St. Peter, Minn. — Hot dishes are as varied as the Minnesotans who love them, but there are two constants when people talk about food that’s called casserole pretty much everywhere else.

First off, you have to make fun of hot dish. Secondly, you have to concede that there’s at least one variety that you absolutely love.

Bea Martinson — one of four contestants in the Nicollet County Hotdish Challenge held on a recent Sunday in St. Peter — provides an example of the first rule in explaining the essence of what separates hot dish from standard cuisine.

“Rather than waiting for it to be combined in your stomach, you just give it to them that way,” said Martinson of St. Peter.

Martinson, who’s been cooking for 60 years, entered an old hot dish recipe that she got years ago living in Maryland. It was designed for lobster and crab, but Martinson uses fake versions of that seafood and has made other alterations. With the changes and the good reviews she’s received from family and others who have eaten it, she figures she can call it her own.

“It finally gets to be my invention because it got changed a bit,” she said.

Another contestant, Marie Dranttel of St. Peter, entered a spaghetti pie she thinks epitomizes the beauty of a hot dish.

“It’s tasty, it’s easy, it warms up well, it’s wonderful leftovers,” Dranttel said. “Everybody loves it.”

Dranttel was even talking a little bit of hot dish trash before the judging began.

“I’ve got the winning one,” she said. “... I’ve got the best hot dish on the planet.”

The four entries in the contest, sponsored by the Nicollet County Historical Society, all seemed to have the essential elements of hot dish. There was meat or fish (or a vegetable protein such as beans), a big wad of something starchy (noodles, potatoes or rice) and a binding agent (think canned soup or a homemade variation thereof).

As a trio of judges sampled the four competing dishes, author Ann Burckhardt signed copies of “Hot Dish Heaven: Classic Casseroles from Midwest Kitchens.” Burckhardt, who also gave a speech about writing the book, is a former St. Peter resident and one-time Taste Section editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

About 50 people were on hand for the contest and the speech, and the opportunity to talk about hot dish.

“I love to make hot dishes,” said Becky Braun of St. Peter, who has a wild rice version, using Cream of Chicken soup, that’s a big hit. “They’re easy. And the leftovers!”

Leftovers are an attractive feature in a busy world, allowing two or three days of food to be prepared in one shot. So reheatability is key, according to Braun.

So is portability, because hot dishes can be an excellent contribution to a pot-luck, family holiday get-together or post-funeral lunch.

And then there’s that magical characteristic of hot dish, how it keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger as it’s constructed (making for even more leftovers), said Jo Willette of Delavan, who reportedly makes an excellent broccoli, chicken, rice and cheese hot dish.

“It’s hard to make a small hot dish when you get everything in it,” Willette said.

When the judges’ ballots were mixed, stirred and tabulated, Martinson’s seafood hot dish came out the winner. And Martinson pulled off the victory without even resorting to that special trick she was considering — providing a dab of red Jell-O next to her hot dish on each plate so that the judges would get the traditional melted Jell-O/hot dish mix.

All joking aside, the hot dish champ provided the real key to truly excellent hot dish.

“I think it’s love and tender care,” she said.



Mark Fischenich writes for Mankato (Minn.) Free Press.