Hot Dish Heaven: Classic Casseroles from Midwest Kitchens

by Ann L. Burckhardt

What do you get when you mix Tater Tots, ground beef, and cream of mushroom soup? Tater Tot Hot Dish, of course! Retired Minneapolis Star Tribune Taste section editor—the delightful auntie every discerning foodie wants to call their own—Ann Burckhardt brings back the comfy casseroles of the fifties and sixties with modern updates for busy families, swingin’ singles, and twenty-first-century potluckers in Hot Dish Heaven.   A veritable geography of the best-of-the-best hot dishes, this handy cookbook features seventy kitchen-tested recipes collected from casserole connoisseurs across the Midwest. Emphasizing the use of fresh, nutritious ingredients without losing sight of the importance of a good can of soup in the right bake-and-share meal, Burckhardt balances delicious down-home selections like Texas Hash, Football Stew, and Reuben Bake with such wholesome one-dish wonders as Whole Grain Pilaf and Tian of Rice and Zucchini.   You too can dine like the stars with such dazzling feasts as Phoebe’s Peach Noodle Kugle from the childhood kitchen of comedian Al Franken and the Cedric Adams Hot Dish, named after the late Broadcasting Hall of Famer once known as the “voice of the Upper Midwest.” Burckhardt gives us the history of each dish, the classic variations, and ideas for cooking and sharing in today’s busy world.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2006

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in the Midwest for half of my life (I still consider it home) these recipes are easy, stick to your ribs cooking. They are by no sense of the word gourmet and where I live now in the West Coast most would probably be consider unmoral, unethical, environmentally harmful, and fattening. If you know that a "hot dish" is a casserole, better yet if you know what "bringing a dish to pass" party is--- you will have a healthy appreciation for this book. Otherwise look for your tofu and bean sprout casserole recipes else where.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing. The recipes are okay, but it's the anecdotes that make this book hilarious (usually unintentionally). There is even a reference to Al Franken!

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful collection with fun and interesting annotations along with the recipes. Yes, canned soup is prevalent. Heads up: No photos.

PS: We’re having her moussaka tonight!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I encountered this book in the process of doing research on Midwestern community cookbooks, filled with recipes for jello salads and chow mein hotdish that, frankly, made me queasy. This is different.
The author, Ann L. Burckhardt, clearly knows a lot and inspires trust. The introduction, by Karal Ann Marling, is brilliant. The book is full of interesting facts and reminiscences, mostly Minnesota-based. Feeling I was in the hands of an expert, I overcame my fear of (and ignorant disdain for) cream-of-something soup-based casseroles and made Tater Tot Hot Dish for the first time. It was excellent. The Salmon Supreme (w/ rice, cream-of-mushroom soup, canned salmon, diced asparagus) was good too, though I probably won't make it again. There are a number of other recipes I'd like to try. The next on my list is the Mexico City Tamale Casserole.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic recipes you wish your grandma gave you (assuming they are gone like all mine are). Easy to read fashion, interesting stories. No pictures. Usually I rule out cookbooks based on this fact alone, but my curiosity got the best of me.

Last night, made Shipwreck Casserole and it was fabulous. It took 7 minutes to prepare, 90 minutes to bake, and whalah! Healthy and it pleased all members of the family. Plus, we have leftovers for dinner tonight. Other names for this casserole include Busy Day casserole and Seven-Layer Casserole. There is no confirmed source for the name Shipwrecked.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here in Minnesota, what other people might call a casserole, we call a "hot dish," and it tends to be some rather interesting cuisine. Here, the authors share some of the history of the hot dish and other local everyday one dish meals and share some recipes gleaned from vintage church and institutional cookbooks. Unlike some other collections of vintage recipes, these are actually edible, if not always pretty. Some of them are actually really good! Read more on my BookLikes blog, Reading Rainstorm .

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After visiting the MN150 exhibit at the MN History Museum, I was inspired to get a couple recent MN cookbooks from the library. This was great--there are even a couple of recipes I'd cook for my family, who are not big on mixing things up. Burckhardt has some nice memories interspersed that remind me of stories from my granny.

[Simone · Rating 2 out of 5]

My pop culture professor recommended this to me, and I had a devil of a time tracking down a copy. I was expecting it to be a cultural history of casseroles, etc. There was a small introduction that did that a little. But it's mainly recipes with crazy introductions. And crazy ingredient lists.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORABLE. I bought this when I was living in Ohio and was homesick for Minnesota. Authentic recipes and I loved the little history blurbs above each hotdish. My Wisconsinite husband loved this one too.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my fav type of cooking. I love lot of other types of food, but I always make at least one or two casseroles a week.

[Joy]

I'm always on the look-out for a good cookbook.

[Chris Rocca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to own this!!! Got it to find the "Hotdog Casserole" from Detroit from the book at Moe's book club! Found it!!! And tons of others I grew up with! GREAT!

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

inspired to look for corningware and pyrex dishes!

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

classic comfort foods, easy to read, normal ingredients. a nice addition to the bookshelf.

[Julie Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cookbooks, and besides just collecting them for the recipes, I like reading them and often read them from cover to cover. This one is a good one for that because there are often little anecdotes with the recipes.
I'd heard of hot dishes before but never really considered them until I started reading the Hannah Swenson books by Joanne Fluke. Then I realized that "hot dish" is a primarily Midwestern name for what the rest of us simply call casseroles. There are a lot of simple recipes here, which I love. Although I love cooking, I rarely do anything too complex. Every once in a while, I get adventurous, but I can't think of any specific recipes in this book that I know I would never prepare because of the complexity. They're all fairly simple, and the little stories with a lot of the recipes made for some interesting reading.