New York Cheesecake – Yes or No?

New York Cheesecake. Yes or no?

Pasticceria Rocco’s
Bleecker Street NYC

Movie Clip from Guys and Dolls Watch Frank Sinatra eat a piece of cheesecake and invite Marlon Brando to have a piece- and place a bet?

Minnesota Hotdish

Hotdish? I learned a lot about Hotdish from fellow blogger Audrey of Minnesota Prairie Roots Blog. And yes, turns out we call it a casserole around here. This blog post is a collaborative effort as Audrey lives in Minnesota.  I wrote to her for enlightenment on Hotdish.

Audrey wrote when  I inquired about Hotdish 

Now, on to hotdish, which you likely know as “casseroles” in your area of the country. Same thing. Simply a mix of foods combined in one glass casserole dish or a 9 x 13 cake pan. Tater Tot Hotdish is Minnesota’s signature hotdish consisting of cooked hamburger mixed with a vegetable and a condensed creamed soup and then topped with tater tots and shredded cheddar cheese. I hope I got that right. I haven’t made it in years and actually seldom make hotdish, with the exception of Chicken Wild Rice Hotdish.
 
Hotdish has always been a staple of church potlucks and family reunions in Minnesota. Easy to make. Serves a lot. And everyone loves a good hotdish. My mom always made one with hamburger, noodles and tomato juice with cheese stirred in. It was a favorite growing up.

In 2006, the Minnesota Historical Society Press even published a book, “Hot Dish Heaven–Classic Casseroles from Midwest Kitchens” by Ann L. Burckhardt. And, yes, our DC legislators hold an annual hot dish competition. You can purchase cookbook online by clicking link. 

And guess what honor I received from Audrey?

The State of Minnesota does hereby grant honorary residency to Ruth Ella Hendricks upon successful completion of the unofficial state culinary dish, Tater Tot Hotdish. Congratulations! 

 

America’s Test Kitchen recipe for this Minnesota Hotdish was on the PBS channel the other night. Here is the link to the video from the episode. Although I don’t remember purchasing a single Tater Tot in my life, watching them put this Hotdish together made me think about making it. With just two of us in the house it seemed a good recipe to try on the larger family when I visited in Ohio. I used a 2 pound bag of Simple Truth Potato Puffs from their local Kroger grocery store. I saw the brand Tater Tots had cottonseed oil in them and I thought that can’t be a good thing. I doubled the amount of the meat to 3 pounds.  I omitted the mushrooms as several family members do not care for them but I read that if you needed to make if vegetarian you could use just mushrooms in the creamy bottom layer and no meat.

When I told my friend Joanne about the Hotdish she told me how growing up they didn’t have casseroles and she learned about them in high school cooking class. Her teenage son and his friends would devour her Tater Tot Green Bean Casserole when they lived in Omaha Nebraska. And after talking to her, I used the green beans instead of the frozen peas and corn in the original recipe.  

3 pounds of Angus ground round sautéed with chopped. sweet onion and four garlic cloves

My fellow blogger and friend Audrey of Minnesota Prairie Roots blog post says “Here’s a link to a story about small town Minnesota which includes a photo of a sandwich board advertising Tater Tot Hotdish”

Photograph of sandwich sign used with permission from Audrey

 

There is an event in Faribault Minnesota that sounds like a lot of fun

Audrey told me about the Flannel Formal 

At the Faribault Flannel Formal last Saturday, a Best Lumberjack Hotdish Contest was part of the annual event attended by about 500, all called upon to dress in flannel (like Paul Bunyan).

And a Snowplow naming contest too? “…as I’m watching the news last evening, I was reminded of another recent hotdish “thing” in Minnesota, the naming of a snowplow as “Blader Tot Hotdish.” Here’s a blog post I wrote about this Minnesota Department of Transportation contest and winners”

You can see why I asked Audrey to help me with my HOTDISH blogpost.  I could’t have done it without her. 

Red Hot Peppers

The kind of peppers where you might need gloves to handle them when you cut them and you never ever touch your eye!

Here’s an article how to use them without getting burned

These were given to me a few weeks ago.

I let them dry out. Pretty soon, with the change of weather, it’s going to be chili season. A big pot on the stove’s back burner on a chilly afternoon could be a little spicier this year. I have a jar of dried red Chile peppers I use to add some zip to dishes. Sometimes they can make your lips sing.

Freshly picked
Dried
This is what I have on the spice rack

Red hot pepper was what we used to call out when cranking a jump rope, speeding it up, seeing how many jumps you could do at a rapid pace.

Arugula Microgreens Grown by the Lettuce Ladies

Grown hydroponically by the Lettuce Ladies Ambridge PA.

I used arugula microgreens for the first time in the Spaghetti Arugula dish I learned how to make when I took a cooking class at La Cucina Flegrea taught by chef Anna Fevola. (Click to see links)

The micro greens are fragrant. Delicate but flavorful. Delicious! Have you tried microgreens?

Added some freshly grated Parmesan on top

I put the micro greens on top of the spaghetti arugula mixture at the end. Don’t cook the micro greens for this dish. Just toss the arugula throughout your portion!

Mushroom Risotto

The only risotto I’ve eaten was made in fine restaurants. Although I always loved eating it. I’d never made it myself.

I’ve been binge watching lots of cooking shows. One episode of Master Chef Junior had Joe Bastianich demonstrating how to make risotto. Then I found a video of his mother Lidia Bastianich at Harvard demonstrating the science behind the cooking of risotto at a public lecture on Science and Cooking. I watched them and felt confident but upon a second look I heard that you use 1/4 c of wine not the one cup I thought I heard. Good thing I watched again.

You need the Arborio rice to begin with so I bought the correct ingredients (except I did not have a hunk of Grana Padano cheese and used some Parmesan to finish it) cook with wine you would drink, no cooking wine.

The best 22 minutes I’ve spent in a long time, and standing at the stove stirring constantly wasn’t difficult. Can’t wait to make it again.

Spinach Pie Recipe – No Crust


This recipe is from a woman named Becky in 1980.  It has been a family favorite since then.  Somewhere I have the original recipe card.

 Spinach Pie

Butter a 9″ glass pie plate. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a large bowl mix together:

2  10 oz packages Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed, drained and squeeze out as much water as possible

4  Eggs

1  16 ounce container Cottage Cheese, (I like the small curd)

2  Cups of shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese ( I have added a bit of shredded Gruyere or fresh Parmesan on occasion)

Salt and Pepper to taste. The cheese is salty to me so I don’t add much salt.

Pour into the buttered pie plate.  Bake for 45 minutes or until knife in center comes out clean.

Let rest a bit before slicing so the wedge holds shape nicely.

 

 

Share Your Stained Pages

Stained Page News is the best name for a newsletter all about cookbooks. You can click the link to learn more about SPN but I subscribed when my friend Joanne told me about her daughter’s friend , Paula Forbes, writing all about cookbooks. She’s had a lot of experience critiquing cookbooks.

I love cookbooks. Reading them. Thinking about what you can cook or bake. Trying something new. I probably have too many of them. My sister sends me funny ones. Now we Google snd search online but it’s wonderful to have a cookbook in hand poring over the possibilities. Favorite recipes cooked often show signs of the cooking right on the page.

Hence Stained Page News.

I was baking from a favorite recipe today (spoiler alert cousin Chris) and saw this stained page. it’s that time of year -I thought it might be interesting to see other contributions of your stained page. Email me your favorite stained page and anything you want us to know about the recipe. Rutheh (at) gmail (dot)com and I’ll post a gallery.

I’m compiling family recipes as a Pandemic project snd hope to make a little book.

Swedish Limpa Bread recipe must have met up with some molasses. One of my favorite things to eat with extra sharp cheddar cheese.

In the meantime head over to Stained Page News .

This Ginger Snaps Recipe just in from Pam in Massachusetts. An excellent Stained Page. know they taste good too. Thanks Pam for the first contribution to the gallery. “
Pamela Hinckley: This was written out for me by my grandmother nearly 50 years ago”
“This is the kids’ favorite banana bread recipe. Everyone has asked for it after they left hone” from Linda in Massachusetts
hi Ruth, This is my Mom’s delicious creamy chocolate sauce that she always had in a double boiler on the stove when we showed up for a visit. It was generously poured over french vanilla ice cream. Joe and Ann still talk about it. Her unique handwriting was known by all. Love, Tookie

From Donna D,

Here are a couple of my stained pages.
1. This stained page is my recipe for making a gingerbread house. I’ve been making this recipe and pattern since the little girl in the photo was 4. I think I only missed one year. The recipe is faded and stained and I might need to re-type it. But I just sent a photocopy and the pattern pieces to my daughter, who is the little one in the photo. She is now 36 and it’s time for her to start making it with her own little ones.
2. Not sure if this qualified for a “stained page” but this is one of the first cookbooks (1973 ediiton) I bought in order to learn to cook. First lesson: don’t put your cookbook on the stove when following a recipe. Same goes for cutting

“Not sure if this qualified for a “stained page” but this is one of the first cookbooks (1973 edition) I bought in order to learn to cook.

First lesson: don’t put your cookbook on the stove when following a recipe.

Same goes for cutting board” from Joanne in Florida

Ann’s mother’s Chocolate Mousse Pie
Thanks Janet.

Two Longtime Friends Cook Modern Comfort Food Guest Blog

Watercolor by Joanne -Applesauce Cake with Bourbon Raisins baked by Colleen

Joanne writes from Florida:

So …. one day last month I was on the phone catching up with my friend Colleen who lives in Nova Scotia.  As we were talking about her new cookbook purchase, Ina Garten’sModern Comfort Food“, my doorbell rang and a package was delivered.  I opened it while talking and it was a copy of the same book!  What are the odds?  My dear friend Ruth had sent it as a surprise.  Colleen and I decided we would each pick some recipes to try out and share our results.  Here are the photos of our month-long project.  Fun and nice way to keep in touch.  Overall we both agree that Ina Garten’s recipes are easy to prepare and almost always turn out looking exactly like her descriptions and photos. 

We’re looking forward to trying out another cookbook author soon.”

Colleen cooked:
Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Spaghetti Squash with Arrabbiata Sauce
Seared Salmon with Spicy Red Pepper Aioli
Applesauce Cake with Bourbon Raisins

Applesauce Cake with Bourbon Raisins
Joanne cooked:
Brussels Sprouts Pizza Carbonara

Brussels Sprouts Pizza Carbonara
Fresh Zucchini with Lemon and Mint
Roasted Sausages, Peppers and Onions
Joanne has been featured with Tea Bag Art and recently the zucchini as cucumber confused produce sign

Apple Butter Season

Immersion blender smoothed it out. All those apples cooked down to four jars.