Raising the bar on Hotdish

[phoebe]

Don't even ask why Hotdish came into my head in August (or ever ), but I have a question and a challenge for all you Mid-Westerners who were raised on the stuff.
First of all, here's a definition from Wikipedia for those of us not versed in Hotdish culture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotdish

Question: What's the absolute worst Hotdish you ever were subjected (or subjected other people) to?

Challenge: What might be a recipe to turn the humble Hotdish into Haute Cuisine?

[kuan]

The worst hotdish I've ever had didn't come from the Midwest. It came from Africa. It's called Bubuti, a concoction of ground lamb and rice held together with eggs and topped with grated coconut. Some midwesterner friends came home from Africa and decided that it was the ultimate addition to their hotdish repertoire. Needless to say, execution was flawed. The lamb wasn't browned and the fat was left in the dish. The coconut was that baking sweetened coconut stuff. Yuck!

[nowIamone]

Any potluck gathering where everyone brings lasagna........... and it's all made with cottage cheese. Evil......who started the myth that it can be used in place of ricotta? The spaghetti squash folks?

[MuskyHopeful]

I don't know about the worst, but I love Tator Tot Casserole. After it's done I add a little Heinz 57. One of my favorites "comfort foods".

Kevin

I like muskies, my wife doesn't like mushrooms.

[AprilB]

I don't know about any other part of the midwest be NObody I know would cook something so .... limp.

I suppose the worst casserole I've ever had was a variation of a hamburger hash soup my mom used to make.

It was a kind of a depressing (oops, I meant Depression) thing because of the lack of everything in small town Iowa during that time.

It had boiled potatos, boiled hamburger chunks, boiled onions, saltines, milk, salt, pepper, and butter.

Yup, THAT was IT.

This apparently came from the same time frame as my uncle eating lard and onion sandwiches on white bread. You ate what you had.

April

[phoebe]

Somehow I just knew that Kuan would be the first Midwesterner with a disgusting hotdish, even if it came from Africa. I have a theory that such foods just migrate to where they'd be most appreciated. After all, everything I know about lutefisk I owe to Kuan .
And I do believe my own Jewish mother made "lasagna" with cottage cheese . I wouldn't go near Italian food for years after that.
And boiled hamburger, that really sounds like a taste treat.
MuskeyHopeful, what's the binder for your hotdish? I think that's probably key.

I have to admit that the first time I ever heard of hotdish it was on some travel program on TV where, at a state fair, people were having hotdish on a stick!:
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/598303.html
Truly mindbending.

But, come on folks, where's the haute cuisine hotdish? I know you have it in you.

[bandregg]

Growing up in Kansas City we didn't call them hotdish, just casserole. My family's favorite was a combination of ground beef, american cheese, egg noodles, and a splash of teriyaki (I think). I always abhorred that meal and my father never did understand why. He'd say, "You like ground beef, you like cheese, and you like noodles, what's not to like about them all together?" It just tasted bad; that's what.

[phoebe]

Originally Posted by bandregg

"You like ground beef, you like cheese, and you like noodles, what's not to like about them all together?" It just tasted bad; that's what.

I love it! And he'd have a point if heat and close proximity weren't factors.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by kuan

The worst hotdish I've ever had didn't come from the Midwest. It came from Africa. It's called Bubuti, a concoction of ground lamb and rice held together with eggs and topped with grated coconut. Some midwesterner friends came home from Africa and decided that it was the ultimate addition to their hotdish repertoire. Needless to say, execution was flawed. The lamb wasn't browned and the fat was left in the dish. The coconut was that baking sweetened coconut stuff. Yuck!

This had me in stitches. I bet they didn't expect the coconut from the store to be sweetened. I know a lot of Africans have trouble finding equivalent products in the US as the US has everything sweetened, it seems, including bread.

Give boboti a try again some day, but make sure that they've not used American convenience products to make it.