BajaNomad - In Honor of the Much-Missed Pompano Postings

In Honor of the Much-Missed Pompano Postings

Gypsy Jan - 12-18-2012 at 03:02 PM

(See - there you go, I managed to make this story Baja related.)

From The OC Weekly, if you want to see pictures of these creations, go to: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2011/11/hotdish_pri...

Five Great Minnesota Versions of Hotdish (a.k.a. Casserole)

By Dave Lieberman

"As winter approaches, with its occasional rain and frigid mid-50s-high temperatures, people break out the sweaters, boots and think about hot, stick-to-your-ribs food. In the winter, a lot of baking happens and a lot of lasagne, but when it's chilly out, I think of the time I spent in Minnesota and Iowa -- and about hotdish.

What, exactly, is hotdish? It's a casserole, except in Minnesota, the casserole is the dish it comes in, and hotdish is what goes inside. It's nearly always made from some kind of starch (nothing fancy -- rice, noodles or potatoes) and meat, often ground beef, held together with cream of mushroom soup, so ubiquitous in the state it's often referred to in church recipe booklets--yes, that still happens--as Lutheran binder. Cheese makes a regular appearance, and canned or frozen vegetables such as corn, peas or green beans may be mixed in.

While some hotdish has spread -- tuna-noodle hotdish is common throughout the United States, and the turkey tetrazzini pictured is nearly universal after the turkey sandwiches and just before the turkey soup in the pantheon of Thanksgiving leftovers -- nobody does hotdish like Minnesotans. Here are five of the state's finest.

5. Plain (Regular) Hotdish

When someone says they're having hotdish for supper and won't elaborate, this is what they mean: the basic model, constructed of ground beef, some kind of tomatoes (for example, canned tomato sauce, or maybe tomato paste mixed with tomato juice), pasta (usually elbow macaroni), cheese (often Cheddar, but sometimes Velveeta), salt and pepper. There's no Lutheran binder in this one; it's more like the world's least-interesting baked ziti.

4. Green bean hotdish

Everyone knows this one! It's green beans and Lutheran binder with Durkee brand fried onions on top. It's spread from its Midwestern roots to take over Thanksgiving tables all over the country. I've tried to gussy this up by using fresh Blue Lake green beans and making my own cream of mushroom soup, and it sucked. Alton Brown's tried it, too, and it doesn't work. It has to be canned for it to taste right.

3. Knoephla hotdish

If you know without the photo what knoephla are -- a variation on spätzle, or tiny flour-and-egg dumplings that are more round than elongated -- then you are probably from northwestern Minnesota, along the border with North Dakota. Like most other hotdishes, this one has Lutheran binder, but it also contains onions and sauerkraut. Don't knock it till you try it -- it's actually kind of like pierogi in a casserole dish.

2. Taco hotdish

That's right: tacos in hotdish form (we won't mention the horror that is the actual Minnesota taco). Ground beef, salsa (nearly always Pace Picante mild), cheese, onion, "Spanish" rice, and tortilla chips or Fritos crunched up on top, with lettuce and tomato to be added later. Don't fool yourself, though: Chiles other than the occasional can of Ro-Tel (uff da, spicy!) have absolutely no place in the traditional hotdish. While there are now people in Minnesota who appreciate spicy food -- both of them live outside of Minneapolis -- in general, taco-flavored means it has tortilla chips, taco seasoning from a packet from the Supervalu, and ground beef. Don't forget the sour cream.

1. Tater Tot hotdish

In accordance with the unofficial state motto of Minnesota ("Be nice!"), when someone dies, neighbors, friends and co-workers bring the family food for a couple of weeks while they get their lives back together, starting with a covered-dish lunch after the funeral. (In rural Minnesota, the three meals are breakfast, dinner and supper; lunch is anything that doesn't fit into those three times.) The traditional lunch is fruit salad (what the rest of the country calls ambrosia), hotdish and bars, and the most common hotdish at a funeral is Tater Tot hotdish, which contains Lutheran binder, ground beef and usually a vegetable such as green beans. It's a shame it's got a little bit of stigma because it's one of my favorites."

[Edited on 12-18-2012 by Gypsy Jan]

KurtG - 12-18-2012 at 05:33 PM

You haven't really lived if you've never experienced an "Up North" church supper. More varieties of hotdish than you can imagine and this time of year Lutefisk which everybody praises but few can actually stomach. Not even our pigs on the farm would eat it, turned up their noses. The saving grace at these suppers are the meatballs which are always good. As the article points out, what Minnesotans can do to Mexican food is an abomination. And yes, I am a Northwoods Minnesota native, I'm just one who decided about 50 years ago that I would never again live where palm trees won't grow. That said, as Pompano would confirm, you won't find better folks than those I grew up with there.

Lindalou - 12-18-2012 at 05:48 PM

My husband and I absolutely loved a tater tot casserole I used to make, never new it was called hotdish

EnsenadaDr - 12-18-2012 at 06:03 PM

Well dang, girl. Don't keep us all in suspense. Can we have the recipe? Sounds great on a cold night like this!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Lindalou
My husband and I absolutely loved a tater tot casserole I used to make, never new it was called hotdish

Lindalou - 12-18-2012 at 06:41 PM

It's just hamburger, tatertots cream of mushroom soup and cheese. I had no certain amounts. Baked at 350 till bubbly.

DanO - 12-18-2012 at 06:58 PM

I can't believe I'm asking this (probably just morbid curiousity), but do the tater tots go into the dish frozen, thawed out, or heated up?

motoged - 12-18-2012 at 07:26 PM

Taters.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQPrZTjPBZI

Paula - 12-19-2012 at 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
I can't believe I'm asking this (probably just morbid curiousity), but do the tater tots go into the dish frozen, thawed out, or heated up?

hmmmm.... usually those questions you really want answered but were too embarrassed to ask have to do with something other than tater tots.

EnsenadaDr - 12-20-2012 at 01:35 AM

Does it matter? The hamburger is probably raw when it goes in too..it all comes out cooked and the tater tots are far from crunchy I am sure!!

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
I can't believe I'm asking this (probably just morbid curiousity), but do the tater tots go into the dish frozen, thawed out, or heated up?

mtgoat666 - 12-20-2012 at 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Does it matter? The hamburger is probably raw when it goes in too..it all comes out cooked and the tater tots are far from crunchy I am sure!!

Quote:

Originally posted by DanO
I can't believe I'm asking this (probably just morbid curiousity), but do the tater tots go into the dish frozen, thawed out, or heated up?

it's a casserole, it ain't rocket science! throw it all in a dish and bake away, pretty hard to go wrong!

CP - 12-20-2012 at 08:14 AM

Quote:

it's a casserole, it ain't rocket science! throw it all in a dish and bake away, pretty hard to go wrong!

Well, raw ground beef and frozen tater tots thrown in with c-o-m-s and baked till bubbly seems pretty easy to go wrong. Even with cheese.

Recipe basics are relative. The first time i saw mochi (40 years ago) I ate it uncooked thinking it was a neat accompaniment to beef jerky on the trail (it was not). Having done that is still a source of considerable amusement to my Japanese friends.

I reckon you'd want to brown the ground beef and crisp up those tater tots first. I am from California but we do have a covered pyrex dish my southern husband calls the Lutheran dish. Bake anything with ground beef and c-o-m-s and cheese in that and he is in heaven.

Gypsy Jan, that was a fun read - THANKS!

Lindalou - 12-20-2012 at 10:54 AM

OK guys, take it easy. I cook everything first,(fried) including warming and thinning the soup a little before I add that. I put the cheese in raw. Usually get bubbly and cheese gets browned in about 30 minutes. Don't be embarrassed I like to ans questions when I actually know the answer.

tiotomasbcs - 12-21-2012 at 02:00 PM

Pompano, please save us from ourselves! Tator tot Casseroles? Doesn't sound half bad. :no:

Tio

Bob H - 12-22-2012 at 09:44 AM

Here's are a few recipes....

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tater-tot-casserole/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-tater-tot-casserole/

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/10/tater-tot-casserole-wee...

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/tater-tot-casserole...

and a whole bunch more here....
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/great-recipes.asp?food=tater+...

[Edited on 12-22-2012 by Bob H]

Lindalou - 12-22-2012 at 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob H
Here's are a few recipes....

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tater-tot-casserole/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-tater-tot-casserole/

http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2009/10/tater-tot-casserole-wee...

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/tater-tot-casserole...

and a whole bunch more here....
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/great-recipes.asp?food=tater+...

[Edited on 12-22-2012 by Bob H]

These all really sound good. I like the addition of green beans or peas, get your veggies at the same time.

Bob H - 12-22-2012 at 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lindalou

Quote:

These all really sound good. I like the addition of green beans or peas, get your veggies at the same time.

Yes! I love tater tots and never thought of making a casserole with them. Great ideas!

durrelllrobert - 12-22-2012 at 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666
it's a casserole, it ain't rocket science! throw it all in a dish and bake away, pretty hard to go wrong!

Merry Christmas goat
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/b4_EdJ-XkUA?rel=0