One trick is to use several good dashes of light soy sauce (leave out any table salt) to the cream soup mixture in the tater tot casserole. Adds some interesting umami. It adds the same effect with green bean casseroles...wife's idea.
From Chicago 65 yrs ago. Lived in the South, traveled west coast, east coast and Canada border. Midwest food is the National Comfort Food. The food of the farmers, created out of home grown food. Thank You Midwest Great Grannies for your creativity!
Seems like Midwest food is part farm food, part factory food (i.e., for factory workers) from Detroit and Chicago's golden age, when convenience food was high tech. Far from the seas, so not a lot of seafood, but very beef-centric.
I love going to see my best friend in Nebraska and eating all the delicious comfort food from there. Her Mom makes the best breakfast casserole 🥘 I am obsessed 😋
Yes can confirm that we Midwesterners love our comfort food. But don't forget about the south when it comes to comfort food too, like for example southern fried chicken.
Kudos to Alessio for keeping an open mind to trying new things. Too many Italians aren't exposed to different foods, are slaves to their ridiculous food rules, and are extremely closed minded.
Now a longtime TN resident but originally from the Midwest. My explanation for the strange ingredients is this is what people had available in winter when fresh ingredients were hard to come by. The combinations are unexpected but when there’s 5 ft of snow outside you might as well experiment with what you have on hand.
Here in central Illinois it’s called Tater Tot Casserole and Puppy Chow. I have seen various versions of Watergate Salad and have eaten many different ones. Never saw Watergate Salad this decorative. However it looks good and every Watergate Salad I’ve eaten was delicious. However they are not just for the holidays but church potlucks, family reunions, etc. lol we are proud you gave us a 10/10! Glad you enjoyed a small taste of Midwest comfort food!❤
@Illinoisgirl1992, Illinois born and raised here. I live in Moline, one of the Quad Cities. I'm in that little part that juts out to the west. Where the Mississippi runs east and west. ~ Julie
Minnesotan here. I LOVE that he liked everything! Honestly, we don't care whether you call it hot dish or casserole, so long as you bring a Cool Whip container of leftovers home with ya! I grew up with some variation of Watergate Salad at literally every church potluck. My mummy's version was "pink jello." Combine 8oz Cool Whip, a 20oz can crushed pineapple, (drained) and a 3oz box of Cherry Jello. (don't make it, use the powder) Serve chilled. I've made it with vegan jel, and it still brings me back to Easter Sundays with my lace socks and floral bonnets! It's junky, but still rather tasty and nostalgic!
What we called Martian Food when I was a kid I learned is Watergate Salad well into my adulthood. Pistachio pudding and cool whip - sounds awful, but people love it
the pink salad I grew up was called...pink fluff salad (I think) and it was a combo of crushed pineapple, cool whip, evaporated milk, cherry pie filling and a few other things! All these jello/cool whip salads taste pretty fine imo! they taste like home
At 14:16 it's PUPPY CHOW. I'm from the western section of the Mid-West, and we have no other name for it than Puppy Chow. The first time I tasted, it was made with Cheerio's in 1968 and definitely called puppy Chow then
It goes by several names. It's been around since Chex was first introduced. And versions with other cereals before that. Puppy chow is actually one of the more recent names.
The best Midwest food is in season right now. Fresh corn on the cob from a roadside stand or market that is boiled or grilled as soon as possible, slathered in butter and sprinkled with salt. You don't need any other seasoning.
salt and butter can be great but if you can get any dan o's seasoning there in Ohio or go over the border to Kentucky I highly recommend their seasonings and they have very little salt compared to their competitors and they only use real ingredients do you like lemon peel Orange Peel lime peel garlic salt pepper etc only real nothing imitation dano is a guy who lives in Louisville who has a really good quality seasoning that everybody should know about and use there's a bagel everything seasoning there's a regular seasoning there's a spicy seasoning I highly recommend people put that stuff on their meals especially vegetables and meat grill mates and other brands of seasoning this stuff is the best and good for you cuz it has very little sodium compared to the competitor brands of spices and seasonings.
Jessi, what did you do with Alessio? Does he have a twin brother we didn't know about? 😅 I mean this is surprising given that European cuisine is so different from American cuisine. I mean I reacted the same way to the dishes. Even though boiled meat (veal, beef) is common in Northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland and Eastern European countries like Hungary, the association of ingredients is weird.Same with the Watergate salad.. pineapple and pistachios? Huh?
Minnesota girl here! Watergate Salad (at least where I’m from) is also called “Pistachio Fluff.” (Could just be a family thing, though! 😅) I’m absolutely cracking up over it though, because I had legit JUST made some for a picnic at the beach a few days ago! You’re right, it’s definitely a bit watery on your end, I like to make it the day before, and let it kinda settle over night to get the perfect fluffiness! ❤
@BeezyBytNice! When I make it I do an extra few steps/tweaks to the recipe. I make homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream for it instead of pre-packaged/store-bought. I use specifically Jasmine Rice. The water I use for the Rice I add the Pineapple Juice to it. Finally, I use Double the amount of Pineapple in general.
My Minnesota heart loves seeing you guys do this video!! You guys should go to the Minnesota State Fair and try the foods and make a video!! It's coming up!!
It’s a casserole. Minnesotans (and some Wisconsinites?)(and prbly a few North/South Dakotans) might hate you calling it a tater tot casserole instead of hotdish, but everyone else in the Midwest calls it tater tot casserole.
Minnesotan here! (Haven't finished the video as typing this but I'm loving that Alessio enjoys the food!) "Muddy Buddies" is purely a Chex marketing thing when they capitalized on puppy chow, which is what it's actually called here! I love puppy chow!
@ReelWildOne What do you mean we "don't hold it against" them for using "casserole" instead of "hotdish"? That's an offense which justifies dropping worms down their pants or putting a dead fish in their car. The only worse crime is using the word "soda" instead of "pop".
Southern Minnesotan here! Hotdish is Minnesotan specifically. My family mixes tator tots with the rest of the ingredients, AND tops it with tator tots. I've never had it like a shepherd's pie before. Beef Commercials are also a Minnesotan thing! And growing up with and around Lutheran families, lots of Funeral Potatoes, various salads with mayo, and multitudes of "salads" made with Jello, whipped cream, and anything and everything sweet.
Wisconsinite here. Very happy that you enjoyed it. You need to understand, it is very cold here for a large part of the year. A lot of our food is warm, and filling. "Stick-to-your-ribs-food" my Ma used to call it. You guys are welcome any time.
Also a lot of our food is nice for potlucks and family get-togethers. Simple recipes, either hot or cold, that you can bring in a pan with aluminum foil on top. I'm from Minnesota.
Wisconsinite here, cheese curds, but they must be squeaky, booyah, and a twist on tater tot casserole Big Mac casserole, side pork over an open fire with Lawry's season salt...
I'm glad you called it by it's proper name: TATER TOT HOTDISH! 6:15 There are many different recipes for it, my personal favorite recipe is for the Veggies to use Peas & Carrots & Onions. I'm a 32 year old Minnesotan Man, who grew up on that and many other dishes. Also you should've made some "Glorified Rice" as well.
Ohioan here! Love seeing you guys be surprised by all of this! Midwestern food is never given the same respect as other regional foods but we know it’s good! You need to make some buckeyes next time! (A kind of chocolate and peanut butter candy. Homemade is the best!)
From St. Louis and can attest to how delicious Gooey Butter Cake (GBC) can be. Every picnic, every holiday, every potluck would have GBC from someone. Even the 'bad' ones are so good. And the nice thing about GBC is that if someone else makes it, the calories don't count.
Midwesterner here. Jessi, we are not offended by hot dish being called casserole, because it is casserole, a longer name for it is hot dish casserole. What "offends" us is calling casseroles that are not hot dish, hot dish. Only some casseroles meet the criteria. Baked macaroni and cheese is a casserole but is not hot dish, for example, because it has neither vegetables, meat, or meat substitute.
I always thought my mom was crazy for how much time she spent draining the pineapple, and really pressing out the liquid....it all makes sense now lol Ioway here
I am from Illinois and so all those foods that you tried I’ve had and puppy chow his hands down one of my favorite things or muddy buddies. Whatever you wanna call it they taste delicious and where we live in our area and surrounding areas and states it is called tater tot casserole, but no matter what you call it taste pretty good cause you get the crunchy tater tots you get some meat that’s seasoned and then you get some veggies so you’re getting stuff that’s good for you minus the tater tots and if you make an Ooi gooey butter cake, right I’d be your best friend for life because that is absolutely delicious and forgive me. I forget what the stuff was had the pistachios in it but I’ve got a recipe for my mom for something called orange fluff and I would never have thought I would like it, but she gave me the recipe for it before she passed away earlier this year, so I’ve got a couple of her recipes for her homemade very cheesy mac & cheese and her orange fluff and over the years for Thanksgiving she made my favorite Thanksgiving dish which was sweet potato casserole not with the sweet potatoes or candy yams, and the marshmallow on top. What she did was mixed pecans and brown sugar, and I don’t know what else and she chopped that up and sprinkled it on top of the potatoes and baked it in the oven and let me tell you it was almost always completely gone at Thanksgiving, cause it was one of the most popular dishes so honestly all those food you tried. I kind of wish I had some in front of me right now. Especially the gooey butter cake, and the puppy chow and the tater tot casserole.
As a Cincinnati resident, I LOVE that Alessio loves our chili. I will say that not every location overcooks the pasta, & the pasta is colored with the spices, too, not just naked. Come to Cincinnati and try all our chili restaurants for yourselves! 🤌🏼
As a long time Midwesterner now on the East Coast, I appreciate the humor you bring to your reviews of so many American regional foods. Just as there is no ONE Italy, there is no ONE US culture, but many. I would often encourage my students to travel and become acquainted with the regional history and culture so different than their own to help foster tolerance and break down stereotypes. My Midwest, largely influenced by my time in Chicago and throughout the Great Lakes states varies greatly even from the dishes you sampled here.
Cheers from Minnesota! The best time to appreciate Tater Tot Hotdish is a mid-January night, when the temperature drops to -40º, the wind is howling, and you need warm calories in your belly. Then you really get the beauty of this all-in-one meal.
@krissimay78 Absolutely! Though I think it's the wrong time of year for that. It's not harvested 'till the fall, and is usually cleaned out from the shelves by mid-December. At least, that's been my experience.
I adore you two! This was so fun! Alessio, for the chili, consider them Noodles, not pasta, it will calm your Italian brain. When I first heard what was in Watergate salad, I wanted to hate it, too, but the stuff is DELICIOUS!!! Come visit us in the Midwest anytime!❤❤❤❤❤
Hi 👋🏻 from Perth Australia 🇦🇺 I am SUPER happy to have your channel back. For some reason I couldn’t access it and I have missed months of your content so I am binge watching now tonight as it is 10.24 pm here Friday and you will be just starting your day. ☺️ Love you both and lovely to see you so happy and content. How are you both doing and I hope you get your 100,000 viewers before the end of August. Love 🥰 you both and take care of each other. xxxx
From when I was born in 84 to 2005 I lived in Minnesota,and am proud that you guys both enjoyed are Midwestern food. I grew up calling it called Tater Tot Casserole and Puppy Chow. I have never seen Watergate Salad, but then my family never made fruit salad dishes really. I am shocked you did not have Goulash as I grew up and had it weekly. S'mores was a must when we went camping on the weekends.
Are you from the western side of MO? Cuz I'm from the St Louis area, and as far as I can tell, that is not a thing here. I've always heard of it being in Minnesota and Iowa, states north of us.
hotdishes and things like that; they come from a tradition built on long winters; feeding big families with little money and no access to fancy food and spices. Even when I grew up in the 80s in rural minnesota; the spice section at the grocery store was like one rack. Everyone canned food for the winter; everyone bought canned base soups like cream of mushroom. And you used what you could grow; most of us in my area had venison because everyone would take a deer or two during hunting season. People still make fun of some of the food for being bland; not realizing these dishes came from a time when there wasn't much available. It's all incredibly comforting to me; hot, filling, and can be stretched to a few meals. Rural minnesota is still like that.
Gooey Butter cake! Being from St. Louis, I love that you loved it! Try a pumpkin gooey butter cake, you will not be disappointed! Also, I've always called it puppy chow. Never heard muddy buddy...
I’m from Minnesota. We call it Tater tot hotdish. I like to eat it with a little ketchup on top. It’s really good to make when we get a big snowstorm. ❤️
Midwestern here-we say casserole in Iowa🙂 watching this it proves there’s a reason why certain foods are enduring-always be open to the experience and you never know what you might find! Hope you try pork tenderloin sandwiches, scotcharoos, and taco pizza sometime!
Central Illinois here. Never heard of Watergate salad, or saw anything like that... ambrosia or Waldorf I remember, and jello "salad" 😮. Never heard of a casserole being called anything but that. Never heard of muddy buddies either. Cincinnati chili I love...tho most times I make it people are questioning my cooking until they taste it! 😊 I'll try anything Midwest! Glad to have some new to me recipes to look up! Looks nostalgic and yummers!
The Durkee Green Bean Hot Dish. Because in the Midwest it's traditional to bring food to someone's home when a loved one passes it's also referred to as the "Lutheran Death Casserole"..
Cincinnati gal here ! We ❤ our Skyline Chili, as a matter of fact, i just had a 4-way for lunch ! So happy that you both like our chili ! Jessi, i have to admit, when i first saw your dish i thought, "She made it wrong ! It's supposed to have cheddar cheese on top !" I glad you clarified that you couldn't find regular yellow cheddar so you used white instead. ❤ you guys !
@louisekey7735You would have to have Kroger in your town. Then buy a pack of Skyline , Gold Star or Cincinnati chili mix. Add the meat & water in a pot and follow the directions. Cook a pound or two of spaghetti . Drain spaghetti . Put some spaghetti on each plate for your family. Top with a ladle of the chili to cover the noodles. Then top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( don't be stengy ). That's a 3 way. Add chopped onions for a 4 way and chili beans for a 5 way. Serve with a side of oyster crackers and your favorite hot sauce. You can also put any or all of the above on a hot dog and it becomes a cheese coney chili dog. Enjoy !!!
in my area of the Midwest we have a recipe I've never had anywhere else. We have "Irish potatoes" which is just potatoes skinned chunked and boiled until soft and then pan fried in bacon grease and you can add onion and bell pepper if you want. An anytime side we have it with dinner and more often with breakfast. I already know some people will call this home fries but they don't usually boil and skin home fries first.
Back in the 80s, Jello came out with a recipe for "Pudding In A Cloud". It was served in a cocktail glass (most people I knew made it in plastic champagne glasses, not the flutes, but the wide rimmed ones, my mom served it in real glass martini glasses 😂). You scooped Cool Whip into the glass, created a deep dip to hold the pudding, then added the pudding flavor of your choice. My mom made them for a small family gathering, as a special dessert. Except she used cook and serve pudding, and didn't wait for it to cool. (Our family always has preferred pudding served warm, even borderline hot.) The Cool Whip melted, so my mom announced we were having "Pudding In A Puddle!". 😂😂😂 She either cooled the pudding completely, or used instant after that. Seeing your melted whipped cream just brought back that memory for me. My family is all gone now (parents, only brother, the aunts/uncles/cousins who were there), so it melts my heart to be reminded of those little moments. Thank you. Also, it is ABSOLUTELY Tater Tot Hotdish. The recipe was created in Mankato, Minnesota back in the 1930s. Hotdishes are one dish meals that can be made in a skillet, fry pan, cake pan, or casserole dish. They include one or more meat(s), a starch (pasta, rice, or potatoes), veggies, a sauce (soups, thickened broth, gravy, salad dressing, etc) and seasoned to taste. My Tater Tot Hotdish uses ground beef seasoned with minced garlic, black pepper, finely minced onion, Worcheshire Sauce, chopped bacon, frozen sweet corn, green beans, and coarsely chopped water chestnuts. We use Cream of Mushroom soup (the classic choice) but only 1/2 the suggested milk. We mix some tater tots in the filling, add them on top, AND add shredded cheese (Fiesta Blend, Mild Cheddar, and/or Mozzarella are our personal favorite go-tos) browned for a few minutes under the broiler just before serving. We also offer sour cream on the side (horseradish chip dip is even better), and if kids are eating then ketchup as well. Salt is optional, but we mostly stopped salting recipes with already salty ingredients 40 years ago.
I'm from the Midwest (Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan) but grew up on southern cooking (relatives live in the South or are transplants). One thing I can say about American food is that it is generally a mash up of the favorite tastes of many immigrants from all over the world using local ingredients, or ethnic groups in the US that have migrated elsewhere and brought or adapted their regional techniques. Comfort food is everyone's version of a provincial style, filling, simple and tasty. If nothing else I think America represents the fusion types of cooking that are now spreading globally. It's what happens when people travel and learn new things to add to their repertoires. While this is obviously home cooking, I hope you can visit and see what our restaurants offer as well.
This Californian has midwestern parents so I have had all of these dishes in some form. I have perfected my tater tot casserole and it is soooo yummy. It’s a now and then comfort meal in my house. I am stunned that Alessio liked all of them as much as he did. Yay!
I make puppy chow\muddy buddies every year at Christmas 2 full casserole containers full of it.My husband loves it. He calls it Christmas crack🤣 it is so addicting you can just sit there and eat and eat it❤️
Love Tator tot hot dish! Minnesotan here. Everyone makes it a bit different. I just mix it all together so it looks horrible but tastes amazingly comforting.
You guys are sooo precious. I'm from and still live in Tennessee (oh and in my 50s). My mother was making the same salad (she called it Pistacchio Pudding) in the 70s, when I was just a kid. I don't know what all yours has in it, but my mother added marshmallows and would only make it at Thanksgiving. It was one of my favorites. So thanks for sharing and taking me back to my childhood. 😊❤
Ohioian here. So happy you introduced Cincinnati style chili and even more happy that Alessio liked it! Although to be fair, you should have introduced buckeyes candy as well. Buckeye candy is a peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate not all the way though enough so it resembles a buckeye nut, hence the name. That's more well known across the state For instance, I live in Southeast Ohio and you cannot find skyline chili anywhere in southeast anywhere else in central Ohio ( Columbus)and Southwest Ohio, near Cincinnati you can find Cincinnati style chili. Also, your forgiven for not putting yellow cheddar cheese on top lol. I would have put the sharpest Vermont style white cheddar on there as I like sharp cheddar more than mild cheddar.
I am from Ohio we are proud of our economical food these dishes come from the Great Depression which made our dishes creative and economical. Go Buckeyes 🤘🏼🤘🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Minnesotan here! It is HOT DISH for sure. Next one I grew up with and has an Italian twist.. Meat loaf!! Topping. 1 8oz can tomato sause, I use left over prego 1 c ketchup 1/2 c chicken broth 3Tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3T brown sugar 2T Dijon mustard 2T worcestuire sauce Meat part 1.5 ground beef 1C bread crumbs or ritz crackers 1 carlmized onion 1T parsley or 1/2 it for dried 3-4 cloves garlic 1egg 1.5 teaspoon salt 1 t pepper 3/4c topping mixture. Make into little loafs and top with 1/3 of topping. Bake at 350 for 20 min, take out put 1/3 more mixture on top, bake for 20 Min more then top with last of mixture and finish with 20 more min. Best served with mashed potatoes or on a sourdough sandwich!
Get over it... Hot dish is a casserole. There are much more important things to get worked up over. Like, someone defiling a hotdog by putting ketchup on it. Sincerely, A fellow midwesterner.
This is coming from Minnesota - Tater Hot Dish and Puppy Chow are both awesome! And I grew up in California where we would have, indeed, called a Hot Dish a Casserole!
Fall is the best time to be in the Mid-west for beauty and comfort food. MI girl here and we love a Fall football Sunday with Chili and we sometimes have apple cider donuts straight from the cider mill/apple orchard a mile down the road. My common Fall season rotations are chili, shepherds Pie, stuffed peppers, enchiladas, homemade chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pie, Philly cheesesteaks and pot roast. In the summer, we probably grill more often than not.
Born and raised in Ohio. I'm not shocked at all that Alessio and Jessi like our food. We do have good stuff. Lol. Most of us make good food in America if you are not a Corporation or A Restaurant Chain. Lol. So glad you enjoyed the good food. Please come visit Ohio anytime. We'd love to have you here. You guys are awesome.♥️♥️♥️
I really hope they do visit Ohio sometime and explore not just Southwest Ohio but Central Ohio and even Southeast Ohio. I'm a little biased on Southeast Ohio because it's extremely beautiful and hilly because we're in Appalachia and not flat like the rest of the state lol also would love for them to go to Kings Island or Cedar Point just to see their reactions
I don't find the recipe that strange. I have a Mexican cookbook, there is chocolate in many chili recipes. In principle, it's like cooking salted things, there is also a pinch of sugar in the cooking water to underline the taste. AND I know the Greek national dish Stifado, a ragout made of beef (sometimes lamb or other), onions and cinnamon. Greetings from Germany
For years I have avoided your chili because I thought it was weird, but ... if you can convince a picky Italian to enjoy it... maybe I should give it a shot.
Here from Michigan! So glad you like the food from my part of the country. I hope you come to my part of the state and try our Coney dogs, Vernors pop, our Better Made potato chips and our Detroit style pizza. We have so much more to offer as well.
The ambrosia style desserts are typically made with cool whip to maintain texture. Of you want to use whipped cream, you need to stabilize it so it doesn't deflate. You can do this easily by making a box of pudding made with a little bit of milk enough to dissolve the powder. Then you fold that concentrated pudding I to the whipped cream. It won't deflate for days. This is how they make Magnolia banana pudding . You can also make that banana pudding but with oreos and cookies and cream pudding instead of bananas and banana pudding with crushed up oreos inside. Perfect.
Hey guys I am born and raised in Wisconsin and have called it "tater tot casserole" since birth. (let's just say I am from the '70s, because I am) We have always made it using ground beef (aka "chop meat") and using "cream of mushroom soup" with sautéed onions as you cook the beef. You mix in the soup after the onions and beef are cooked and then spread the mix into a "casserole dish", topped with the tots. No cheese. (even though I live in WI) 😜 (BUT... sometimes ketchup on top.)😋 I make it quite a bit even now. Easy, yummy and filling. Sometimes adding sweet peas too. Classic.👌
Wisconsin, here, too. The tater tot casserole is basically a twist on the shepard's pie, imo. Just swap the mashed potatoes for the mass produced tater tots.
@birdsofafeather1637 I usually just have the peas on the side, and kinda scoop them up together anyway. Green beans would be good too. It's like when you have a plate during Thanksgiving and everything goes together at some point. But whatever you do, don't be one of those folks who buy the KFC "put everything in a bucket together like a pig trough" dinner. Uncivilized. 😜
We do a version of Watergate salad that we just called the green stuff and it’s with pistachio pudding mix, crushed pineapple, drained mandarin oranges and a small amount of Cool Whip… No nuts, no marshmallows and no cherries and it’s perfect for a summer barbecue side dish nice and cold.
I think the key to understanding widwestern food is understanding how short the growing season is and how it encouraged the use of frozen/pantry goods. Also Iike my skyline on a hotdog with cheese and onion.
Wisconsinite here. Glad you enjoyed some of our comfort foods! The first time i had Cincy chili, i LOVED it. Now i just need someone to share their Cincy real recipe.😊
Im from Wisconsin. If you want to taste the crown jewel of Wisconsin talegates it's beer brats. Start with lots of beer (I use Milwaukee best because its not great to drink but it works here) and bratwurst in a pot with butter and sliced onions. Boil until bratwurst in beer until they are cooked, then put bratwurst on grill to brown them. Keep beer pot on very low simmer. Put the brats back into the "hot tub" (beer pot) Serve brats on a good bun with simmered onions and good stoneground mustard 😊
Iowa girl here (living in Bologna, Italy). It's absolutely called "tater tot casserole". ... love the video and all the nostalgia it unexpectedly evoked in me. XO
My minnesota family always made a snickers salad, cool whip, chopped apples, chopped snickers and I think mini marshmallows. Salad is a very very loose term.
Come on we have the fall festival, people don't understand just how many unique amazing foods you can get walking down the street. I miss it every single year, its truly the only thing I miss about living in Indiana.
Watergate Salad, AKA The Green Stuff or Green/Emerald Ambrosia, is a family tradition on my dad's side. We're not even from the midwest, actually Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but most of us go BONKERS for it. It's one of those things that looks weird and disturbing but once you try it almost everyone enjoys it. My dad passed last fall but I still make this in his memory. BTW you can drain the pineapple but save the juice, and as you mix the ingredients you can add a bit of the juice back in until it's the right consistency. I also put well-rinsed maraschino cherries in mine sometimes (gotta rinse and pat them dry or the red discolors the rest of the salad).
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When are you guys going to do dishes from the west coast?
Any chance you post that chili recipe? It looks really good, I dont know why
Please please please provide the recipes.
One trick is to use several good dashes of light soy sauce (leave out any table salt) to the cream soup mixture in the tater tot casserole. Adds some interesting umami. It adds the same effect with green bean casseroles...wife's idea.
HAPPY EARLY BDAY Alessio from another AUG. 10 Leo. Tomorrow we party! Tanti auguri!
From Chicago 65 yrs ago. Lived in the South, traveled west coast, east coast and Canada border. Midwest food is the National Comfort Food. The food of the farmers, created out of home grown food. Thank You Midwest Great Grannies for your creativity!
Love this style of cooking.🍁🇨🇦❤️
Seems like Midwest food is part farm food, part factory food (i.e., for factory workers) from Detroit and Chicago's golden age, when convenience food was high tech. Far from the seas, so not a lot of seafood, but very beef-centric.
I love going to see my best friend in Nebraska and eating all the delicious comfort food from there. Her Mom makes the best breakfast casserole 🥘 I am obsessed 😋
National Comfort Food - I love that!! So true.
Yes can confirm that we Midwesterners love our comfort food. But don't forget about the south when it comes to comfort food too, like for example southern fried chicken.
I am from Cincinnati. I feel very proud of our chili right now.
So glad you liked it so much!
Thank You!
he was so put off by the idea of "chili" over pasta but its literally just a more flavorful bolognese.
Ugh. I,did not like it the one time I tried it.
@b1k2q34 BBQ spaghetti is a better version of it. popular in memphis.
@nullakjg767I agree. But skyline is just 👩🏼🍳
Kudos to Alessio for keeping an open mind to trying new things. Too many Italians aren't exposed to different foods, are slaves to their ridiculous food rules, and are extremely closed minded.
Now a longtime TN resident but originally from the Midwest. My explanation for the strange ingredients is this is what people had available in winter when fresh ingredients were hard to come by. The combinations are unexpected but when there’s 5 ft of snow outside you might as well experiment with what you have on hand.
I feel like it can’t be a true Midwest taste test without party potatoes/funeral potatoes/ cheesy potatoes. The ultimate comfort food
Nah, those are a Utah thing. I've never seen them in Illinois/Ohio
@DragonPenny Kansan here and no, they are not just a Utah thing. We have them every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Definitely a Midwest thing at potlucks and holiday meals
@DragonPenny as a Minnesotan, that's one of two dishes I always looked forward to for holidays, those and green bean casserole done in a bean pot.
Yes, we eat those in Iowa and Illinois.
Here in central Illinois it’s called Tater Tot Casserole and Puppy Chow. I have seen various versions of Watergate Salad and have eaten many different ones. Never saw Watergate Salad this decorative. However it looks good and every Watergate Salad I’ve eaten was delicious. However they are not just for the holidays but church potlucks, family reunions, etc.
lol we are proud you gave us a 10/10! Glad you enjoyed a small taste of Midwest comfort food!❤
Also from central IL 😊
@Illinoisgirl1992, Illinois born and raised here. I live in Moline, one of the Quad Cities. I'm in that little part that juts out to the west. Where the Mississippi runs east and west. ~ Julie
Anjolee, absolutely. I've never heard them called anything else. Maybe a different state? 🤷♀ ~ Julie
This makes my little Midwestern heart so happy. Born and raised Yooper here now living in Minneapolis area!
shout out from iron mountain!
@ReedLarson-tu6jcheyyy you guys get snow yet?
@lydiah7184lol not yet it’s been raining a lot but starting around 38 at night, had a couple’s of frosts though. only a matter of time 😂
Welcome to the land of the trolls!
Minnesotan here. I LOVE that he liked everything! Honestly, we don't care whether you call it hot dish or casserole, so long as you bring a Cool Whip container of leftovers home with ya!
I grew up with some variation of Watergate Salad at literally every church potluck. My mummy's version was "pink jello." Combine 8oz Cool Whip, a 20oz can crushed pineapple, (drained) and a 3oz box of Cherry Jello. (don't make it, use the powder) Serve chilled. I've made it with vegan jel, and it still brings me back to Easter Sundays with my lace socks and floral bonnets! It's junky, but still rather tasty and nostalgic!
From minneapolis MN. def grew up calling it hot dish , but we would eat regardless. But always knew it from many as hot dish ❤
We always used orange jello with pineapple and mandarin oranges.
In Virginia, We make watergate salad with pistachio pudding, marshmellows, pinapple and whipped cream with walnuts.
What we called Martian Food when I was a kid I learned is Watergate Salad well into my adulthood. Pistachio pudding and cool whip - sounds awful, but people love it
the pink salad I grew up was called...pink fluff salad (I think) and it was a combo of crushed pineapple, cool whip, evaporated milk, cherry pie filling and a few other things!
All these jello/cool whip salads taste pretty fine imo! they taste like home
At 14:16 it's PUPPY CHOW. I'm from the western section of the Mid-West, and we have no other name for it than Puppy Chow. The first time I tasted, it was made with Cheerio's in 1968 and definitely called puppy Chow then
Yup, its always been puppy chow. I think the Muddy Buddies name came about when chex started selling it and had to rename it for legal reasons
It goes by several names. It's been around since Chex was first introduced. And versions with other cereals before that. Puppy chow is actually one of the more recent names.
Midwest Ohio here, always has been, always will be PUPPY CHOW lol
@redcroft308it was puppy chow in 1964 when I first tried it
Michigan reporting for duty - it's Puppy Chow.
I'm from Nebraska, and I also call it a tator-tot casserole and puppy chow! Glad you enjoyed some of our foods!
Iowa here. Totally agree with my neighbor to the west.
The best Midwest food is in season right now. Fresh corn on the cob from a roadside stand or market that is boiled or grilled as soon as possible, slathered in butter and sprinkled with salt. You don't need any other seasoning.
salt and butter can be great but if you can get any dan o's seasoning there in Ohio or go over the border to Kentucky I highly recommend their seasonings and they have very little salt compared to their competitors and they only use real ingredients do you like lemon peel Orange Peel lime peel garlic salt pepper etc only real nothing imitation dano is a guy who lives in Louisville who has a really good quality seasoning that everybody should know about and use there's a bagel everything seasoning there's a regular seasoning there's a spicy seasoning I highly recommend people put that stuff on their meals especially vegetables and meat grill mates and other brands of seasoning this stuff is the best and good for you cuz it has very little sodium compared to the competitor brands of spices and seasonings.
You missed the words "you don't need any other seasonings." Salt and butter, simple is sometimes best.
The rustier the pick-up truck that sweet corn comes from, the better!
Disagree. Try it with some Tajín. Amazing!
@RedWingsPuckLife Ok, I may have to try that lol. Just picked up 4 dozen ears of corn from a farmer selling from the back of a rusty pick-up lol
Did Alessio hit his head, he's actually liking American food, this will go down in history.
he likes american food, he just doesnt like italian american food. lol
Jessi, what did you do with Alessio? Does he have a twin brother we didn't know about? 😅 I mean this is surprising given that European cuisine is so different from American cuisine. I mean I reacted the same way to the dishes. Even though boiled meat (veal, beef) is common in Northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland and Eastern European countries like Hungary, the association of ingredients is weird.Same with the Watergate salad.. pineapple and pistachios? Huh?
I'm actually not surprised, Midwest food is simple but authentic, and he's always stressing this in regards to Italian food.
Minnesota girl here! Watergate Salad (at least where I’m from) is also called “Pistachio Fluff.” (Could just be a family thing, though! 😅) I’m absolutely cracking up over it though, because I had legit JUST made some for a picnic at the beach a few days ago! You’re right, it’s definitely a bit watery on your end, I like to make it the day before, and let it kinda settle over night to get the perfect fluffiness! ❤
I'm a 32 year old Minnesotan Man, have you ever made Watergate Cake or Glorified Rice?
@BeezyBytNice! When I make it I do an extra few steps/tweaks to the recipe.
I make homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream for it instead of pre-packaged/store-bought.
I use specifically Jasmine Rice.
The water I use for the Rice I add the Pineapple Juice to it.
Finally, I use Double the amount of Pineapple in general.
Ohhh..WI here and it clicked when reading Pistachio Fluff...we make so many different fluffs here. I wonder if other midwest states do too
I'm happy to know that y'all like some of the classic foods from the Midwest! Michigan proud over here.
My Minnesota heart loves seeing you guys do this video!! You guys should go to the Minnesota State Fair and try the foods and make a video!! It's coming up!!
We're so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the suggestion! 😊
Most definitely hit the fair and bring your wallet
Luv your videos!, learned about Italy and America travel and cuisine
The state fairs are a great idea for content. Deep fried anything lol.
It’s a casserole. Minnesotans (and some Wisconsinites?)(and prbly a few North/South Dakotans) might hate you calling it a tater tot casserole instead of hotdish, but everyone else in the Midwest calls it tater tot casserole.
Minnesotan here! (Haven't finished the video as typing this but I'm loving that Alessio enjoys the food!) "Muddy Buddies" is purely a Chex marketing thing when they capitalized on puppy chow, which is what it's actually called here! I love puppy chow!
I'm from Missouri, it is ABSOLUTELY called Tator Tot Casserole.
@ScruffyNerfhurderChill. It's not that serious. ✌️
Yes, same in Michigan.
Maybe in MO, but definitely not in MN. Hotdish. :)
Same in Indiana.
Indiana here, we absolutely call it tater tot casserole. I’ve always been of the understanding that “hot dish” was a Minnesota term.
Yes, "hotdish" is the term we use here; also at least western Wisconsin apparently.
Well it was created in Minnesota so everyone who calls it casserole is wrong. We don't hold it against anyone but we may look at you differently
@ReelWildOne What do you mean we "don't hold it against" them for using "casserole" instead of "hotdish"? That's an offense which justifies dropping worms down their pants or putting a dead fish in their car. The only worse crime is using the word "soda" instead of "pop".
@actadiurna6733 Agreed. I felt this in my bones.
Yup. Tater tot hotdish is our state dish here in MN😂😂
Southern Minnesotan here! Hotdish is Minnesotan specifically. My family mixes tator tots with the rest of the ingredients, AND tops it with tator tots. I've never had it like a shepherd's pie before. Beef Commercials are also a Minnesotan thing! And growing up with and around Lutheran families, lots of Funeral Potatoes, various salads with mayo, and multitudes of "salads" made with Jello, whipped cream, and anything and everything sweet.
Wisconsinite here. Very happy that you enjoyed it.
You need to understand, it is very cold here for a large part of the year. A lot of our food is warm, and filling. "Stick-to-your-ribs-food" my Ma used to call it.
You guys are welcome any time.
Wisconsinite here too - totally agree with you 100%!!! For me though - we’ve always called it tatertot casserole, never “hot-dish”.
I moved from Wisconsin to Mississippi over 10 years ago and I still crave our comfort foods even though its always hot
Also a lot of our food is nice for potlucks and family get-togethers. Simple recipes, either hot or cold, that you can bring in a pan with aluminum foil on top. I'm from Minnesota.
Wisconsinite here, cheese curds, but they must be squeaky, booyah, and a twist on tater tot casserole Big Mac casserole, side pork over an open fire with Lawry's season salt...
LOL this was your best video yet.. The picky Italian has been CRUSHED! I'm in tears laughing
I thought the same thing! Yes!
“Picky Italian has been crushed!” I love it!
I absolutely lost it when Alessio is yelling at the watergate salad! Immediately eats more!!! 😂
Cincinnati resident here!!!!!! Yaaaaaa, we love our Skyline chili, the cheese coneys are also great!
From IL here. We call it a Tater Tot Casserole
I'm in Illinois too. We also call it tater tot casserole.
Iowa/illinois it's called tater tots casserole
Hot dish
Tater Tot casserole here in Michigan.
@midwestadventures1975 also illinois/iowa and yeah its casserole for sure
I love Alessio’s passion in this one. ❤❤AMAZING!
Illinois girl here thank you for the good comments. This is our comfort food and you have me smiling. Love you both ❤
He’s expanding his taste buds. So cool. He made me smile. I was pleasantly surprised.
No it's called compromise his tastebuds
@gigid9606no, it's called being open minded about other cuisines
Midwestern here and I promise you we call it Tator Tot Casserole
I came here to say the same thing
In Illinois we call them casseroles. The Midwest is a big and varied region.
from Minnesota, we call it tator tot hotdish
Michigan calls it casserole
Iowa by way of Missouri we call it casserole and we put Velveeta in it.
I'm glad you called it by it's proper name: TATER TOT HOTDISH! 6:15
There are many different recipes for it, my personal favorite recipe is for the Veggies to use Peas & Carrots & Onions.
I'm a 32 year old Minnesotan Man, who grew up on that and many other dishes.
Also you should've made some "Glorified Rice" as well.
Ohioan here! Love seeing you guys be surprised by all of this! Midwestern food is never given the same respect as other regional foods but we know it’s good! You need to make some buckeyes next time! (A kind of chocolate and peanut butter candy. Homemade is the best!)
From St. Louis and can attest to how delicious Gooey Butter Cake (GBC) can be. Every picnic, every holiday, every potluck would have GBC from someone. Even the 'bad' ones are so good. And the nice thing about GBC is that if someone else makes it, the calories don't count.
Hope you reach 1 million soon. Love your channel and that includes both of you too.
Midwesterner here. Jessi, we are not offended by hot dish being called casserole, because it is casserole, a longer name for it is hot dish casserole. What "offends" us is calling casseroles that are not hot dish, hot dish. Only some casseroles meet the criteria. Baked macaroni and cheese is a casserole but is not hot dish, for example, because it has neither vegetables, meat, or meat substitute.
Perfect explanation. Not all casseroles are hot dishes.
My baked mac and cheese absolutely had vegetables and meat...y'all are missing out 😂 And, not everywhere in the Midwest is the term hot dish used...
Yeah this person gets it 👆
@adventuresinlaurenland Tator Tot Hotdish is its proper name, it's a Minnesota created Dish and in MN it's always called Hotdish
@YOSHI450R call it casserole in MN and people will call you out. I experienced this when I moved here
The pineapple has to be really drained for the Watergate Salad. Love the presentation with the whipped cream and cherries! Yum!😊❤
Should be almost to slightly frozen. Soupy no bueno
Yesss exactly!!! From The wonderful state of
Nebraska here
I always thought my mom was crazy for how much time she spent draining the pineapple, and really pressing out the liquid....it all makes sense now lol Ioway here
I am from Illinois and so all those foods that you tried I’ve had and puppy chow his hands down one of my favorite things or muddy buddies. Whatever you wanna call it they taste delicious and where we live in our area and surrounding areas and states it is called tater tot casserole, but no matter what you call it taste pretty good cause you get the crunchy tater tots you get some meat that’s seasoned and then you get some veggies so you’re getting stuff that’s good for you minus the tater tots and if you make an Ooi gooey butter cake, right I’d be your best friend for life because that is absolutely delicious and forgive me. I forget what the stuff was had the pistachios in it but I’ve got a recipe for my mom for something called orange fluff and I would never have thought I would like it, but she gave me the recipe for it before she passed away earlier this year, so I’ve got a couple of her recipes for her homemade very cheesy mac & cheese and her orange fluff and over the years for Thanksgiving she made my favorite Thanksgiving dish which was sweet potato casserole not with the sweet potatoes or candy yams, and the marshmallow on top. What she did was mixed pecans and brown sugar, and I don’t know what else and she chopped that up and sprinkled it on top of the potatoes and baked it in the oven and let me tell you it was almost always completely gone at Thanksgiving, cause it was one of the most popular dishes so honestly all those food you tried. I kind of wish I had some in front of me right now. Especially the gooey butter cake, and the puppy chow and the tater tot casserole.
My aunt used to make an ambrosia, I swear that was one of the best desserts ever ❤
Ambrosia I grew up eating, but I have never heard of Watergate salad. It sounds better than it looks.
My sister-in-law makes it for the holidays. My daughter would eat the whole bowl if she was allowed to! lol ~Julie
As a Cincinnati resident, I LOVE that Alessio loves our chili. I will say that not every location overcooks the pasta, & the pasta is colored with the spices, too, not just naked. Come to Cincinnati and try all our chili restaurants for yourselves! 🤌🏼
I am curious, what spices are put on the pasta?
As a Canadian I would love to. It looks DELICIOUS !!!
She destroyed you guys, "I don't think Cincinnati has ever had a winning day". LOL
@HopeLaFleur1975think of it as Ohio/Kentucky poutine. You can eat it sober, but it only really hits for me after some beers
@bardechhI never said anything but that is sounds good. 😛🤷♀️. So what you talking about
Midwestern cooking is like a hug from Grandma. It's food to warm you up on a snowy day. Great video.
As a long time Midwesterner now on the East Coast, I appreciate the humor you bring to your reviews of so many American regional foods. Just as there is no ONE Italy, there is no ONE US culture, but many. I would often encourage my students to travel and become acquainted with the regional history and culture so different than their own to help foster tolerance and break down stereotypes. My Midwest, largely influenced by my time in Chicago and throughout the Great Lakes states varies greatly even from the dishes you sampled here.
@6:45 respectfully Jessi, when I lived in Missouri we called it Tator Tot Casserole
I second this comment. It’s a tator tot casserole.
in Commiefornia we call it a Tator Tot Casserole too.. it needs more cheese and some ketchup though 🤣
Same!
It’s from MN and it’s hotdish lol 😂
In Indiana it is also called casserole. But it also has a bunch of CHEESE on top!!!
This brought my memory to 1982 when the Superbowl was hosted in Pontiac, Michigan and we embraced the Cincinnati chili.
Cheers from Minnesota! The best time to appreciate Tater Tot Hotdish is a mid-January night, when the temperature drops to -40º, the wind is howling, and you need warm calories in your belly. Then you really get the beauty of this all-in-one meal.
He needed to try chicken and wild rice soup!!
@krissimay78 Absolutely! Though I think it's the wrong time of year for that. It's not harvested 'till the fall, and is usually cleaned out from the shelves by mid-December. At least, that's been my experience.
@CarlGornfellow Minnesotan & I can buy wild rice all year long 😊
@KitraNtheFirst All the stores near me sell out early. 😖
I adore you two! This was so fun! Alessio, for the chili, consider them Noodles, not pasta, it will calm your Italian brain. When I first heard what was in Watergate salad, I wanted to hate it, too, but the stuff is DELICIOUS!!! Come visit us in the Midwest anytime!❤❤❤❤❤
I had to make Puppy Chow for every bake sale during my daughter's elementary years. It was very popular.
Hi 👋🏻 from Perth Australia 🇦🇺
I am SUPER happy to have your channel back. For some reason I couldn’t access it and I have missed months of your content so I am binge watching now tonight as it is 10.24 pm here Friday and you will be just starting your day. ☺️
Love you both and lovely to see you so happy and content. How are you both doing and I hope you get your 100,000 viewers before the end of August.
Love 🥰 you both and take care of each other. xxxx
We eat Cincinnati Chili, but our recipe doesn't have cocoa powder. We love it! I ate the hotdish when we visited Great Grandma.
From when I was born in 84 to 2005 I lived in Minnesota,and am proud that you guys both enjoyed are Midwestern food. I grew up calling it called Tater Tot Casserole and Puppy Chow. I have never seen Watergate Salad, but then my family never made fruit salad dishes really. I am shocked you did not have Goulash as I grew up and had it weekly. S'mores was a must when we went camping on the weekends.
Born and raised in MO. I've always heard it called Tater Tot casserole
Same here. Casserole!
Are you from the western side of MO? Cuz I'm from the St Louis area, and as far as I can tell, that is not a thing here. I've always heard of it being in Minnesota and Iowa, states north of us.
@Wilco1972I'm from Washington. About 40ish minutes from St. Louis when driving down I-44
hotdishes and things like that; they come from a tradition built on long winters; feeding big families with little money and no access to fancy food and spices. Even when I grew up in the 80s in rural minnesota; the spice section at the grocery store was like one rack. Everyone canned food for the winter; everyone bought canned base soups like cream of mushroom. And you used what you could grow; most of us in my area had venison because everyone would take a deer or two during hunting season. People still make fun of some of the food for being bland; not realizing these dishes came from a time when there wasn't much available. It's all incredibly comforting to me; hot, filling, and can be stretched to a few meals.
Rural minnesota is still like that.
Gooey Butter cake! Being from St. Louis, I love that you loved it! Try a pumpkin gooey butter cake, you will not be disappointed! Also, I've always called it puppy chow. Never heard muddy buddy...
I’m from Minnesota. We call it Tater tot hotdish. I like to eat it with a little ketchup on top. It’s really good to make when we get a big snowstorm. ❤️
It does taste better during a big snow storm. I don’t why it just does.
Midwestern here-we say casserole in Iowa🙂 watching this it proves there’s a reason why certain foods are enduring-always be open to the experience and you never know what you might find! Hope you try pork tenderloin sandwiches, scotcharoos, and taco pizza sometime!
Oh, yeah-Scotcharoos-definitely a Midwest favorite. It's casserole in my area of Illinois, too!
Taco pizza from Happy Joe's, the inventor of it!
Love this! Now you know why we're "very proud" of our food as you said in the beginning of the video ❤
As a native Cincinnatian, this made my heart warm! It took my southern wife years to come around!
You're right Alessio. In Iowa it's Tater Tot Casserole.
Same in Indiana
Same in Illinois 😂
Same in South Dakota and Kentucky
Central Illinois here. Never heard of Watergate salad, or saw anything like that... ambrosia or Waldorf I remember, and jello "salad" 😮. Never heard of a casserole being called anything but that. Never heard of muddy buddies either. Cincinnati chili I love...tho most times I make it people are questioning my cooking until they taste it! 😊
I'll try anything Midwest! Glad to have some new to me recipes to look up! Looks nostalgic and yummers!
The Durkee Green Bean Hot Dish. Because in the Midwest it's traditional to bring food to someone's home when a loved one passes it's also referred to as the "Lutheran Death Casserole"..
Midwest food never ceases to impress and horrify me at the same time.
Cincinnati gal here ! We ❤ our Skyline Chili, as a matter of fact, i just had a 4-way for lunch ! So happy that you both like our chili ! Jessi, i have to admit, when i first saw your dish i thought, "She made it wrong ! It's supposed to have cheddar cheese on top !" I glad you clarified that you couldn't find regular yellow cheddar so you used white instead. ❤ you guys !
Can you share the recipe?
I'm from across the river from Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky & I Prefer Gold Star ,
So not everybody ❤,s Skyline.
@louisekey7735You would have to have Kroger in your town. Then buy a pack of Skyline , Gold Star or Cincinnati chili mix. Add the meat & water in a pot and follow the directions. Cook a pound or two of spaghetti . Drain spaghetti . Put some spaghetti on each plate for your family. Top with a ladle of the chili to cover the noodles. Then top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( don't be stengy ). That's a 3 way. Add chopped onions for a 4 way and chili beans for a 5 way. Serve with a side of oyster crackers and your favorite hot sauce. You can also put any or all of the above on a hot dog and it becomes a cheese coney chili dog. Enjoy !!!
Yellow cheddar and white cheddar are the same other than the coloring added to the yellow.
in my area of the Midwest we have a recipe I've never had anywhere else. We have "Irish potatoes" which is just potatoes skinned chunked and boiled until soft and then pan fried in bacon grease and you can add onion and bell pepper if you want. An anytime side we have it with dinner and more often with breakfast. I already know some people will call this home fries but they don't usually boil and skin home fries first.
Back in the 80s, Jello came out with a recipe for "Pudding In A Cloud". It was served in a cocktail glass (most people I knew made it in plastic champagne glasses, not the flutes, but the wide rimmed ones, my mom served it in real glass martini glasses 😂). You scooped Cool Whip into the glass, created a deep dip to hold the pudding, then added the pudding flavor of your choice. My mom made them for a small family gathering, as a special dessert. Except she used cook and serve pudding, and didn't wait for it to cool. (Our family always has preferred pudding served warm, even borderline hot.) The Cool Whip melted, so my mom announced we were having "Pudding In A Puddle!". 😂😂😂 She either cooled the pudding completely, or used instant after that. Seeing your melted whipped cream just brought back that memory for me. My family is all gone now (parents, only brother, the aunts/uncles/cousins who were there), so it melts my heart to be reminded of those little moments. Thank you.
Also, it is ABSOLUTELY Tater Tot Hotdish. The recipe was created in Mankato, Minnesota back in the 1930s. Hotdishes are one dish meals that can be made in a skillet, fry pan, cake pan, or casserole dish. They include one or more meat(s), a starch (pasta, rice, or potatoes), veggies, a sauce (soups, thickened broth, gravy, salad dressing, etc) and seasoned to taste. My Tater Tot Hotdish uses ground beef seasoned with minced garlic, black pepper, finely minced onion, Worcheshire Sauce, chopped bacon, frozen sweet corn, green beans, and coarsely chopped water chestnuts. We use Cream of Mushroom soup (the classic choice) but only 1/2 the suggested milk. We mix some tater tots in the filling, add them on top, AND add shredded cheese (Fiesta Blend, Mild Cheddar, and/or Mozzarella are our personal favorite go-tos) browned for a few minutes under the broiler just before serving. We also offer sour cream on the side (horseradish chip dip is even better), and if kids are eating then ketchup as well. Salt is optional, but we mostly stopped salting recipes with already salty ingredients 40 years ago.
I haven't thought about pudding in a cloud in a long time. Mom made it as a special treat when I was growing up.
Michigan here. Tater tot casserole.
Native Michigander, now living in Indiana. It's a casserole. I've never heard anyone call it a hot dish.
Hot dish is the Minnesota name for it - the rest of us call it casserole as far as I am aware!
He loved everything his wife made.. what a lovely couple ♥️ Mid-West food is good but I think their love made it even better ♥️♥️
I'm from the Midwest (Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan) but grew up on southern cooking (relatives live in the South or are transplants). One thing I can say about American food is that it is generally a mash up of the favorite tastes of many immigrants from all over the world using local ingredients, or ethnic groups in the US that have migrated elsewhere and brought or adapted their regional techniques. Comfort food is everyone's version of a provincial style, filling, simple and tasty. If nothing else I think America represents the fusion types of cooking that are now spreading globally. It's what happens when people travel and learn new things to add to their repertoires. While this is obviously home cooking, I hope you can visit and see what our restaurants offer as well.
This Californian has midwestern parents so I have had all of these dishes in some form. I have perfected my tater tot casserole and it is soooo yummy. It’s a now and then comfort meal in my house. I am stunned that Alessio liked all of them as much as he did. Yay!
I make puppy chow\muddy buddies every year at Christmas 2 full casserole containers full of it.My husband loves it. He calls it Christmas crack🤣 it is so addicting you can just sit there and eat and eat it❤️
Love Tator tot hot dish! Minnesotan here. Everyone makes it a bit different. I just mix it all together so it looks horrible but tastes amazingly comforting.
You guys are sooo precious. I'm from and still live in Tennessee (oh and in my 50s). My mother was making the same salad (she called it Pistacchio Pudding) in the 70s, when I was just a kid. I don't know what all yours has in it, but my mother added marshmallows and would only make it at Thanksgiving. It was one of my favorites. So thanks for sharing and taking me back to my childhood. 😊❤
Ohioian here. So happy you introduced Cincinnati style chili and even more happy that Alessio liked it! Although to be fair, you should have introduced buckeyes candy as well. Buckeye candy is a peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate not all the way though enough so it resembles a buckeye nut, hence the name. That's more well known across the state For instance, I live in Southeast Ohio and you cannot find skyline chili anywhere in southeast anywhere else in central Ohio ( Columbus)and Southwest Ohio, near Cincinnati you can find Cincinnati style chili. Also, your forgiven for not putting yellow cheddar cheese on top lol. I would have put the sharpest Vermont style white cheddar on there as I like sharp cheddar more than mild cheddar.
I am from Ohio we are proud of our economical food these dishes come from the Great Depression which made our dishes creative and economical. Go Buckeyes 🤘🏼🤘🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
❤
O-H
Hello from Columbus Ohio..!
Go Bucks!!! 😀 🎉
I-O!!!🎉
As someone from St. Louis I am thrilled and honored he loved the gooey butter cake!
The Midwest calls it puppy chow. Muddy Buddy's is the name on the bag of the Chex mix brand of this.
Minnesotan here! It is HOT DISH for sure.
Next one I grew up with and has an Italian twist..
Meat loaf!!
Topping.
1 8oz can tomato sause, I use left over prego
1 c ketchup
1/2 c chicken broth
3Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3T brown sugar
2T Dijon mustard
2T worcestuire sauce
Meat part
1.5 ground beef
1C bread crumbs or ritz crackers
1 carlmized onion
1T parsley or 1/2 it for dried
3-4 cloves garlic
1egg
1.5 teaspoon salt
1 t pepper
3/4c topping mixture.
Make into little loafs and top with 1/3 of topping. Bake at 350 for 20 min, take out put 1/3 more mixture on top, bake for 20
Min more then top with last of mixture and finish with 20 more min.
Best served with mashed potatoes or on a sourdough sandwich!
Get over it... Hot dish is a casserole. There are much more important things to get worked up over. Like, someone defiling a hotdog by putting ketchup on it.
Sincerely, A fellow midwesterner.
Hotdish! Anything else is pure blasphemy!!
I’m having so much fun watching you two discover Midwest dishes! 😊 I admit they can sound weird sometimes but casseroles work…they just do! 😂
This is coming from Minnesota - Tater Hot Dish and Puppy Chow are both awesome! And I grew up in California where we would have, indeed, called a Hot Dish a Casserole!
Fall is the best time to be in the Mid-west for beauty and comfort food. MI girl here and we love a Fall football Sunday with Chili and we sometimes have apple cider donuts straight from the cider mill/apple orchard a mile down the road. My common Fall season rotations are chili, shepherds Pie, stuffed peppers, enchiladas, homemade chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pie, Philly cheesesteaks and pot roast. In the summer, we probably grill more often than not.
MI girl here too. Those are not our dishes. You hit the nail on the head of typical MI meals. We grill all year here. Have a great day! xoxo
Here in fall spaghetti, chili, homemade beef stew, ribs, baked chicken, roast, all kinds of hot dishes and casseroles.
@aimee2234 Minnesota is so cold its hard to get the grill up to temp in winter and its dark so no not grilling late winter, so after December.
Have him try a juicy lucy burger. Would love to see his reaction, plus a authentic maid-rite.
Born and raised in Ohio. I'm not shocked at all that Alessio and Jessi like our food. We do have good stuff. Lol. Most of us make good food in America if you are not a Corporation or A Restaurant Chain. Lol. So glad you enjoyed the good food. Please come visit Ohio anytime. We'd love to have you here. You guys are awesome.♥️♥️♥️
I really hope they do visit Ohio sometime and explore not just Southwest Ohio but Central Ohio and even Southeast Ohio. I'm a little biased on Southeast Ohio because it's extremely beautiful and hilly because we're in Appalachia and not flat like the rest of the state lol also would love for them to go to Kings Island or Cedar Point just to see their reactions
Our family makes Watergate salad for all big holidays and it’s almost always the first dish gone. We LOVE it!
I'm from Indiana & pretty much anything that you put all in one dish & bake it is a casserole.
From cincy here. So happy he liked the cincy chili. A lot of people think it’s weird but it’s so good. Yay!
Super good
I don't find the recipe that strange. I have a Mexican cookbook, there is chocolate in many chili recipes. In principle, it's like cooking salted things, there is also a pinch of sugar in the cooking water to underline the taste.
AND I know the Greek national dish Stifado, a ragout made of beef (sometimes lamb or other), onions and cinnamon.
Greetings from Germany
I'm from Arizona and went to visit my sister-in-law HS graduation in Michigan. You best believe I stopped at skyline chili in Cincinnati.
For years I have avoided your chili because I thought it was weird, but ... if you can convince a picky Italian to enjoy it... maybe I should give it a shot.
Here from Michigan! So glad you like the food from my part of the country. I hope you come to my part of the state and try our Coney dogs, Vernors pop, our Better Made potato chips and our Detroit style pizza. We have so much more to offer as well.
Wisconsin here also call it Puppy Chow was never called Muddy Buddies till it was being sold in stores by big brands around my area at least
I’m from St. Louis and people here just love it.The Gooey Butter Cake was invented in St Louis and are really proud of it.
Gooey Butter Cake is absolutely amazing!! From IL about 2 hours north of STL.
Great video! Well done. Ten of the ten!
The ambrosia style desserts are typically made with cool whip to maintain texture. Of you want to use whipped cream, you need to stabilize it so it doesn't deflate. You can do this easily by making a box of pudding made with a little bit of milk enough to dissolve the powder. Then you fold that concentrated pudding I to the whipped cream.
It won't deflate for days. This is how they make Magnolia banana pudding . You can also make that banana pudding but with oreos and cookies and cream pudding instead of bananas and banana pudding with crushed up oreos inside. Perfect.
Amazing! Just don't forget to stop by an actual Skyline (or one of the many alternatives) if you're ever in Cincinnati.
Hey guys
I am born and raised in Wisconsin and have called it "tater tot casserole" since birth.
(let's just say I am from the '70s, because I am)
We have always made it using ground beef (aka "chop meat") and using "cream of mushroom soup" with sautéed onions as you cook the beef. You mix in the soup after the onions and beef are cooked and then spread the mix into a "casserole dish", topped with the tots. No cheese. (even though I live in WI) 😜 (BUT... sometimes ketchup on top.)😋
I make it quite a bit even now. Easy, yummy and filling.
Sometimes adding sweet peas too. Classic.👌
Wisconsin, here, too. The tater tot casserole is basically a twist on the shepard's pie, imo. Just swap the mashed potatoes for the mass produced tater tots.
Kenosha here. Exactly!
Shawano here! Always add peas or green beans.
@birdsofafeather1637 I usually just have the peas on the side, and kinda scoop them up together anyway.
Green beans would be good too.
It's like when you have a plate during Thanksgiving and everything goes together at some point. But whatever you do, don't be one of those folks who buy the KFC "put everything in a bucket together like a pig trough" dinner. Uncivilized. 😜
Same in Indiana
We do a version of Watergate salad that we just called the green stuff and it’s with pistachio pudding mix, crushed pineapple, drained mandarin oranges and a small amount of Cool Whip… No nuts, no marshmallows and no cherries and it’s perfect for a summer barbecue side dish nice and cold.
I think the key to understanding widwestern food is understanding how short the growing season is and how it encouraged the use of frozen/pantry goods. Also Iike my skyline on a hotdog with cheese and onion.
I never thought of that. The shirt growing season. Fascinating!
Thank you for representing the Midwest! With love from the Twin Cities- St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota.
me too!!
Hey hey I’m in Anoka!
Wisconsinite here. Glad you enjoyed some of our comfort foods! The first time i had Cincy chili, i LOVED it. Now i just need someone to share their Cincy real recipe.😊
Im from Wisconsin. If you want to taste the crown jewel of Wisconsin talegates it's beer brats.
Start with lots of beer (I use Milwaukee best because its not great to drink but it works here) and bratwurst in a pot with butter and sliced onions.
Boil until bratwurst in beer until they are cooked, then put bratwurst on grill to brown them.
Keep beer pot on very low simmer.
Put the brats back into the "hot tub" (beer pot)
Serve brats on a good bun with simmered onions and good stoneground mustard 😊
YES!!!
Wisconsin here as well. Salmon's hotdogs are amazing as well
Yummy!!! It's the way I make it in cooler weather.
Iowa girl here (living in Bologna, Italy). It's absolutely called "tater tot casserole". ... love the video and all the nostalgia it unexpectedly evoked in me. XO
It's Tater tot casserole here in Ohio too.
We say hot dish in the Madison, Wi area 😊 saluti dalla Svizzera!
Also Iowa and never heard of hot dish until I was in my 20s. For sure a Wisconin maybe Minnesota thing
@monicabarnett9231casserole also from Madison area
@turtlezixx its definitely a minnesota thing. I grew up in Minnesota along the ia/mn border and it's hot dish.
Have him try "buttered noodles" just egg noodles with some butter salt and parsley
I've heard it being called Cincinnati chili
It is called Cincinnati chili. Skyline is one of the famous restaurants that serve it as their mainstay.
Im so HAPPY as a cincinnatian that he loves Skyline 😊🎉❤
My minnesota family always made a snickers salad, cool whip, chopped apples, chopped snickers and I think mini marshmallows. Salad is a very very loose term.
My mom made this, but no Marshmallows. I make it with Twix Bars because my kid has a peanut allergy.
6:34 Give the man his flowers; that is, indeed, a tator tot casserole. 💯
Hotdish
Born in Indiana and I'm so proud Alessio approves!!!!!🎉
Me too!
Come on we have the fall festival, people don't understand just how many unique amazing foods you can get walking down the street. I miss it every single year, its truly the only thing I miss about living in Indiana.
Watergate Salad, AKA The Green Stuff or Green/Emerald Ambrosia, is a family tradition on my dad's side. We're not even from the midwest, actually Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but most of us go BONKERS for it. It's one of those things that looks weird and disturbing but once you try it almost everyone enjoys it. My dad passed last fall but I still make this in his memory. BTW you can drain the pineapple but save the juice, and as you mix the ingredients you can add a bit of the juice back in until it's the right consistency. I also put well-rinsed maraschino cherries in mine sometimes (gotta rinse and pat them dry or the red discolors the rest of the salad).