old church-basement supper. In this sense, Walz’s recipe feels Midwestern to its core. It reminds me of a phrase that was repeated often enough in my youth that it became not a directive, but a way of life: Don’t put on airs. The governor’s hot dish doesn’t put on airs — it doesn’t dare draw attention to the French techniques that give this thing its transcendent creaminess, transforming an austerity meal into something rich and delicious.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:29 PM on August 22 [2 favorites]
« Older Continuing To Primarily Produce Billing Hours | Aero Force One Flies No More Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:37 PM on August 6 [12 favorites]