Can anything be more Minnesotan than Hotdish? I don't think so. Traditionally, hotdish is a savory mix of creamed soup and hamburger, often topped with tots. Or macaroni and hamburger and cheese. Much cheese. Or tuna and noodles topped with crispy onions and mixed with....creamed soup. But let me propose another kind of hotdish, this one sweet rather than savory. What kind of sweet served in a casserole could possibly pass for hotdish? A souffle? Mais, non...too highbrow. And a banana pudding seems much too Southern. But a crumble...yes a crumble...perfect for a sweet hotdish...

Pick a tart apple to compliment the sweetness of the caramel.

Caramel Apple Hotdish

If you had to imagine that iconic Minnesota casserole, the Hotdish, transformed into dessert...this would be it!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3-4 medium sized tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup good quality caramel topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., spray 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside 1 1/4 cups of the crumb mixture. Press the rest of the mixture onto the bottom of the casserole dish.
3. Spread the apple slices evenly over the top of the crumb mixture. Drizzle the caramel topping over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the caramel. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm.

Warm, buttery, with a hint of cinnamon......

KEMPS® FAMILY TRADITIONS Ice Cream Flavor Contest

One of the perks of this blogging hobby of mine, is that I am sometimes invited to some awesome events. Recently, I was invited to participate in the launch of KEMPS® Family Traditions Ice Cream Flavor Contest. It was held at the KEMPS®plant in Rochester and I was really happy to accept the invitation. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control kept me at home on the big day. I missed an opportunity to meet Theresa Mauer (Joe's mom!), a few other bloggers, and KEMPS® own ice cream guru, Logan Julstom. Most importantly, I missed the excitement of the launch of this fun contest. Don't worry, though--I'm going to share the info with you. 

We all have family traditions, right? What is yours? And most importantly, how can you make it into ice cream? If you have a delicious family tradition, simply mix it up into an ice cream idea and you could win $2500! How fun is that?

If you happen to live in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota or South Dakota, then this contest is for you. But you have to hurry--there's only 5 days left!!

Simply click on this link: KEMPS® Family Traditions Ice Cream Flavor Contest and enter your idea!

 KEMPS® was good enough to send me a goodie bag since I was unable to attend the event. While I missed tasting last year's winner (omg...it had MINI-DONUTS in it!), they did send me a carton of the 2011 winning flavor, Land of 10,000 Licks--Sweet Cream Vanilla Ice Cream with thick ribbons of Salted Caramel and Salted Caramel Toffee Bits. 

Holy Salted Caramel--this was awesome!

Just a few things I think you should know about  KEMPS®:

 ~Kemps works with 17,000 farm families and 100% of the profits go to them.

~ Kemps products are sold in Minnesota, parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas and frozen yogurt is sold throughout the Southeast.

~ Kemps produces 70 million gallons of milk at three milk manufacturing facilities across Minnesota

~Joe Mauer and his mom Theresa have been spokespeople for Kemps since 2010.

~At last year's Minnesota State Fair over 20,000 ice cream samples were passed out.

~ Cows have a very keen sense of smell--they can smell something 6 miles away!

I know that I want to be at the Minnesota State Fair to try samples of the finalist flavors. The winner will be announced on August 28!

What family tradition can you mix up into a great ice cream flavor?

Rhubarb Crumb Cake

It is the winter that never ends. Seriously, we have snow in the forecast for the next three days. In May. When the rhubarb should be popping up all over the place. Luckily, I spotted some in the grocery store last weekend and nabbed a few stalks.

Nothing says Spring in the Midwest quite like rhubarb. It's prolific. So when I found it, it was as if I was bringing a little bit of Spring home with me. Sigh. Well, if I can't have a real Spring, at least I can have some really good coffeecake.

I've been wanting to make a crumb cake for awhile. You know the ones--Entenmann's makes one with the really big crumbs on top. Those crumbs are just so yummy. It's a New York thing, apparently. Lucky for me, The New York Times had a recipe for a Rhubarb "Big Crumb" Coffeecake. Perfect. I borrowed the "Big Crumb" part and played around with the rest of the recipe. You will not be disappointed.

Rhubarb Crumb Cake 

Printable Recipe

Rhubarb Filling:

2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Crumbs:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup cake flour

Cake:

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F; butter and flour a 9" X 13" pan.

In a small bowl, combine the rhubarb with the sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Fold in the cake flour. Mixture will be thick. Set aside. 

The crumb "batter" looks like cookie dough. I added a pinch of cardamom to make it just that much more Minnesotan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Cream together the brown sugar and butter. Beat in the sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sour cream mixture, stirring until just blended. 

Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Evenly top the batter with the rhubarb pieces. Break the crumb topping into pea-sized pieces and sprinkle over the top of the rhubarb. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

I actually ran out of cake flour and used all-purpose flour for the cake. While it turned out fine, I think the cake flour would give it a more tender crumb.

Just so you don't think my husband and I ate the whole thing, I brought most of it to work (where I could munch on it throughout the day).

Wow...was this a success! I can't wait to try this with blueberries. Or peaches. Or apples.....

What kind of Crumb Cake would you make?

Tater Tot Hotdish....You Betcha!

How is it that after 22 years in Minnesota, I have never made Tater Tot Hotdish? A serious travesty, to be sure! Truth be told, I had never even eaten Tater Tot Hotdish, but don't tell anyone or I might be sent packing back to Wisconsin. It dawned on me that perhaps I should give this dish, ubiquitous in Minnesota, some consideration. Not sure what "hotdish" is? Check out the definition. There is Minnesota written all over it. :) 

I'm not overly fond of canned soup...so I made my own Cream of Mushroom.

Apparently, there are as many different ways of making a Tater Tot Hotdish as there are Minnesotans that make it. With cheese, without cheese, with vegetables, without vegetables, ground beef, ground turkey, or ground soy---it's all acceptable. One thing is certain, though--an authentic Tater Tot Hotdish has got to have cream of something soup and Tater Tots.

I began my Tater Tot Hotdish quest by looking it up on the Internet. At the top of the heap was a recipe from our own Senator Amy Klobuchar. It turns out that in 2010, Senator Al Franken invited members of Minnesota's congressional delegation to a hotdish competition. Amy Klobuchar's Taconite Tater Tot Hot Dish won the honors. I drew some of the inspiration for my recipe from her creation. You've gotta love something with Taconite in the title, no?

Amy Klobuchar's version had Pepper Jack Cheese, so I upped the ante by using not only the cheese, but also by using a little cayenne pepper in the soup. 

Last weekend, we experienced some cool weather for the first time in many weeks. It was a perfect time for experimenting with my very own Tater Tot Hotdish. After some initial concern (the dish seemed to weigh 20 pounds when it went into the oven), we managed to finish and appreciate my efforts. The husband even gave it the thumbs up. 

Tater Tot Hotdish

Printable Recipe

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 oz frozen French green beans, or enough to cover the bottom of a casserole dish

1 lb. ground chuck, cooked, crumbled, and drained

1 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

1/2 ( 2 lb.) bag Tater Tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.; spray the bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and saute until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and continue to cook for a minute or two (mixture will be very stiff). Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Add the cayenne pepper and the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the soup is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.*

Spread the green beans evenly over the bottom of the casserole dish. Top the beans with the cooked ground chuck. Evenly pour the soup over the ground chuck, then sprinkle the cheese over the soup. Top the entire mixture with the Tater Tots. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and the tots are crisp.

*While it is my opinion that the homemade variety of the Cream of Mushroom Soup is a thousand times better than the canned version, you are free to sub a can of the cream soup of your choice. Simply mix in 1/2 cup of milk before you pour it over the ground beef.

So, there it is. My first Tater Tot Hotdish. Not bad, not bad at all. This is going to happen again, when the weather turns blustery. What comfort food do you make when it gets cold?

Minnesota Blue Cheese

I'm Dutch and I'm from Wisconsin. This pretty much guarantees that cheese is part of my DNA. To say that I love cheese is an understatement. I will admit, however, that I am fairly unsophisticated when it comes to cheese. So, when my friend, Jennifer, brought a wedge of blue cheese to me, I was a little confused. It turns out that Jen works with Joe Sherman, who happens to be an artisan cheesemaker with Northern Lights Artisan Cheese....

......and he gave Jen a sample of his famous Blue Cheese to pass on to me. Well, I was flattered, to say the least. I haven't had much of a chance to review many true Minnesotan foods, so I really wanted to do a good job. Frankly, I was nervous. Would my unsophisticated palate be able to distinguish a good blue cheese from the grocery store variety? Or would it be like beer to me, where it all tastes the same? I needn't have worried--this cheese is amazing!

Northern Lights was founded in 2005, but Joe has been making cheese since he was 19 years old in the early 80's. Although, the company makes other varieties of cheese, it's the Blue Cheese that is Joe's crown jewel. Produced in small batches and aged 4 months, it really is the cream of the crop!

Originally, I had planned on incorportating the cheese into a recipe, Blue Cheese crackers, perhaps? But, it really seemed a shame not to just enjoy it in it's pure form....and it is tasty. Blue Cheese can be a little overwhelming, but this was smooth and buttery.

Of course if you want to incorporate it into other things, how about a nice Blue Cheese Butter? Melted on a beautiful steak, burger, or even melted on vegetables or pasta, Blue Cheese Butter is ever so versatile.

Just combine 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, with 2 tablespoons of Blue Cheese crumbles, roll it into a log and refrigerate until ready to use.

I guess I could have rolled it a little more evenly. :)

Mmmm...melty, buttery Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions....

Jen had a chance to sample several of Joe's cheeses.

Is that Minnesota Hot Colby I see? Yes, please!

Disclaimer: I received a sample of cheese to review. As always, all opinions are my own and I received no monetary compensation.

Apple Crack (aka Swedish Apple Pie)

Apple Crack...it's really quite addicting.

Yesterday was the perfect day for apple picking. It was sunny, the leaves are at near peak in color, and the apple selection is fantastic. In case you didn't know, Minnesota is the birthplace of some of my favorite apples-- Haralson, Honeycrisp, Zestar, Honeygold, and the latest apple sensation, SweeTango, were all developed by the University of Minnesota's Horticultural Research Center. And, although the numbers are dwindling, there are several "pick-your-own" apple orchards in and around the Twin Cities. We chose an orchard that was pretty close to home--Deardorff Orchards & Vineyards.

We had two choices: to the left was the vineyard with some wine sampling going on, and to the right we had the apples. Hubby took my arm and steered me to the right.

A short, but scenic ride behind the tractor brought us to the apples.

There were plenty of apples to be had...we went a bit overboard.

Of course we do what we always do when we first bring our apples home...we gorged ourselves on some fresh ones. Then, when we had our fill, my thoughts went to what I could bake. Hmmm. It didn't take me long to come up with this one. A co-worker brought a variation of this to work last week and it was way more popular than my chocolate cupcakes. Apple Crack. You can't stop at one bite.

Apple Crack

Printable Recipe

6-8 medium baking apples (I used Honeycrisp)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup butter, softened

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 ° F.; butter a 9” ceramic, deep-dish pie plate.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and place them in the buttered pie plate. Mix one tablespoon of sugar with one teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the apples; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and mix well with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be like cookie dough. Spread the batter evenly over the top of the apples. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the apples are bubbling.

 I used my food processor to easily slice the apples thin.

Mix the vanilla in with the egg before you add it to the flour, then stir it all up.

Just use the back of the spoon to smooth the batter over the apples.

Be very careful. Once the spoon goes in, it's very hard to stop scooping it into your mouth.