Hot Dog Hotdish for the Minnesota Game

Minnesota is noted for its cold weather and for hardy residents who speak with cute accents. The severe winters don't keep people huddled indoors, though; folks continue to go ice fishing, skating, and socializing.

But after venturing out into the frigidness, a warm meal is warranted. And Minnesotans are famous not just for casseroles, but specifically for what they call "hotdish."

According to Wikipedia:

"Hotdish is a variety of baked casserole that typically contains a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned and/or frozen vegetable, mixed together with canned soup."

In honor of Saturday's game - Minnesota vs. Michigan - I thought I would pay tribute to this culinary tradition. But I was not going to resort to using the infamous condensed soups.

That is, until I read the following:

"Cream of mushroom soup is so ubiquitous in hotdish that it is often referred to in such recipes as 'Lutheran Binder,' referring to hotdish’s position as a staple of Lutheran church cookbooks. The soup is considered a defining ingredient by some commentators."

And so, I realized that I would be dishonoring the very essence of the hotdish if I tried to make it more sophisticated. It is consummate comfort food, and part of its charm is its hominess and ease of preparation.

So I took as my basis the famous green bean casserole, and added a few tweaks to make it an entree rather than a side dish. It's perfect food for a football game, as it's hearty and substantial and ideal for fall.

Hotdish is so integral to Minnesota culture that Sen. Al Franken even welcomed the state's Congressional delegation to participate in a hotdish competition this past January. The winner did not feature another Minnesota product, the lovely wild rice. It didn't feature venison bratwurst, or any other enobling ingredients. Nope - the winner was Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose Taconite Tater Tot Hot Dish was a combination of ground beef, creamed soups (mushroom and chicken), tater tots, and Pepper Jack cheese.

Hotdish may be lowly, but you know what? Even with its simple ingredients and lack of elegance, it's really, really good! My Hot Dog Hotdish was devoured when I served it, and will be a hit if you serve it for Saturday's game. Jeremy loathes green bean casserole, but he loved this so much that he actually ate more helpings than anyone else!

University of Minnesota at University of Michigan
Saturday, October 1 at 12 p.m. EDT
GO BLUE!!!

I was THRILLED to see that this post was found and discussed thoroughly on Serious Eats the other day: "Hotdish Casserole"!!! And I was equally happy to find that everyone had lovely things to say about, and memories of, hotdish ... regardless of whether it's called a casserole or a covered dish or whatever around the country ... :)

Note: Today is the first full day of Rosh Hashanah. My friend Debbie Vanni at The Culinary Cellar very graciously invited me to write a guest post for the holiday. Thank you, Debbie, for the fabulous honor!

So go visit her fabulous site devoted to recipes and cookbooks, and you'll find us celebrating the new year and reviewing the past one while sharing a sweet treat: Apple Almond Kugel. 'Cause it's not a Jewish party without kugel, after all - a traditional creamy noodle pudding with a crunchy, cinnamony topping.

I've baked a lot of kugels over the years, but Jeremy told me that this is "the best one you've ever made!" Pretty high praise ... :)

Shana Tovah!!! [shah-NAH toh-VAH]

May you have a sweet new year!


Hot Dog Hotdish

4 wieners, cut into 1/2" slices
1 10-3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
half of a 10-3/4 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
several splashes cayenne pepper sauce
1 pound frozen green beans, defrosted
1 cup fried onions
45 tater tots
4 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8"x8" baking dish.

Heat the wieners over medium heat in a medium skillet until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine soups, mustard, salt, milk and pepper sauce. Stir in wieners, green beans and fried onions; pour into the prepared baking dish.

Place the tater tots in rows over the green bean mixture. Bake for 25 minutes.

Place the cheese over the tater tots, and bake for another 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Serves 8.

Confetti Pasta

I recently had a meeting to attend after work, followed by errands. I got home late, and hadn't eaten much lunch; I was quite hungry.

I never resort to fast food, and I didn't want to just grab a bowl of cereal. So what could I make that was fast, but also had some semblance of nutrition?

That old favorite standby, pasta. I had a package of chicken- and bacon-stuffed borsetti (little filled pouches) in the freezer, which I'd bought on sale and saved for a time when I'd need a quick meal. Well, here was its moment to shine!

For color, flavor and health benefits, I sauteed some red pepper, green beans and red onion in a butter and balsamic vinegar mixture while the pasta cooked, then combined everything to finish the meal.

And that was it! Within 20 minutes, I had an elegant and delicious meal so festive that it seemed as though confetti had been sprinkled upon it ....

Confetti Pasta

1 9-ounce package fresh stuffed pasta (i.e.: tortellini, ravioli)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped green beans (1/2" dice)
1/3 cup chopped red pepper (1/2" dice)
1/3 cup chopped red onion (1/2" dice)
1 large garlic clove, minced
parmesan, for serving

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt together the oil, vinegar and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the salt, pepper, and vegetables; saute for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beans are just tender when punctured with a knife. Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter.

Drain pasta, and toss with vegetables. Serve topped with parmesan.

Serves 2 as an entree, 4-6 as a side dish.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad for the EMU Game

Last week's game against Notre Dame was AMAZING!!! A come-from-behind touchdown with 2 seconds left gave Michigan a 35-31 lead, and Notre Dame had no time or opportunity left. This was a game so big that ESPN's "College Game Day" show was based here in Ann Arbor, the Goodyear blimp was hovering over the stadium, and scalpers were seeking as much as $4000 for some tickets! And we won!

Now, this week, next door neighbor Eastern Michigan University - from just 5 miles down the road - is coming to The Big House on Saturday.

Sadly, this isn't particularly a fair play date: Eastern is a small school from the MAC conference rather than Michigan's Big 10. Eastern also doesn't have a particularly stellar football history, though they did beat Howard University in style in their season opener, 41-9. They're also 2-0 for the first time since 1998 after beating Alabama State last weekend. I'll spare you my rant about these uneven match-ups; I'm just here for the food, after all!

So, what food to offer for a game between Eastern and U of M? And what to serve when the weather 'round here can go from morning temperatures in the 90s to thunderstorms in the afternoon, followed immediately by days of highs in the 60s?

Pasta. Everyone loves it, it's easy to make, it goes with almost everything and is appropriate no matter what the weather is. I even made it green and white to honor Eastern's team colors. A girl's gotta have some fun with feeding the masses for the football games, after all!

Eastern Michigan University at University of Michigan
Saturday, September 17 at 12 p.m. EDT
GO BLUE!!!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

6 asparagus spears, cut into 1" pieces
1 cup green beans, cut into 1" pieces
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
12 ounces green and white rotini
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup jarred pepperoncini, drained, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pesto
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400F. Place the asparagus and beans into a pie pan; toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender and slightly caramelized.

Prepare rotini according to package directions; drain and rinse under cold water, then place into a large mixing bowl.

Add the roasted vegetables to the mixing bowl, along with the feta, pepperoncini, oregano, pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Combine the pesto, lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of oil; pour over the salad and toss to coat.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 8-10 servings.

The Glory of Green Bean Casserole

Yeah, I know everyone is thinking "I already know how to make this!" and "Didn't we already eat Green Bean Casserole over the holidays? She's kinda late on this post, isn't she???" But one of my favorite foods ever is Green Bean Casserole, and I ate it for dinner -- not with dinner, but for dinner -- recently. And so, I had to honor the lowly dish because we all know we adore it!

My mother never made it, so I'm a latecomer to its charms. But I have actually been known to make a batch of it all for myself, since Jeremy has never liked it (gasp!), just so I could have portions of it to take to work each day to treat myself for lunch.

I consider this to be one of the glories of the White Trash culinary world, like fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches. There is nothing glamorous or nutritious about it, and it has no sophistication whatsoever. And yet, it is a thing of true beauty.

Now, I have to clarify that I say "White Trash" with great affection here -- I am not willfully insulting any group of people; in fact, I'm heralding the cuisine! I've tried to improve the health quotient of Green Bean Casserole by using fresh green beans and even soy-based mushroom soup. And I am here to attest that these are not acceptable substitutions! You lose the creaminess, the saltiness, the "je ne sais quoi" that is inherent to Green Bean Casserole if you tinker with it. Do the "dump 'n' stir"! Watch that soup come out of the can in a gigantic glop! Feel the grease of those canned onions! And wallow in comfort food extraordinaire!!!

The history of Green Bean Casserole is very simple: it was created in the Home Ec division of the Campbell's Soup Company. And we all know it sells lots of green beans, condensed soup and fried onions at the holidays! But it's also a perfect meal for a cold Winter evening, served as the main attraction with simple cornbread muffins on the side.

I don't think a recipe is required for this -- God knows it's easy enough to find 1000 posts about it in any search engine. But I add a generous splash of Worcestshire sauce to the mushroom soup, and I use the entire large can of fried onions -- mix some in with the green beans, then use the rest to cover the top of the dish. If you're going to go slumming, go for the gusto!!!

Summertime, and the Dining is Easy

This, I must say, is a nearly perfect summer meal. It was hot, it was humid, Tom and I were in a hurry, and this is what we put together for Saturday night's dinner: fried egg sandwiches with heirloom tomatoes and Garlic-Walnut Green Beans. I'm not sure that it can get much better than this. Really ... sometimes simplicity rules the day.

It was 5:30 p.m., and we needed to leave the house by 6 ... what to have for dinner??? Lots of fresh vegetables were available ... some good Cheddar and Parmesan ... some fish in the freezer ... hmmmm. We debated our options.

And then Tom uttered the very phrase I had been thinking myself: "How about fried egg sandwiches???" Oh, what synchronicity!

But then, what to serve with them ...?

I had bought green beans the day before at a farmers' market, and Tom had some lovely tomatoes -- the perfect colorful accompaniments!

So I got to work and heated some olive oil in a large skillet while Tom washed and trimmed the beans. I chopped 2 cloves of garlic and a handful of walnuts, and sauteed them a bit:

Then I added the beans and sauteed everything until the garlic and nuts were fragrant and the beans were tender -- 15 minutes, maybe, total. I got a bit impatient and covered the skillet for a bit to help steam the beans, to make sure they'd be ready on time.


Meanwhile, I fried one egg for each of us while Tom made toast with some lovely Italian bread. I simply spread butter on my sandwich, while Tom added mayonnaise and lettuce. In all honesty, I'd have fried the eggs in reserved bacon fat -- a priceless commodity, so never just discard it! -- but that would have seriously increased the fat content, which was a concern for Tom. But it would have been perfect ... :)

So, that's it -- the beans cooked quickly, and the garlic and walnuts were lovely accompaniments to them. The tomatoes needed nothing but a pinch of salt and pepper. And it's really hard to beat the comfort of a fried egg sandwich. And it all took 20 minutes to make a complete meal with protein, carbs and vegetables ... yay!!!

FYI: I'll be taking the weekend off, so don't think I've disappeared. Too much to do of late, too little time to do it in, and it's only getting busier from here until after the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah (begins Wednesday night, September 8) and Yom Kippur (Saturday, September 18). I'm not running away -- don't worry! And I've got a special event coming up on Monday -- my 100th post!!! So just takin' the weekend off to take a deep breath and loiter in my jammies for a bit ... :)