Hot Dish is the new Casserole

click here to watch a scene from the movie Fargo to get you in the mood to read this piece

On my way out of the library today, I noticed they were having a "Friends of the Library" sale. The library in Amarillo used to have these, too. Occasionally they would have a "Brown Bag" sale, where you pay $5 and they give you a large paper bag. Oh, boy did I manage to fill it! All the books I could carry out of there. It was awesome!
Today, though, I only casually browsed at what they had: Harelquin romances - barf- paperbacks of general fiction, magazines. Then I found some cookbooks. For those of you that know me, you know I collect unusual cookbooks, either by appearance or content. These I picked out for the content. One is called "Amana Colony Recipes" and it's all authentic German dishes. I will especially enjoy the kartoffel speisen section (potato dishes).
Now, the fun one. I found one of those cookbooks made for an organization like a ladies auxiliary club or some church. This particular gold nugget is from Cass County Electric Cooperative, Inc in North Dakota. I started flipping the pages and couldn't stop laughing. Seriously, where else can I find, in one book mind you, a recipe for "pickled smelt", "dang good hot chocolate mix" and "ice for ice cream"? I mean, I didn't even know you needed special ice to make ice cream. Five recipes in a row for "tuna hot dish" "best hot dish" and "super easy hot dish". Egads! In case you're wondering what "hot dish" is, it's what the good people up in that neck of the woods (ND, MN and the like) call a casserole. Here's a recipe for hot dish that calls for a can of "Franco American macaroni and cheese". I was unaware macaroni and cheese was produced in a can. I must have missed that aisle at Wal-mart. Another recipe for a hot dish calls for a "number 2 sized can of peas". I don't even know what that means but it sounds funny when you say it like Margie from the movie Fargo.
I can't wait to try some of these.
Not a bad day for fifty cents, eh?