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?

Worstenbroodjes

It is funny that I am the Dutch baker’s daughter and, yet, I rarely post any Dutch recipes. My family moved to the USA from Holland two years before I was born. Subsequently, I grew up with them speaking Dutch to me….and I would answer them in English. With food, since both of my parents spent so much time working in the bakery, I would fend for myself. They did prepare many a Dutch specialty for holidays and on the occasional weekend, but, unfortunately, they both passed away when I was too young to have had any interest in making this food for myself. I sure do remember some of those Dutch specialties, though! So, with my older sister’s taste testing help, I set about trying to replicate some of my favorites (and hers!).

The worstenbroodje is, basically, sweet bun dough wrapped around meat that is shaped into a sausage. This was something my father made for all special occasions. I’ve seen these made with frozen bread dough, but it’s not the same taste I remember. My sister has given my creation the “thumbs up”, so I know I’m not too far off.

Worstebroodjes
Printable Recipe

Meat

• ½ pound ground chuck
• ½ pound ground pork
• ½ pound ground veal*
• ½ cup crushed Holland Rusk or unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

*May use 2 parts ground chuck, 1 part ground pork.

Dough

• 1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, room temperature, beaten
• 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
• 3-3 ½ cups flour

Combine the ground chuck, pork and veal in a large bowl. Add Holland Rusk, nutmeg, salt, pepper and 1 beaten egg. Mix gently by hand until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

(Holland Rusk is a crispy, round toast that is a Dutch staple. Buying some of this brought back even more memories....we used to eat it with milk and sugar instead of cereal. I assume this is kind of like what my husband means when he talks about "milk toast".)

But, I digress....

In large mixing bowl, combine warm milk, sugar, oil and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until yeast starts to foam. Add salt, beaten egg and 3 cups of flour. Using dough hook, knead dough on medium high speed for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding additional flour if needed. Turn dough into a greased bowl, cover with a warm damp towel and set in a warm draft free space for 45-60 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size. Punch down dough and divide into 18 pieces. Keep covered and set aside.

Meanwhile, remove meat from refrigerator and divide into 18 pieces. Roll each piece into a sausage shape, about 4” long. Set aside.

Line three cookie sheets parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

For each worstenbroodje, roll out a piece of the dough into a rectangle, about 5”X3”. Place one piece of meat in center of dough. Fold ends of dough over the meat and wrap, pinching the seam closed. Place worstenbroodjes, seam side down, on cookie sheets. Brush each one lightly with beaten egg, if desired. Let the worstenbroodjes rise in a warm area for about 20 minutes, while oven is pre-heating to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Leftover worstenbroodjes can be eaten cold, or reheated. If you dip them in ketchup, please don’t tell me about it. If you find it necessary to jazz up the meat by adding garlic, onions or other spices, be my guest. Just don’t tell me about it. Feel free to use a little mustard-- that you can tell me about.

The dough gets nice and crispy on the bottom...that's the best part!