My friends and I come from very diverse backgrounds. Most of us on the Left Coast here are of Asian descent which for all intents and purposes, really don’t have a “casserole” niche in our food groups. We have a dear friend from Minnesota (a mythical land of snow and unicorns) who has repeatedly attempted to educate us about this mysterious dish… or as she calls it: Hot Dish.
We constantly tease her about casseroles because really, it’s a very foreign dish for us… at least the way that they eat it over there in Narnia Minnesota.
Wikipedia says of the subject: “A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers. The most typical meat for many years has been ground beef, and cream of mushroom remains the favorite canned soup. In past years a pasta was the most frequently-used starch, however tater tots and local wild rice have now become very popular as well.”
The main thing stymieing us Left Coasters is the lack of spices in the traditional making of this dish. Salt and pepper are flashy. *grins*
Now I DO make a casserole. Sorta. It’s more like a pasta dish that’s done on the stove. It’s a fast dinner and I’d probably fail the Minnesota Hot Dish test because damn it! I need spices! *laughs*
So tonight’s dish is a simple tuna pasta dish with grilled onions, peas, carrots, black olives, parmesan cheese and the classic mushroom soup because I’m lazy. Spices are garlic, black pepper, salt and believe it or not, a bit of Old Bay. So my apologies to the stalwart souls in Minnesota for the blasphemy I am about to serve you.
Close, but no cigar. Casseroles must be baked in the oven to be true casseroles. And in a casserole dish, a strange and mythic object that must be sought thru long and arduous quests, usually involving dwarves.
Heh… Oh I know…. but see, this is definitely not a casserole. I fail at casserole. *laughs* But it is hot. *grins*
I don’t think I have a casserole dish. Um… I have pyrex. 😀
I’ve also heard crumpled BBQ chips on top really make the dish.
Every ingredient in the delicate bowl is recognizable to me! A first!
WHOOOOO HOOOOO! *grins*
HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. MN IS TOO REAL
That actually looks like how my mom makes her cold tune salad. Yeah, it’s a salad if it’s not baked, apparently. Though for the salad I think she uses mayo instead of the soup.
WE SEASON CASSEROLES. Just, you know, not that much. Salt & pepper mostly.
CASSEROLES ARE DELICIOUS.
*Cries all alone in chilly MN*
NOT NARNIA
This is hot! And cheese! Heh…. it was goooooooood. Nom nom nom nom.
Casseroles! As mythical as Minnesota and unicorns.
There was a pot luck at work when I first moved to MN that had a tuna & pasta “hot dish” that was cold. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!
You are not alone in chilly MN. ^___^
I am safe in So Cal 😀
Until we throw tator tots that way. XD
Casseroles as AMAZING.
GOOD HOME COOKING AND STUFF.
Psh, if I were from a mythical land, how can I leave it via PLANE. NARNIA DOESN’T HAVE PLANES.
Your cupboard actually empties out into the airport. *nods*
….You mean the closet? Closest damn thing we got to that giant wardrober.
THE AIRPORT IS IN THIS MYTHICAL CITY/STATE.
See? Wardrobes all lead to Minnesota.
…MY CLOSET GOES NOWHERE. TRUST ME, I CHECKED. I COULD USE THE EXTRA SPACE.
Hah! ‘Cause you have too many shoes!
…That’s a WHOLE ‘nother closet. XD
Snorts.
Jello molds. if you have main dish casserole, desert must be jello. Preferably red or green with shaved carrots or mandarin oranges imbedded in the jello. Topped with cool whip. not whipped cream, cool whip
Okay, my mom did those sometimes. But no carrots. Pineapple, fruit salad… lychee.
When my husband moved here [MN] from the Southwest, he referred to ketchup as “MN Salsa”.I’m still amused that salt and pepper are considered seasonings for most people here. ^______^
So Kuro has told me 😀
It’s the funniest thing. But hey. We have an abundance of tator tots?! You can never go wrong with tator tots!
oh god.