# Vice-Presidential culinary question: What is "hotdish" in Minnesota? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398 "2024-08-08T00:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/81 "2024-08-08T20:04:41Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > He doesn’t like anything that has ingredients mixed up. So he doesn’t eat cookies, he just eats flour, sugar, butter, etc. separately? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/82 "2024-08-08T20:06:01Z")
My husband claims to not like casseroles. Of course, he eats them happily all the time, I just don’t use that word. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/83 "2024-08-08T20:06:57Z")
one of the nifty things you could get on the klobuchar for president website way back when, was a hot dish tea towel with her signature recipe on it. i do hope they will have a tea towel with gov. walz’s recipe. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/84 "2024-08-08T20:07:17Z")
"Hotdish’ seems to be a regional term used mainly or maybe exclusively in the Upper Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/85 "2024-08-08T20:33:29Z")
I could have mentioned visibly distinguishable ingredients so butter, flour, beef, dairy and mashed potatoes; that’s about it. He and I are completely different as I’ll eat seconds of anything given the opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/86 "2024-08-08T20:50:03Z")
Aside from the beef, everything is as white as most Minnesotans. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/87 "2024-08-08T20:54:01Z")
Variety is good! We have Somali, Mhung, Russia groceries but I don’t press him on it after 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/88 "2024-08-09T05:38:55Z")
Two quick comments If you ever find yourself at the St Julien Hotel and spa (and their restaurant, Jill’s) in Boulder, Colorado get their scratch made tater tots. Cubes of extra crunchy potato outside, and light fluffy potato inside. Best thing on the menu, and everything else is pretty good. The brat hotdish recipe; what am I missing? A pot of water, add beer and onion, boil the brats for 10 minutes, and then discard the cooking liquid with the onion and beer? Is that right? Seems like a waste, and can it possibly add flavor to the brats in 10 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/89 "2024-08-09T06:07:48Z")
> [@Eric1](#): > > My brother-in-law from Minnesota has eaten bad hot dishes as a boy. He doesn’t like anything that has ingredients mixed up. Yet he’s a church pastor who necessarily attends potlucks so swallows everything all the time. He jokes that he feels like a Trump employee sometimes in a nauseating way. I assume he just sticks to the lutefisk, then. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/90 "2024-08-09T06:15:41Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Taco Time has (had?) locations in western Canada, too. I ate a boatload of Mexi-fries growing up in Saskatchewan. Has. There’s one on the corner three blocks away. Seems pretty popular; there are always at least a few cars in the lineup for the drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/91 "2024-08-09T15:08:36Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > (Hijack) to say nothing of the Duck, Duck, Goose vs Duck, Duck, Grey Duck controversy(/hijack) (Inner thought) How do I explain to my wife why I texted my wife a link to a local place where we can buy a fresh geoduck? (/ thought) Tater tots with shredded parmesan inside are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/92 "2024-08-10T04:38:15Z")
I’ve never been particularly fond of tater tots (potato oles don’t count, they are in their own class, and are great), but weirdly Dominos Pizza does amazing “loaded tots”. (Edited out useless link) In a related thread, there was mention of Tim Walz eating chili with cinnamon rolls, and I wanted to chime in that that was a completely normal combination for me as well (grew up in South Dakota). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/93 "2024-08-10T06:50:39Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > In a related thread, there was mention of Tim Walz eating chili with cinnamon rolls, and I wanted to chime in that that was a completely normal combination for me as well (grew up in South Dakota). It’s apparently a thing in eastern Washington as well, which makes me glad we have a mountain range to keep them away from us here on the sane side of the state. (I’m also told that over there they’ll bake a hunk of American cheese into a white bread roll and give it to kids as a cafeteria lunch and call it a “cheese zombie”, which makes me wonder if all that runoff from Hanford has been getting into the water supply after all.) ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/94 "2024-08-13T00:31:37Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > there was mention of Tim Walz eating chili with cinnamon rolls, and I wanted to chime in that that was a completely normal combination for me as well (grew up in South Dakota). I’m southern Minnesota raised, moved to Kansas City, went to its most famous fried chicken place (Stroud’s, highly recommend) and was very confused when part of the family style sides was a plate of excellent cinnamon rolls. Which is to say, I never heard of chili and cinnamon rolls until right now. And I’ve eaten a lot of hotdish. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/95 "2024-08-13T02:53:32Z")
There was a somewhat recent thread on cinnamon rolls and chili: [https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinnamon-rolls-with-chili-is-this-a-nationwide-thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinnamon-rolls-with-chili-is-this-a-nationwide-thing) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/96 "2024-08-15T06:44:52Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > There are places in the world where the 'Hot dish VS Casserole" debate splits families like guns or abortion. I happen to live in that region. No love for slumgullion? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/97 "2024-08-15T15:15:02Z")
I bet it tastes just fine, but it looks disgusting. https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7402640641714375967 ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/98 "2024-08-15T19:13:07Z")
In my experience (the first 22 years of my life), that is an excellent description of almost every hotdish I ever ate. Nothing you’d go out of your way for, but you’d willingly eat it if offered. And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any kind of casserole dish that isn’t vaguely disgusting to look at, particularly on your plate. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/99 "2024-08-15T19:26:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Looks like his is beer-brat based. I’d eat that, sounds tasty. I might grind some pepper on it, but in hotdishes, that is allowable. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398/100 "2024-08-19T13:31:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I might grind some pepper on it, but in hotdishes, that is allowable. Not sure about the grinding part. It should be shaken from a McCormick can that’s been sitting on the stove for an indeterminate amount of time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vice-presidential-culinary-question-what-is-hotdish-in-minnesota/1005398.md?page=6)