I didn't mean to be coy about the Great White North; it's-- *drumroll please*-- Minnesota. That's right, I'm a Minnesotan! Yah, you betcha! Insert Fargo reference here! (Although, can we please get one thing straight, geographically challenged Minnesota mockers? FARGO IS IN NORTH DAKOTA!)
It's no secret that I miss Minnesota, but luckily one of its finest exports can be created in the comfort of my own home: HOTDISH. Word on the street is that the rest of the world calls hotdish "casserole", but any idiot knows that "casserole" is a container. It is the pan that houses the hotdish, not the dish itself. Hel-LO!
Proper Usage: "Ole and Lena brought a hotdish over to the new neighbor, but that bitch never returned Lena's casserole when it was empty. Next time she's getting the leftover lutefisk!"
Although it's hardly hotdish season here in TX, here's one of my favorite hotdish recipes:
TATOR TOT HOTDISH
1 ½ lbs. lean hamburger
1-2 stalks of celery
1 medium chopped onion
1 can each cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup
½ soup can milk (optional-depends on how "saucy" you like it)
½ lb. Velveeta
1 32 oz package tator tots
Frozen or canned veggies, optional (corn or peas go best here, I think)
Brown the hamburger with chopped celery and onion. Drain fat. Put this in the bottom of a casserole dish. In the same pan, mix the soup and milk until lumps are gone and pour over hamburger (also add veggies here if you are so inclined). Cover the top with slices of Velveeta. Cover this with a single layer of tator tots. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
This reminds me of the official definition of hotdish from the book "Hotdish to Die For":
(1) midwestern colloquialism for a hot entrée that is similar to a French casserole except that it is often inedible; (2) the bastard offspring of canned cream of mushroom soup.
P.S. - The good news is that my upcoming flight with AD is only 2 1/2 hours long. It's not as far from TX to MN as one might think, as the crow flies. I mean, far enough for one to be Pleasantly Temperate and one to be Hell On Earth (you decide which is which, depending on the season), but you know.
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24 comments:
Delicious! We are having hotdish for dinner tonight as a matter of fact! I hope that when you go back to MN you go to the state fair and have yourself a "pronto-pup." Princess Kay would be mightly disappointed if you missed out.
Oh my gosh! You have to stop by and have some hot dish. I'M in MN! Then we can say good-bye for about an hour or so...you know...the MN Good-bye. It's "Oh for cute" isn't it? What part will you be in?
Flibberty-I LOVE me a good pronto pup, and also cheese curds
Me Today-Oh for cute! That is hilarious! I haven't heard that one in a while. Also: the MN Goodbye. I like to call it the "Well, I SUPPOSE..."
Unfortunately, we're going to be spending all of our time in BFE (southwestern MN).
But wait, you didn't mention the infamous hotdish side--the jello salad. Only people in MN could create something so practical. Add canned fruit or vegis to your techni-colored jello, place in mold, then serve with dressing if you want a salad, or Cool Whip if you want dessert. Genius.
p.s. Oofta!
And here I thought I was in the Great White North up here in Canada! Your hotdish is our Tater Tot *gasp* Casserole. That seems crazy to me that Texas and MN are that close (excuse my geography, which clearly sucks). 2-1/2 hours seems kinda manageable.
Lutefisk!!? Lutefisk!!? Oh, the HORROR.
Oh, and Crystal - Oofta!!!??? (Although, in our household when that utterance is spelled out, we spell it as ufta.)
This post MADE MY DAY.
I feel like I've stumbled across an Internets of friends!
Oh, I am positively GIDDY over all these Minnesotans!
Crystal-Even worse, in my neck of the woods, jello "salad" sometimes has...VEGGIES in it. Shudder.
Artemisia-We spell it Uff-da. It's the all-purpose exclamation! And also: my mom works at a store that sells The Lute, and she positively DREADS Lute season. The whole place REEKS of it. We've considered using it as an initiation for my East Coast husband.
I was waiting for you to talk about hotdish on here!! I can't wait for fall to get here...football, pumpkin pie candle from yankee candle and tator tot hotdish....doesn't get better than that!!
I stumbled upon your very funny blog and now I have a big old grin on my face, love the awesome hot dish definition!
Never heard the term, hotdish, up here in Canada, but I have had that tater-tot casserole, uh, i mean hotdish.
I love casseroles, I mean hotdishes. My parents rarely made them when I was growing up, so when I had, say, tuna casserole at a friend's house, I would go to seventh heaven, to the great surprise of the friends' mothers.
My grandmother used to make orange jello with raisins and carrot shreds in it. Another kind had CELERY in it?? What was it with suspending produce in jello?
Tessie-
We might even have the same neck of the woods. My family is from Southwestern MN too.
I sure do miss having "lunch" 11 times a day...
My mother was born in Sweden so I know all about Lutefisk.
YUK!!
Also, even though the movie is called Fargo, 99% of the movie takes place in the Twin Cities. So there.
And finally,
"So you were havin sex with the little fella, then?"
(sorry my favorite line from the movie)
I'm not a Minnesotan, but I am a card-caring Lutheran, so that counts, right?
As a fellow northerner who's misplaced herself in Texas, I gotta ask: WTF are we still doing here????
Erica, I am not a Minnesotan, either. I am a Wyomingite! Woo hoo!!
But, both my and my partner's families were raised in North Dakota and are of Norwegian descent.
Hence the lutefisk. Every Christmas. *gag* *GAG*
Also, I was cheering for the Vikings and the Twins while still in my mother's womb. Anyone else?
I never miss an episode of Prairie Home Companion. That radio show just rings true.
P.S. Growing up in Wyoming, I always heard that we were the "real Cowboys, not Texas."
Go Packers!!! Says this Wisconsin Girl. Apparently a lot of Minnesota is currently under water, and it looks as if Michigan (where I am at) is soon to follow.
I think I saw the Duggars make that CASSEROLE. :)
Erica-I always say that in MN there are two religion choices: Catholic and Lutheran. And it's pretty much true. You should read the book "Lutheran Church Basement Women". It's hilarious.
Sara-They DID make it! But in my defense, it says right there in the definition of hotdish that they're often inedible.
Yay - hotdish! The season is almost upon us Minnesotans!
My favorite hotdish is the one with hamburger, tomato soup, macaroni, and corn. Delish!!!
Also, everyone knows that hotdish is even better the next day as leftovers. (It then has the chance to marinate in its own awesomeness.)
P&D-We call that one "goulash" at our house. (?)
I just found you via Swistle, and have just spent my time reading every single entry of yours - funny stuff! I used to live in Dallas (for 3 years), having moved from England - yikes!
Thanks for the laughs this afternoon.
I LOVE ME SOME GOULASH! Yum. We use V8 instead of tomato soup, though.
I attended a potluck in California once where a recent Minnesota transplant brought the same hotdish. I was the only one that recognized it (from my year in St. Paul), and no one else would touch it. At a potluck in the Great White North, it would have been a huge hit.
Did you know that MN has a "hotdish law" stating that it is LEGAL for churches and other functions to prepare hotdishes in private kitchens and then charge money for them? That's right. You betcha. We love us some church pot-lucks!
Pot-lucks! That's another MN anamoly, isn't it? You betcha.
PS. I live in BFE- south central MN. Want to visit? Tiny Town is damn near Lake Wobegone!
One more thing unique to MN- our "salads" have jello, or whipped cream, or even SNICKERS in them. Yep. Love me a "salad"!
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