Joining Minnesota's Melting Pot... er... Dish
Being a first-generation Minnesotan, carried to the shores of this blessed land behind the wheel of a Ryder truck on New Year's Eve 1992, I have slowly but steadily strived to adapt to the ways of my adopted homeland. It's been a long process, but not without rewards.
My relatives from elsewhere sometimes observe that I have successfully adopted Minnesota's curious accent (not to the extent portrayed in the movie Fargo, but then almost no one in this part of the state talks like that). I have vacationed "up at the lake," on a couple of occasions. I have dutifully mocked people from Wisconsin and Iowa. I have cheered on the Vikings and Twins, only to have them break my heart by falling short of their respective championships.
I still haven't made an ice-fishing excursion, or quite yet celebrated Minnesota's two most important unofficial state holidays: The fishing and deer-hunting season openers. But those are definitely on my to-do list.
But culinarily, I'm afraid I have been estranged from my fellow Minnesotans. Oh, I enjoy the state fish - walleye - well enough. I even enjoy pickeled herring (which my Scandinavian descended wife can't stand). But one hurdle always eluded me - Minnesota's unofficial state cuisine: hot dish.
To those unaccustomed to Minnesota, "hot dish" is the Minnesota terminology for "casserole," but it implies oh-so-much more. Hot dish takes on a semi-ritualistic role in Minnesota culture. It's the glue that holds together the church social, block party, and family reunion. Hot dish comes in all manner of shapes, sizes, and ingredients - but with the firm understanding that it is food meant for the whole family. No fancy-pants haute cuisine allowed.
Today I have passed this great hurdle to bond more closely with my fellow Minnesotans. Finding the largest zuchinni I have ever seen in my life in my own garden, I needed some way to use it to make a meal. Plenty of fresh tomatoes were around as well. The result? Cheesy Sausage ZucchiniCasserole Hot Dish!
Iforged prepared the hot dish in my own kitchen. Even as we speak it is baking in the oven.
Just another proud moment in the life of a humble immigrant, happy to have become a Minnesotan. Uf-da!
My relatives from elsewhere sometimes observe that I have successfully adopted Minnesota's curious accent (not to the extent portrayed in the movie Fargo, but then almost no one in this part of the state talks like that). I have vacationed "up at the lake," on a couple of occasions. I have dutifully mocked people from Wisconsin and Iowa. I have cheered on the Vikings and Twins, only to have them break my heart by falling short of their respective championships.
I still haven't made an ice-fishing excursion, or quite yet celebrated Minnesota's two most important unofficial state holidays: The fishing and deer-hunting season openers. But those are definitely on my to-do list.
But culinarily, I'm afraid I have been estranged from my fellow Minnesotans. Oh, I enjoy the state fish - walleye - well enough. I even enjoy pickeled herring (which my Scandinavian descended wife can't stand). But one hurdle always eluded me - Minnesota's unofficial state cuisine: hot dish.
To those unaccustomed to Minnesota, "hot dish" is the Minnesota terminology for "casserole," but it implies oh-so-much more. Hot dish takes on a semi-ritualistic role in Minnesota culture. It's the glue that holds together the church social, block party, and family reunion. Hot dish comes in all manner of shapes, sizes, and ingredients - but with the firm understanding that it is food meant for the whole family. No fancy-pants haute cuisine allowed.
Today I have passed this great hurdle to bond more closely with my fellow Minnesotans. Finding the largest zuchinni I have ever seen in my life in my own garden, I needed some way to use it to make a meal. Plenty of fresh tomatoes were around as well. The result? Cheesy Sausage Zucchini
I
Just another proud moment in the life of a humble immigrant, happy to have become a Minnesotan. Uf-da!
Posted by Doug on
Wednesday August 24, 2005 at 7:23pm
Real conversation overheard between two of my relatives:
Q: Did you bring the salad?
A: No, I ran out of Jello.
By the way "How to Speak Minnesotan" (an MPR book / audio production) has an excellent send-up of Minnesota "cuisine."
I have eaten lefse, but no Lutefisk. Wait until you go home and mention that you forgot to "bring something with" Mine all asked "with what?"