From me:
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Eeek .. a toughie, but to me honestly, 'casserole' = fancy (as in my parent's gourmet food club (aka martini madness night) was called The Casserole Club) and hot dish (2 words) = all things tator-totty and mock-y (as in my Great Lehrer Aunts Mock Chow Mein Hot Dish). To this day, I never, ever say I'm making a casserole. Ever.
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From gal pal Molly (no edits to 'hotdish' vs. 'hot dish' vs. Hot Dish)
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The 1981 Bethlehem United Church of Christ Centennial
Cookbook, Maple Lake MN has equal numbers of recipes for hotdish vs. casserole.
No authentic distinction between cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. No
cream of corn anywhere and I've never had one with it as the binder. Creamed
corn was a specific dish. Mostly
they used them when there were two people with nearly identical recipes for the
same thing. Violet Fiedler's recipe used cream of celery soup ( :-p) for rice
casserole and Arlene Strauleu's had cream of chicken hot dish. Man did that
cookbook cause fights. My grandmother was the secretary of the women's auxiliary,
and the cookbook was her last public effort. I don't think she lived to see it
published. But for more than a
year they all argued about who got credit which recipes. Feelings were hurt
lifelong friendships went silent.
The 1950 Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book has neither hot
dish nor casserole. Everything has more exotic names like Turkey Divan....
My mother always used a more exotic name for them. Spanish
steak had tomato soup; Bridget's Best had cream of chicken and cream of
mushroom soup with croutons. Whoever Bridget was, she was quite the rebel. Evan's mom uses the term hot dish
exclusively.
The 1958 Spring Garden Lutheran Church (Plymouth? MN) has
more hotdish than casserole, but also has exotic sounding items that end in
supreme...
[Which is funny because there is a Colombian hot dish called
Imperial Rice that is much like the Rice Supreme. The binder of both is mayonnaise
not soup.]
The 1964 Betty Crocker’s New Dinner for Two cookbook has
nine casseroles, no hotdishes and several bakes along with several of the
exotic favorites from the 1950 cookbook.
I think Betty might be pretentious.
I can't find my 1997 Oakridge National Bank Cookbook from
Buffalo MN. It's around. The major addition to the hot dish and casserole scene
is that they included spaghetti sauce as a hot dish and casserole binder. I've made the Pizza Hotdish from it
once for a party.
Maybe these tidbits will make their way into the sequel.
Because this was way too much detail for the question asked.
I think in the last decade there has been a unifying force
that calls these MN classics hot dishes. Maybe it was just Andrew Zimmern or
maybe it is a show of solidarity that we have relinquished the casserole vs.
hotdish nomenclature battle for the greater good, pride in our regional
cuisine.
PS: I wish I had a blog, I'd post this as Evolutions of
Hotdish in Exile and then include my recipe that includes red and sweet
peppers. Or maybe that's the title of my autobiography.
*****
Feel free to share your hot dish v. hotdish v. casserole stories below. It's all good, and we're all hot.
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