Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

People are weird.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Cooking / Saturday Evening Open Thread: Where Are the Good Hot Dish Recipes?

Saturday Evening Open Thread: Where Are the Good Hot Dish Recipes?

by | 174 Comments

This post is in: ,

Defining ‘hot dish’ as ‘anything cooked in a casserole’… Does lasagna qualify? At least the ladies-magazine version using Ragu sauce and a tub of cottage cheese instead of ricotta?

I believe this is the recipe that won Walz ‘Best Legislative Hot Dish’ two years running:

Soft as the voice of my mother
Calling as night shadows fell,
Calling her children to supper
And oh what a heavenly smell.

There on the dining room table
Served from a steaming glass bowl
Eaten with Jello and Kool-Aid
Tuna the food of my soul.

Tuna casserole, O how dear to my lips
Noodles and tuna and mushrooms and chips…

SlatePitch: Hot dish you’re doing it wrong
Atlantic: What hot dish says about the values of the Midwest
seriousEats: Sous Vide Hit dish
NYT: Hot dish source of comfort, source of conflict in Midwestern politics
HuffPost: What is hot dish anyway?
WaPo: Sistema, where to get authentic hot dish

— Flying Mezerkis (@bananapantz.bsky.social) Aug 9, 2024 at 3:04 PM

Reader Interactions

174Comments

  5. 5.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    My favorite “anything that fits into a casserole” is to start with basic mac and cheese. Then I start to dress it up with themed fruit/veggies, spices and cheese sauce designed to match. My favorites have included:

    Vietnamese sweet sausages, sweet green and red peppers, Japanese seven spice blend (I typed that correctly why did autocorrect want to make it slice?), broccoli florets, and crispy onion rings topper

    Sauteed pork, corn, tomatoes, sazón, with tortilla chip topper

    Italian sausage, zucchini, tomato, spinach, with loads of extra garlic and blobs of ricotta/egg as topper. Which spread out and make nicely delineated slices. I’ve also done a faux lasagna in this way.

    Worth pointing out I have a real love for sausages and tomatoes

  6. 6.

    Mark von Wisco

    I’m born and raised in Central Wisconsin. I grew up eating various hot dishes similar to these. This is about as upper Midwest as it gets.

  7. 7.

    CaseyL

    Huh.  I eat a fair number of casseroles, but they’re all thrown together out of (semi-) healthy ingredients because I can haz dietary restrictions.  Is one allowed to improvise?  The idea of using canned soups is just… eh, bleh, feh.

    Would much rather make my own mushroom soup and add that.  And… I’m not sure what the difference is between “canned cream of cheddar soup” and “cheddar cheese + cream.” Someone who knows more about this needs to let me know if the commercial canned soup has a special combination of ingredients that make it uniquely suited to hot dishing.

    But would it still considered “hot dish” if one doesn’t used canned soup?​

  13. 13.

    VFX Lurker

    Does baked mac n’ cheese or potatoes au gratin count? I like those dishes with a sharp, delicious cheddar.

  14. 14.

    Princess

    As long as the polls are still good, I plan to make hot dish to serve while watching the returns on election night.

  16. 16.

    VFX Lurker

    @schrodingers_cat: One of my favorite videos that then-Senator Kamala Harris posted in 2020 was when she kindly showed fellow Senator Mark Warner how to make a proper tuna melt. (10:39)

    This was shortly after Mark Warner posted that tuna melt video that caused dismay and sadness in all who saw it.

  18. 18.

    Larch

    @CaseyL: Improvisation is the name of the game! Add/subtract/substitute whatever you want – that’s the beauty of it, and why there are probably 100,000 different recipes of Tater Tot Hot Dish alone.

    The basics are: some sort of starch (potatoes, rice, noodles), one or more proteins (meat, cheese, beans), some sort of sauce (soup, gravy, tomato sauce, whatever), and, optionally, one or more veggies. Mix & match in a casserole dish. Bake. That’s it!

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    I am 110% not embarrassed to admit that I printed Walz’s first recipe a few days ago, and just as soon as this blessed central VA heat breaks, we’re going to make it here at Cafe Fro.

    (so, October, probably)

    (we’ll make the turkey one in November!)    =)

  20. 20.

    TBone

    If I make a big pot of chili in cold weather, sometimes with the excess I’ll make a casserole:

    A good bottom layer of chili topped with cornbread batter that’s been laced with fresh grated cheddar.  Sprinkle more cheddar on top and bake.

    Shepherds Pie in any of its variations is always good too.

    My fave is my Loaded Smashed Potatoes tho – already posted recipe a few days ago.  Holla if you want it again.

  26. 26.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @CaseyL: we made casseroles all the time that skipped the campbells soup. But we did use cr of mushroom in our glop , w ground beef, inst onion soup, on toast. I know out west here they don’t call it glop, but I can’t adapt.

    my favorite casserole thing is ground beef, slices of zucchini ( gotta use it up, the neighbors have locked their cars), canned tomato sauce, or tomatoes, onions, perhaps peppers. Other veg and greens to use up or to sneak in more veg , season to marry flavors, usually oregano basil.

    garrison Keillor’s skits with the Midwest, nyc, and California versions gave me so much insight. I realized though I only lived in the Chicago area for 8 years as a kid, I definitely carry that flavor.

  28. 28.

    CaseyL

    I found an article about Walz’s hot dish recipe, and the comments are very sweet.

    @Larch:  Thank you!  And, yes, the comments do mention variations, and some are very intriguing.  Peas! Water chestnuts! Jalapenos!  Corn!  (I really should not eat much starch, so substituting the tater tots with something else is a must.)

    @TBone:  I do love cornbread, adn could probably get away with a thinnish layer of it.

  32. 32.

    Jeffro

    @eclare: from one of the articles posted about it at the time:

    You may have tasted other tuna melts in your past, but they had the “extra” elements of fire, butter, spices and time — Chef Mark’s creation keeps it simple. The bottom piece of bread is soaked, but not just with fish juice — it’s a layered flavor-packed combo of tuna water, cheese drip and liquified mayo. If you’re a fan of mayonnaise, I can’t imagine there’s a better dish on earth for your lunch. Plus, it all comes together in less than 2 minutes. Every step one might take to make a classic tuna melt is skipped here — no draining of the canned fish, no toasting of the bread, no mixing of the goo. Nothing classic about this. Mark Warner is ahead of his time.

    I’m queasy just reading this

  33. 33.

    Josie

    @CaseyL: ​ In any recipe that uses canned cream soup, I just make a thick white sauce with whatever vegies (or cheese) added to it in place of the soup. It works just fine.​

  36. 36.

    Princess

    @CaseyL: I wouldn’t just use cream. It won’t thicken enough. You can sub in an equal volume of thick béchamel sauce, which is equal parts flour and butter (or other fat) sautéed, then enough milk to make a sauce as thick as you want. I do this all the time. You can add sautéed mushrooms, grated cheddar, whatever you need for that flavour profile.

    Or what Josie said.

  37. 37.

    HumboldtBlue

    Canned tuna is the food of evil, of nastiness, of inedible-ness.

    Now, who can tell me what the hell went wrong with my desktop this afternoon? It’s only a few months old and just stopped working an hour ago. I restarted, but can’t open any programs. I click on an icon, and it reacts normally, but the program won’t open, and I am at a total loss. Windows 11

  38. 38.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Gloria DryGarden: It’s fun that you call it glop, that’s what I call casserole hot dishes and creamed dishes. It used to piss my mother off  “It’s NOT glop!”

  40. 40.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Jackie: Knowing how to cook for oneself is a sign of a working-class upbringing. It is only natural that Fox News “analysts” would look down on it.

  42. 42.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @MagdaInBlack: glop was my moms official word for the creamed soup can meat thing, served on toast. That’s the only word for it I knew.
    Casseroles were called casseroles, though.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Hotdish is not just any casserole. Hotdish requires meat (or turkey if you are a vegetarian), vegetables (usually canned or frozen), starch in the form of potatoes or noodles (not pasta), and a sauce (often but not necessarily a cream of something soup). It is made in a casserole dish, usually Corningware. Contrary to popular belief it can have spices, just not if it is being taken to someone who relative has just passed or to a potluck. The reason for the canned or frozen ingredients is that it is generally a cold weather dish and fresh veggies aren’t available from the garden, for cripes sake. Also they are fairly easy to make with the the ingredients at hand, so you don’t have to go out in a blizzard to get fresh kale or something.

  53. 53.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @HumboldtBlue: I like canned tuna. Ginger sauce, Thai peanut sauce or mayo, I don’t care. Unfortunately I try to keep it at one per month, as if I were pregnant, because toxins, mercury.

    and weird but surprisingly good combination, tuna salad plus peanut butter. I was desperate one night at a friend’s house, she kept pulling things out of the fridge, I’d chosen one, and the other appeared, and I wanted it. So hungry. I found I could take that to the spa and eat 1/4 sandwich, in a few bites between clients, and it gave me enough juice to keep going. Massage therapy is basically an hour of 40-90 lb application, like lifting weights, but with control, sensitivity, precision and finesse, for an hour at a time, but many hours a day. This weird discovery became a helpful go to.

  54. 54.

    catclub

    @HumboldtBlue: Canned tuna is the food of evil, of nastiness, of inedible-ness.

     

    I still eat plenty of canned tuna, but tuna salad made from fresh caught and cooked tuna ( on a ship!) was a revelation.

  55. 55.

    BR

    Looks like the Trump hack might be real after all, and more serious not because of the campaign but because the hack may have been targeting his law firm — which handles his top secret documents case and also vetted Vance. The documents case info would probably be super valuable to a nation state hacker, and that must be what they were going for.

  57. 57.

    BethanyAnne

    @Gloria DryGarden: I love rutabagas so much. They were a favorite of Dad’s. He and I were the only one’s who would eat them – Mom said even cooking them was a proof of her love for him. But they are *so* good. Now every time I have them, it’s a warm memory of Dad. :)

  58. 58.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @lamh47: Sure, Harris took reporters’ questions. But was it a “news conference?”

    Vapid quibblers need to know.

  61. 61.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Peke Daddy: Isn’t lutefisk an RFK Jr fav? Mix some of that good stuff with red-tide baby seal corpse and you’re in for a very special surf’n turf.

  62. 62.

    ChasM

    I am making hot dish as we speak. I’m using Coach Walz’s first recipie and Californiaizing by using turkey brat, corn instead of celery, and adding Mexican cheese and jalapeños.

    I’m excited, I’d never heard od hot dish until last week.

  65. 65.

    West of the Rockies

    My apologies, I can no longer handle Garrison Keillor.  Can’t take that singing voice and loud respiration.

  72. 72.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @BethanyAnne: rutabaga was my assignment for thanksgiving for many years. I think I got the sweet potatoes too. Steamed, nothing added. They were great.
    people wanted me to do the sugar version. Nope. Have some gravy on it. Slightly mashed rutabagas w salt, maybe a fat, they were so good. It was the other family’s fave food, I had never known it before except in soup (incredible, of course)

    wow you guys, nothing like a foodie conclave to soften that pissy crankiness. I’m off to a potluck now, probably with Kroger potato salad.

  74. 74.

    brendancalling

    Whenever I hear “hot dish” I imagine an attractive woman from some 1950s film noir. Can’t help it.

  75. 75.

    Sure Lurkalot

    So, the thing I made in college (not in the Midwest), stuffing mix layered/mixed with cooked chicken or turkey, frozen broccoli and cream of mushroom soup, was hot dish? My then self thought it was good, my now self, yikes, holy sodium rush.

  78. 78.

    CaseyL

    You can get really high-quality canned tuna – Rubensteins, say, or Portofino – though it is considerably more expensive than the big commercial brands. I prefer mine packed in olive oil, and so have to go with the specialty brands bc everyone else packs theirs in water, bleh. Safe Catch is also very good (and alleges itself to be Dolphin Safe, hence the name).

    I was eating a lot more than one can a month for a while – I get on these kicks where all I want to eat is tuna salad (yes, I do live alone; why do you ask?) – so have no idea how much mercury is in my system. And, frankly, I don’t worry about it ever.

  79. 79.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @schrodingers_cat: The traditional version cooked in the dum phukt style is the best. *chef’s kiss

    Working real hard not to make phonetic jokes originating in a culture outside the food’s origin…

  80. 80.

    JoyceH

    I personally love the recipes that include the cans of soup. You find them in those collected recipes in the cookbooks that churches and community groups assemble for a fundraiser. And they’re assessable for the cooking-challenged.

    Tim Walz recently posted the turkey trot recipe to Twitter and since it was after his VP pick, some of the comments were VILE. I tweeted to the effect that the commenters were not representing their political POV in such a way that anyone would want to join them.

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @zhena gogolia: Delts sold brats and Becks at Celebrate! every spring.  Our stand was always right by the intersection of sidewalks on  the east side of Main Hall.

  83. 83.

    Another Scott

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Now, who can tell me what the hell went wrong with my desktop this afternoon?

    I hate Winders and 11 is pretty bad.

    :-/

    I assume you’ve tried the usual things:

    1) Reboot.
    2) Run Chkdsk. Reboot.
    2) Run Winders Update*. Reboot.
    3) Run the Registry Checker thing. Reboot.
    4) Try creating a new user, see if things work properly there.

    (The “boot into safe mode” stuff you read everywhere has never done anything useful for me in the last 20 years or so. YMMV.)

    With any luck, it’s something transient and will fix itself soon.

    * – We have some equipment at work that breaks every time Windows Update runs because WU pokes around to see what needs to be updated and breaks USB connections and other things on that PC in the process. Even before it tries to install updates. It’s a pain in the neck.

    Good luck!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    JoyceH

    @schrodingers_cat: question about biryani. My little rural county has a new Indian restaurant (!! I knooow!) and I’ve been working my way through the menu, and I’ve considered the biryani but can’t really tell – does biryani have a sauce? I like the dishes with a sauce.

  92. 92.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @brendancalling: as a former beautiful woman, hot babe, there are things I could say.
    im guessing all women from pretty up to knock out stunning have been thought of and approached as the beauty we’re  seen and valued for, but with a great deal of pressure to smile, be prettier, and to dumb down our intelligence so it is not apparent. And to have anything about our inner workings rather overlooked. Ie, we’ve been kind of objectified.
    it’s fine that men think we’re hot, pretty, attractive etc, it’s just this has been know to go pretty far awry.

    back to delicious food, then.
    and delicious conversations, by which I mean interesting and fun.

  94. 94.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @zhena gogolia: It is the WI version of the hot dog.  There are the Usinger’s Milwaukee style ones and the Sheboyban style ones.  In Appleton, you would have had the Sheboygan style ones.  The spice mix is a little different and the casing is, I think, a little tougher.

  95. 95.

    KatKapCC

    @lamh47: I appreciate that she always mentions the hostages. Way too many in the “ceasefire now” crowd not only seem to forget Hamas has to also agree to the terms, but also don’t seem to give a damn about the hostages, big surprise. Demanding a ceasefire without also demanding that every hostage be released is ludicrous.

  97. 97.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @BethanyAnne: also try parsnips, sliced diagonally, oil, roasted. Stunning. Manna from heaven. I’ll try your read rutabagas. Mmm.

    I’ve had celeriac that way, too, found a recipe w lots of herbs to rub on it. harder to cut up. But when you have a spot of extra time, a delicious adventure. Cook til tender.

  98. 98.

    RaflW

    As I said on Bsky the other day, Walz using a tsp. of garlic powder in that New Ulm Hot Dish, I said “He’s not really from around here, is he?”
    ;)

  99. 99.

    Betty Cracker

    It’s a casserole, silly!

    A TV chef (I forget which one) said lots of Americans use canned soup in casseroles because they don’t know how to make a béchamel sauce. I think that’s true.

  102. 102.

    Jeffro

    @zhena gogolia:

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    is it considered barbaric (or at least a major faux pas) to cut the casing off before grilling?

    regular hot dogs, I leave those alone…but brats and sausages?  I’ve always cut the casings off just before grilling or frying them

  103. 103.

    NotMax

    @HumboldtBlue

    Possibilities.

    1) Could be your mouse’s left hand button is wonky or maybe some grit worked its way beneath it and needs to be carefully cleaned. Rather than left clicking, try right clicking on the icon you want to open to bring up the context menu and then right clicking on Open in that menu to determine if that works. Or if it’s a wireless mouse it might be a loose battery or need a new battery.

    2) If all you’ve done on the desktop is Restart, do a Shut Down instead, Then wait 20 seconds or so and fire the computer up afresh.

    30 Another trick to try in Win 11 is to restart Windows Explorer.
    Right click on an empty area of the taskbar and select Task Manager from the pop-up menu.
    In the Task Manager window, type Windows Explorer into the search box area.
    Then click on Window Explorer when it shows up in the listings and select Restart.
    .

  104. 104.

    Geminid

    A social historian 50 years from now:

    ….Some analysts attribute the increase to the “Hot Dish Craze” sparked by Vice President Walz. Others say it was a reaction to the release of eight years of tension and anxiety. But they all agree that Americans  gained an average of slightly over eleven pounds in 2025.

  105. 105.

    BethanyAnne

    One of the few real advantages to moving to rural Arkansas like I have are the farmer’s markets. We recently got a yellow watermelon that is so good. I crave Tex-Mex, but I know it will take a trip back to Houston for that. But! I found a great BBQ place in Russellville. Ridgewood Brothers. Only open Thursday-Sunday. But they do *amazing* brisket, and my standards for brisket come from small town Texas. And! They do bacon burnt ends. Heh. I can tell I’m hungry just from how much I want to talk food right now. My sister and brother in law are in the kitchen now making pork and dumplings.

  106. 106.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betty Cracker: Actually a bunch of hotdish recipes call for a white sauce.  Basically a nutmeg free bechamel.

    And while hotdish may be a casserole, not all casseroles are a hotdish.

  108. 108.

    sab

    We just had a hotdish for dinner: the one from Amy Klobuchar’s campaign. It was okay. Next time I’ll add green beans.

    Brown ground beef, chopped onion,  garlic. Spread in the cooking dish. Cover with grated pepperjack cheese, then cover with tatertots. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes. Add more grated cheese to top, reheat until cheese melts. Serve.

  113. 113.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Omnes Omnibus: oh, I was wondering about that.
    nutmeg is surprisingly good in stuff, though.

    I had it on butter braised Brussels sprouts at a French restaurant. Still remember it.

  114. 114.

    NotMax

    @HumboldtBlue

    Look for Italian canned tuna. More flavorful than domestic brands, in my experience.

    Caveat: can be inconsistent in levels of saltiness so may on occasion need to be rinsed before using.

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Jeffro: It would depend who you ask.  But people here would definitely be nonplussed by it.  You take the casing off of summer sausage though.

  117. 117.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Omnes Omnibus: oh, I was wondering about that.
    nutmeg is surprisingly good in stuff, though.

    I had it on butter braised Brussels sprouts at a French restaurant. Still remember it.

    I miss cheese, though. It looks like it’s in every recipe. So good, just not for me. Need ideas. Sometimes I buy the expensive fake cheese. Sort of similar.

  119. 119.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @zhena gogolia: the point of a recipe is to get ideas, and adjust for what you have and what you can stomach. For me it’s just a jumping off point to spark ideas.

  130. 130.

    karen gail

    Spent most of my life in Wisconsin; a hot dish is comfort food, it doesn’t matter the recipe what matters is that is a comfort food for you. That is why one takes them to greet new neighbors, to funerals, to weddings, when people are sick, when people are lonely, if there is a snow storm you take a hotdish to new neighbor that moved in from snowless lands. You take to church dinners, to gatherings, you take your best to impress, you take your favorite to let your friends know you care about them.

  131. 131.

    Citizen Alan

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Okay, if that’s our definition of “hot dish” (which is not a southern thing, obv), then here is my famous “Redneck Chicken Curry.”

    1 lb chopped chicken
    1/2 a yellow onion (chopped)
    garlic to taste
    1 can cream of chicken
    1 can cream of potato
    1 can  of Veg-All
    1 tbs curry
    1 tbs cumin
    1 tbs garam masala
    salt & pepper to taste
    Chicken Stock

    Saute the onions and garlic in butter in a dutch oven until translucent. Add the chopped chicken and cook until nearly done. Add the other ingredients plus enough stock to cover the veggies. (Honestly, I just go with what feels right when adding stock.) Mix well and let simmer until it reduces. Salt and pepper to taste.

    When I cook this for friends, we all eat straight out of the dutch oven. If was carrying this as a casserole, I would usually put it in a corningware dish, and (if I was feeling especially red-necky) crumble Ritz crackers over the top and bake it for about 20 minutes instead of simmering it on the stove.

  132. 132.

    XeckyGilchrist

    I love you, Gov. Walz, but “package” is not a meaningful measurement to use in a recipe.

  136. 136.

    Citizen Alan

    @Gloria DryGarden: I recently tried rutabaga with a North African spiced roast beef in a slow cooker. I was not impressed (at least with the possibility of using rutabaga as a substitute for potatoes).

  138. 138.

    sab

    @Eunicecycle: Amy Klobuchar’s campaign had a tea towell that looked like an embroidery sampler “Home Is Where There’s Hotdish” with the recipe below the heading.

    I made it tonight in desperation because we are moved (but not unpacked.)  And it was not half bad. Actually would be excellent in winter.

  141. 141.

    Lyrebird

    @sab: I made it tonight in desperation because we are moved (but not unpacked.) And it was not half bad.

    CONGRATS!!!  You are moved, phew.

    And nice example to illustsrate why it’s not so much that “the commercial canned soup has a special combination of ingredients…” that makes it essential (@CaseyL: ) as that commercial canned soup is available even when the fridge is empty or broken, when you just moved in, etc etc.

    Also years of marketing by Campbell’s, probably, but my grandmothers didn’t grow up with reliable access to refrigeration, or year-round access to celery or mushrooms, either.  So the canned soup route is gross to my tastebuds now, but I sometimes wish my own kids liked such easy casseroles.

  142. 142.

    Mousebumples

    @Omnes Omnibus: agreed.

    I usually stab them with a fork before cooking so they don’t burst. But I can’t stand hot dogs and looooove brats.

    My local meat market makes ’em with cheese curds inside the casing. Not healthy, not traditional, but delicious.

  143. 143.

    Lyrebird

    @Steve in the ATL: technically yes it’s chipped beef on toast. But “glop” seems close enough to warrant the name!

    Indeed!  Thanks for keeping my limited cultural literacy up to date.

    :-P

  147. 147.

    CaseyL

    Stouffers used to make a terrific creamed chipped beef. I loved it. But they did something to the recipe somewhere along the way and it lost its charm.

  148. 148.

    Miki

    @Gloria DryGarden: It’s so much better than albacore – tender, sweet, yummy. I often open a 5 oz can, drain a bit of the oil, plop it in a small bowl and eat it with some saltines. A seriously amazing gourmet snack/light meal.

  149. 149.

    sab

    @Lyrebird: Speaking of moved but not settled. We moved five cats. Three were caught the might before the movers and spent the night alone in the very nice basement of the new house, with cushions, food, water and excellent litter boxes.

    The other two cats were snatched that morning breakfast right before the movers arrived.

    Our most sensitive cat is FURIOUS with the snatcher, my husband, the only person in the world she trusted. She doesn’t trust him any more.

    Everycat is now settled in the new house, quite comfortable if the humans would just stop unpacking.

    Except little precious princess. She pooped on our bed today just to show her disrespect of husband for his betrayal.

    Then she pretended to forgive him, and then bit his hand. Drew lots of blood. Fortunately he is on lifetime antibiotics from a MRSA infection so he should be okay.

    She is sucking up to me now, but our mutual distrust goes back ten years.

    Moving sucks. We all know that. That doesn’t mean biting your boss/owner/landlord is a good idea

    ETA She was a fully feral rescue. Some of them fully settle in. She never will. Wary for life.

  150. 150.

    Gloria DryGarden

    …a hot dish is comfort food, it doesn’t matter the recipe what matters is that is a comfort food for you. That is why one takes them to greet new neighbors, to funerals, to weddings, when people are sick, when people are lonely, if there is a snow storm you take a hotdish to new neighbor that moved in from snowless lands. You take to church dinners, to gatherings, you take your best to impress, you take your favorite to let your friends know you care about them.

    in Illinois, where we were, we called it casserole, maybe this lingo is specific to Minnesota and Wisconsin. But Pollyanna, hell, what did I tell you? We got pie when we moved in, in Chicago suburbs. Either your neighbor didn’t get the memo about southern hospitality, or she can’t cook or bake. You should have gotten pie, or casserole, instead of what you got. She deserves every bad name I call her.

  151. 151.

    Timill

    @Citizen Alan: what is this “1/2 a yellow onion (chopped)” of which you speak.? Put the lot in…

    Also, by “Chicken Stock” I assume you mean “white stock” that comes in a box marked “Chardonnay”?

  152. 152.

    prostratedragon

    @Gloria DryGarden:  Rutabagas and turnips are great in braises. I’ve got to where I don’t like a pot roast without them as much, and they do sub well for potatoes in making the dish hearty.

  155. 155.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @sab: I moved w a cat once. He spent the first week under my dresser. He got used to it all eventually.

  156. 156.

    karen marie

    @VFX Lurker:   I wouldn’t say they count.  I am not from the Midwest or anywhere that “hot dish” is a thing but from my observation it appears that it’s not just that they’re a dish in a pot but that they’re a full meal that includes protein.  Lasagna?  Hot dish.  Mac and cheese?  Not hot dish.

    I would definitely like to see a cookbook from Harris and Walz.  But please let’s include Gwen Walz.  I bet she’s got a few tucked away.

  157. 157.

    karen marie

    @Peke Daddy: Fucking Portuguese!  When I  lived in Fall River, Mass. (all Portuguese all the time), it was a running joke of mine that was less a joke and more the reality that every recipe includes salt cod.  It was nuts.

    I miss it very much.  The stuffies are to die for.  Hot, cold or indifferent, sitting at a table, walking down the street – doesn’t matter, stuffies are fantastic.

    @TBone:   That sounds fantastic!  I could make babies of those.  I’ve got chili I made a couple weeks ago bagged up in the freezer.  Easy enough to whip up a bit of corn bread batter.

  158. 158.

    FastEdD

    Very sad you guys are bagging on Lutefisk. It is the Taste of Poverty and it is essential to my Norwegian heritage. It never belongs in a hotdish, it must be savored alone, or with boiled potatoes and lingonberries. I will probably die eating it. Or from eating it.

  159. 159.

    karen marie

     

    @HumboldtBlue: @catclub:   I thought I didn’t like tuna for a long time, despite liking it when I was a small child.  Turns out, it’s tuna packed in water that I can’t stand.

    Genova is really good, and it’s priced  the same as the nasty stuff.  It’s so tasty, you can eat it straight from the can.

    I’ve also tried Tonnino – much more expensive but because it is much larger chunks, it offers a nicer presentation in a Nicoise.

    Bottom line, it’s tuna in water that should be shot into the sun.

  160. 160.

    karen marie

    @lamh47:  A person I follow on Mastodon went to the Las Vegas rally.  When I chatted with him after he’d gotten in but two hours before the show was to start, he was not having the best time.  The food vendors inside the arena were closed except for a couple that were selling only soda and candy bars.  Pizza was handed out to people in the line to get in but he had turned it down.  He thought he’d be able to get a hot dog inside.  He figured the usual arena vendors not being open was a matter of the rally being organized on short notice.  Could be.

  163. 163.

    Victor Matheson

    I would like to point out that I actually made a traditional tater tot hotdish earlier this week in honor of Governor Walz being named the VP candidate. And anyone on here sticking their nose up at the use of canned cream of mushroom soup as a base of a hotdish should know that the use of canned cream of mushroom soup is required by Minnesota statute. Any recipe without this cannot be called an actual hotdish and instead must be referred to as a sparkling casserole.

  166. 166.

    PatD

    @JoyceH: Usually these places will have Raita available for biryanis. It’s a yogurt based sauce. Also easily made at home – add tomato and onion with some salt and you’ve got the basics.

  167. 167.

    Citizen Alan

    @NotMax: My father would have described that as “foreign food” and refused to eat it. He considered Pizza Hut foreign food.

  169. 169.

    Kayla Rudbek

    I’m not at home right now, or I would put up my broccoli hot dish recipe. Although it violates the hot dish rules by not having any protein other than cheese in it.

  172. 172.

    TBone

    When I was taught bechamel making in high school Home Econ class, the recipe called for a smallish onion studded with whole cloves to be floated in the sauce while cooking, and removed upon finish.  It is delicious!

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