Regional Delights = Regional Pride

[Stinky The Clown]

I started a thread a few days ago about Baltimore Coddies. Buried at the end of the post was a request for other regional favorites. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x7681 babylonsister, eleny, livetohike, and grasswire each posted something. Cod Fish Cakes (different from coddies), Halushki, salmon patties and clam fritters all got a nod.

What are some of your favorite regional dishes .... the kinda stuff the old woman down the street makes? Or the stuff sold on every street corner in your town, but that you've never seen anywhere else? Also local variations to more widely know items.

I remember white barbeque from eastern Carolina ..... pulled pork with a vinegar based sauce. No tomato base at all. Very thin sauce.

Italian beef from Chicago. I interviwed for a job at Jewel Tea many years ago. The company cafeteria served this. It is essentially a roast beef that is sliced and then immersed in a vinegar(?) based thin liquid that is highly seasoned with oregano and garlic (and other stuff, I'm sure.) Kinda au jus meets wedding soup.

Chicken and Dumplings from Chattanooga. Another place I lived. The guy that worked for me as a cook made it with a yeast risen batter (not a dough - way too thin to be called a dough) that he laid on top, almost like a layer of lasagne noodles, about 30 minutes before it was done. After 15 minutes, he'd cut the now set stuff and mix it into the chicken stew (which I recall being very yellow). The "dumplings" were more like a light, fluffy noodle. Delicious!

Clam rolls. These were a Connecticut shore thing. And even along Connecticut's shore line they varied from one place to another. I grew up in Bridgeport (50 miles east of NYC). The drive-ins along the beach sold these egg roll-like concoctions. They were the same thickness but twice as long as an egg roll. The skin was made locally - it wasn't egg roll skin at all; more bread-like. The filling was mostly clam meat and some seasonings. The whole thing was deep fried. Greasy, yummy, goooo-oood! Sparkly grew up in New London (almost to Rhode Island). She recalls clam rolls being fried clam strips in a sort of hot dog bun that was slit through the side and not down the top. The filling was batter fried clam strips and tartar sauce. A lemon wedge on the side.

Clam fritters - Mrs Paul's meets Krispy Kreme! All these clam dishes used those big, tough quahog clams. Big as a fist and tough. You had to mince them or cut them into stips to make them edible.

Dry rub ribs in Memphis - One of the trendy areas in Memphis when I lived there (in the late 70's) was Overton Square. (There's extra points for anyone who remembers the restaurants The Mississippi River Company or The Luau or The Hearth.) A few places there and a lot of places all over town served dry rub ribs. They were cooked a long time - sometimes overnight - over a true hickory wood fire. They got mopped with a vinegar sauce several times while cooking. At the end, with no barbeque liquid sauce added - ever, it would have been heresy to do so - they were rubbed with a dry seasoning mix (secret to each place that made them, but essentially a paprika based mixture), allowed to cook a little more then served. A final dusting of the dry mix was applied as the plate left the kitchen. For anyone near DC, look for a Red Hot and Blue. They make a completely authentic Memphis style rib.

Those are just a few of mine ... what are yours?

[eleny]

1. Meat Cakes

These were found in German delicatessans in Queens, NY where I grew up. Sort of a meatball but larger/flatter and sort of a meatloaf but much smaller. I found this recipe that I have to try. The ingredients sound like the flavors I remember.

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0423F04.htm#3
GERMAN MEAT CAKES

1/2 lb. each beef, veal and
pork (ground together)
3 slices white bread (softened
in water and squeezed dry)
1 egg
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. beef stock
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. vegetable oil

In a large bowl, place ground meats, softened white
bread, beaten egg, chopped onion, salt, beef stock and pepper;
mix thoroughly. Shape mixture into flat cakes, 1/2-inch thick,
using a level 1/3 cup measure and a spatula.
In an 11 to 12-inch skillet, heat vegetable oil. Add
meat cakes; brown quickly on both sides; lower heat and cook
slowly for 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 6.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Add basil and parsley and change the oil to olive oil and

make them smaller and that could be my mother's meatball recipe. We used to eat them after they cooked in gravy, or, with thin gravies like marinara, had them fried and eaten with no sauce, just like your recipe.

[eleny]

3. My mom would fix her meatloaf recipe

Then make meatball shapes and fry them up. So good with cole slaw on the side.

I'm going to save your substitutions for when I make homemade meatballs. Mine probably come out tough becaue I can't always find the ground veal. Three meats make the tenderest meatballs for sauce. Thanks!

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Try this for nice, tender meatballs

Mix crushed ice into them. The ice obviously melts, but in doing so, it steams them from inside, keeping them moist and tender. Also, as you mix the meat, the ice keeps the fat more solid, which reduces the tendency of the fat to make the meat "sticky", leading to toughness. Works great in meatloaf, too.

We used to make meatballs from all beef, beef and pork, and beef, pork, and veal. My mother's sister has even made them from venison. And rabbit. Handle them gently and none is more tough than the other (at least that we find).

[grasswire]

5. one of the most unexpected dishes I ever encountered...

...was fried ravioli. Was it in Cincinnati? Or St. Louis. I'm thinking St. Louis.

[Lugnut]

6. Around here

In anthracite coal country most of the local favorites are Slavic/Polish or Italian favorites. Countless European immigrants migrated to this area to work in the coal mines during their heyday. If you visit a local church "picnic" on a Summer weekend in this neck of the woods you're likely to find potato cakes, pieroghi, haluski, fried dough, pizza, sausage and pepper sandwiches or something simliarly ethnic.

[eleny]

7. Lots of Lithuanians in PA coal country!

[Lugnut]

14. Oh yes

There are many European countries represented in the local populace.

[Dora]

8. Arizona and Indian Fry Bread

I come from Arizona originally, and something I've never seen anywhere other than at pow-wows and the Az State Fair is Indian Fry Bread.

This was a frisbee-sized disk of fried dough with your choice of toppings. I liked it with honey or powdered sugar, but either was bound to make me a mess when I was a kid. (I can still hear my stepdad's teeth grind!) My folks always had theirs slathered with meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and salsa.

It was similar to the Mexican sopapilla, but different in size, chewiness, and degree of puffiness.

[politicat]

9. My fry-bread recipe.

I grew up (partly, anyway) about 70 miles south of the edge of the Navajo Nation in N. Az. Being a non-Mormon in that heavily Mormon area, the freaks and the Native Americans rather joined together. My friend Nezzie's mom taught a bunch of us to make fry bread and Navajo tacos.

Oil
2 c Flour -- unsifted
4 ts Baking powder
1 T Salt
2/3 c Water -- warm (maybe more)
Cornmeal

Put 2 to 3 inches oil in fryer and heat to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1/2 cup warm water and continue adding water to reach the consistancy of bread dough. Tear off balls of dough. Roll out balls on a board lightly dusted with cornmeal to 1/4 inch thick. Punch a hole in the center of each piece (This is important; it lets the "evil Spirits" - air - out). Fry bread one at a time, turning as soon as it becomes golden. Drain.

I topped mine with a mix of ranch beans, taco-seasoned chicken, green chile, lettuce, pico, cheese....

They're a heart attack on a plate, and part of the reason that obesity is so common in the area, but once in a while....

[Dora]

11. Thanks for the recipe - I'm printing it now!

[SW FL Dem]

18. I remember those

I spent several years in Gallup NM, right off the Navajo reservation. We used to go to fairs in Window Rock and get the fry bread topped with meat, green chili sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes. Yum.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. Have you ever neem to the new Native American museum in DC?

It is a brand new building and part of the Smithsonian. Native Americans had a great deal of influence on the design (even to the point of incorporating some of their cultural and religious concepts into the design).

The restaurant in the museum serves (what I am told is) a completely authentic menu ......

[Lugnut]

15. I've seen pictures

Of the building and it is beautiful. I'd love to sample the food.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. From the NAMI website ........

Mitsitam Café
"Mitsitam" means "Let’s eat!" in the Native language of the Delaware and Piscataway peoples. The museum’s Mitsitam Native Foods Café enhances the museum experience by providing visitors the opportunity to enjoy the indigenous cuisines of the Americas and to explore the history of Native foods. The café features Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso America, and the Great Plains. Each food station depicts regional lifeways related to cooking techniques, ingredients, and flavors found in both traditional and contemporary dishes. While seated in the café, visitors can look out a wall of windows to view the Native habitat and water features of the museum's landscaping.

In execution and public acceptance, however, this isn't doing so well. Most visitors are put off by the menu itself (not 'American" - ha!) and the prices (relatively high due to the nature and (relative) rarity of some of the ingredients).

[politicat]

20. That sounds incredible.

Next time I hit the East Coast (soon, bloody soon....) I'll have to make it a point to take a stop there.

[politicat]

10. Green-chile chicken tamales.

There are vendors who make these at home, then sell them. I rebuilt a Master-Cook recipe to make them work at home.

12 Ears of fresh white or
Yellow corn
1 lb Monterrey Jack cheese,
Grated
1 lb Pure lard (I don't use lard; I've found that I can sub 1 cup of oil, mostly.)
1/2 lb Butter (I reduce it by half)
1/2 c (scant) sugar ( I skip this)
1/4 c Light cream, or more
2 Green chiles, parched and
Peeled
1 lb Cheddar or Longhorn cheese
1 lb cooked, shredded chicken, cooked in chiles and oregano
Salt

1. Chop stalk end of each ear of corn flush with
the base of the ear. Shuck, being careful to keep corn
husks intact for later use. Wash husks, and drain.

2. Cut corn off cobs. Grind corn with the Jack
cheese in a meat grinder, blender or food processor.

3. Cream lard and butter to a smooth and fluffy
consistency with an electric mixer at medium speed.
Add the ground corn and cheese mixture, sugar, cream
and salt to taste. Continue to mix with the electric
mixer until mixture looks like whipped cream. Add more
cream if mixture is dry.

4. Cut the roasted green chiles into long strips.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of the corn mixture on each
corn husk. Spread mixture out into a rectangle and
allow at least 2 inches of husk to extend below the
corn mixture and a few inches of margin on both sides
of the husk. Place about 2 strips of green chile down
the center of the corn mixture and about a tablespoon of chicken, then sprinkle with a
few pinches of the grated Cheddar cheese.

5. Hold the two sides of the tamale together to
make the corn mixture fold up around the filling.
Then tuck one edge of the husk over the top of the
tamale and roll, tying the ends with strips of corn
husks. If preferred, the bottom end of the husk can be
folded up before rolling. If you plan to freeze the
tamales, freeze them at this point.

6. Place the tamales upright on a rack in a
pressure cooker or large steaming kettle. Before the
rack is completely filled with tamales, pour 1 to 2
cups water into the bottom of the pan, about 1/2 inch
deep.

7. Steam at 15 lbs pressure for 25 minutes, or in
a conventional steamer for 45 minutes. Serve warm
with Green Chile Sauce, plain, or with beef, pork or
chicken added. These may be kept in the refrigerator
for 3 to 4 days.

[Warpy]

13. Posole Verde

It's a whole corn soup (bordering on stew) that's found all over the southwest and throughout Meso America. It's traditionally made with pork, something never found on my table, but I've worked out a whole bunch of alternatives, some of them meatless. It's one of those truly ancient, pre Columbian things that has as many recipes as there are cooks. I never actually use a recipe, so here goes:

First, find the posole and tomatillos in an ethnic market. Yes, that's the toughest part outside the southwest. We have posole fresh frozen and dried, and both forms are treated the same. You might be able to find canned whole hominy. If you can, skip the first part of the recipe.
----

1 cup posole, 4 cups water. Simmer until the posole "pops," which means it blooms through the skin on the corn kernel. This will take up to 3 hours simmering on the stove or 8-10 hours in a crock pot (which is how I do it).

Drain the posole and reserve one cup of the cooking liquid for the soup. Or use 2 14 ounce cans of whole hominy (not as good, but acceptable).

Blend: 2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
4 tomatillos
1/4 cup roasted, peeeled and diced green chile (note:
this is not jalapenos, so don't use the pickled hot peppers,
this is the Big Jim variety of pepper available now at most
supermarkets, fresh or frozen)

Saute: 1 lb ground turkey
1 large onion, finely minced
1 tsp. oregano

Mix together 2 quarts of chicken stock, the blended veggies, the cooked posole and reserved liquid, and the sauteed meat and onion. At this point, if you want to add potatoes, or carrot, or celery, you may. All are good in this soup. Simmer the soup for about an hour.

Garnishes are chopped red onion, toasted and crumbled corn tortillas, sprouts, lime wedges, sliced avocado, parsley. Warm wheat flour tortillas can be served on the side, to temper the chile for people who aren't used to food that bites back.

(note that salt is conspicuously absent. Taste the soup when it's done to determine whether or not you need any. Commercial chicken stock is usually quite salty)

[Blue Gardener]

17. Kolaches

We have a large Czech population in Eastern Iowa. Kolaches are a very tasty pastry with a fruit filling. We have a couple of local kolache festivals every summer.
If you're a pork lover you have to try a giant tenderloin sandwich, or an Iowa Chop. I quit eating pork years ago, but my out of town relatives can't wait to chow down on the local favorites when they're visiting.

[politicat]

19. Breaded tenderloins!

My great-grandfather would live entirely on tenderloins and catsup, ice cream and cake, bacon and eggs if he had the chance. (Well, he's 91, I guess we could let him do so if he wanted to.) He's in Indiana, where a lot of the smaller grocers sell them, ready to go.

I still eat pork (since it's environmentally more responsible than beef, except for grass-fed beef) but you couldn't bribe me to eat a tenderloin. I'd gain 20 pounds with every bite.

[Ilsa]

21. I have Czech in-laws down here in south Texas where

there are regions of Czech settlements ("Yak se mas?") The sausage kolaches are my favorites. The fruit filling ones are excellent also, but I don' tthink there is anything better for breakfast on the run than a sausage kolache.

[justgamma]

22. The bars around here serve

a lot of raccoon and dressing dinners. I always wondered if that was a local thing. There are a lot of places that have turkey and dressing sandwichs.
I'm also in eastern Iowa.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. "I always wondered if that was a local thing"

I wonder if its the *real* thing ... as in ... is it Raccoon or is it Memorex ... er ... chicken. :)

[justgamma]

24. Nope, it's real coon freshly trapped. n/t