Not exactly recipes -- but regional food
 

It has been interesting here in the Midwest, there are so many things that I take for granted as being easy to find in the Seattle region that are largely not here in Peoria. I'm not talking brands but specific items especially in terms of fresh produce and spices. For example, when I do see tomatillos here it isn't a big bin, if they are present at all it is about the roughly 2 pounds I use for one batch of Salsa Verde. Haven't seen a single Napa Cabbage at the regular grocery stores, the ethnic specialty stores or the farmer's markets.

Likewise, there are common things here that I just didn't know existed and some things that I just didn't see all that often.
I've been trying little deli servings of things on markdown, for example "Sandwich Spread" which seems to be ground bologna with miracle whip and pickle relish. Never saw "ham salad" in the deli case before being here, sometimes hubby can explain things to me having come from Michigan :)

From you Mid-westerners, or just regional food fans, what should I be looking for or what regional favorites do you have to share?

BTW, I did have my first Horseshoe Sandwich. Is basically a sandwich without any "salad" but with fries and cheese sauce, many different variations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_sandwich

PS: Culvers as a chain restaurant is new to me,but is a family favorite on the hubby's side.

Boy, that is interesting. I recently was told by a Nurse at my Doctors office to get papaya. Never even saw one before but it was actually at my grocery (walmart) store. Ha!

when we used to travel, I was introduced to pea salad, something I saw in the midwest but not the northeast. I like it.

I was quite old before I figured out that a hot dish and a casserole were the same thing.

I am not exactly sure about what a " covered dish" is. I know people bring them to potluck meals.

Bearisgray- a covered dish is the same thing.

I don't have any idea what is a regional dish in the Midwest, even though I've lived here a long time. I'm from NY and Italian so
anything Italian here is pretty disappointing. So why am I not skinny? haha

I don't have any regional dishes for you...sorry. When we lived in Hawaii in the early 70s, you could not get any Mexican food. I finally found corn tortillas, packaged in a can, in the freezer section of a Chinese market. Those were pretty strange. Later, they got the Mexican food bug over there and all kinds of Mexican foods started arriving.

Oh...wait...I know...my grandmother was Bohemian and from N. Dakota. Her family dish was Beef Goulash. Lots and lots of sweet paprika.

Random thoughts -- SusieQOH, don't know if this is something you are familiar with butcommon here and never seen in Seattle is Italian Beef. Thin strips of beef sort of like a Philly Cheesesteak but served with au jus.

Tropit -- my paternal grandparents were both from North Dakota, the Dickinson area. Their family background was as Czech peasants brought over to farm the great barrens of America. I'm not sure if they were both born before immigrating with their parents, I think my grandmother was 3?? when they arrived. My dad was in the army and so I grew up all over and mostly distant from all of my grandparents but I remember various dishes -- few of which my mother cooked coming from a different background.

When hubby went back to get his truck, he came through South Dakota and tried Chislic, the state snack of South Dakota. Again, many variations but think chunks of seasoned meat like shish kabobs (with or without skewers)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chislic

I grew up in central Canada (just think north of the Dakotas) and in a German farming community. My mom and dad were both first generation Canadians.

Three 'regional' things that come to mind are Fruit Platz--a shortbread type base covered with sliced and sweetened fresh peaches or plums (those were the ones I liked best altho I suppose you could use any fruit that is in season) with a crumb topping. It was baked and best when it was served warm, and it didn't 'keep'--the fresh fruit would make the base soggy, so we were always encouraged to have seconds!

The second is Pluma Mous--a sweet cold 'soup' of stewed fruit--raisins, prunes, dried apples,pears,peaches or apricots in winter or canned apricots, plums or peaches added--the variations were endless. The juices were thickened with cornstarch and sugar and the seasoning included cinnamon and star anise. I'm sure every family had its own favourite mixture. It was often served for Sunday Faspa--afternoon lunch--like the English afternoon tea.

The third is Ruhl Kuhchen--a rich, but not sweet dough made with 'top cream' (the cream that rises to the top of fresh milk after it sits for a while)It was rolled out and cut into rectangles (sometimes a slit would be cut down the middle and one end would be pulled through to make it 'fancy') and deep fried. Always served with watermelon in my family, but also with rhubarb sauce or Roger's Golden Syrup.

When I think back to my growing up years, I often wonder how I managed to not be as round as a pumpkin!

Crazy! I remember that we talked about our ancestors a few years back. My great grandfather and his Czech wife helped to start the town of Casselton, ND. They were homesteaders and had a wheat farm and a blacksmith shop there. He died young, so she sold off the farm and moved to the Seattle and Spokane areas. We must be related somehow.

We moved from the Rio Grande Valley to Corpus Christi, and the meal that I miss the most is a Botana. It is a family meal platter with a base of bean and cheese nachos with grilled beef fajitas piles in the middle. Scoops of guacamole, jalapeno slices, embueltos (small, rolled up, fried corn tortillas with chicken), and Mexican cheese quesadillas! One restaurant had thin fried zuchini strips that were worth the extra drive!

I'm originally from Indiana and the food I think I miss most is s breaded tenderloin sandwich. They were huge. Pounded out so thin then breaded and fried. They were often served on two buns and hung over the sides of the plate. Here in Texas they have no idea what I'm talking about when I say I want a tenderloin.

I see (and have had a couple) of the tenderloin sandwiches here. Again, something I never saw before and here they are everywhere! They are, btw, awesome :)

"Mexican" food changes a lot depending on where you grew up/where the family the food originates from. TexMex is different than CalMex and Hatch Chilis and green sauces are another thing entirely. And then there are the regional differences from Mexico -- obviously if you are coastal it is a very different thing than if you are central.

As I understand, in the Seattle area, the first family to make it big (and just about the same time as I moved from Alaska to Washington) in Mexican restaurants was from Cuaulta, not only their chain but several others are from the same region. It wasn't until later that I was introduced to Oaxacan and other regions. To be honest, I don't know what my favorite local place style was -- only that Iiked it!

Thank you for sharing those dishes. They are all so unique to me. I love this thread!

I've been to Oaxaca...back in 1981. We went there because we really wanted to get to Puerto Escondido, which is straight out to the coast from there...good surf. We stopped in Oaxaca for a couple of days to check it out. No one was talking about Oaxaca back then, so it was all new to us. I was amazed at the incredible foods in Oaxaca, especially the moles.

My mother was from North Carolina, but I was raised in Northern Virginia. She never served oatmeal, it was always grits... usually mixed with a breakfast meat. My favorite was scrapple. My father was from West Virginia, and if he hadn't wanted scrapple, I would never have known about it. I don't think it is sold in North Carolina.

Grits was served in North Carolina as often as eggs for breakfast.

To this day I don't know why oatmeal is so popular. It tastes slimy to me.

This is such a fun thread, Iceblossom. I love regional dishes and also especially love ethnic dishes. That beef you mentioned doesn't ring a bell.
There is a place in Cleveland that makes Reubens that rival the best NYC restaurants. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water. They must be 6 inches high and not a bit of fat.
My husband got his degrees at the University of Georgia. What an experience coming from NY at 21. First of all I'd never had Mexican food until then and to this day we love it. Of course now you can find it anywhere but not back then. I couldn't take grits though. I really think you have to be born in the South to appreciate them.
Every time we watch My Cousin Vinny the grits scene cracks us up. That would have been us haha!!!
I DID have a cousin Vinny and he acted an awful lot like Joe Pesci in that film LOLOLOL As we say of people like that- a real greenhorn :D

I'm glad people are enjoying this thread :)

We went out today for a farmer's market that had mentioned they would have pawpaws -- something regional I am very interested in trying. Unfortunately, what few pawpaws they had were sold out in minutes, and we got there about an hour after starting.

Pawpaws are very seasonal and don't travel well. The reason you "pick up pawpas and put them in your pocket" is that is how you tell if they are ripe -- they fall off the tree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba

You should plant some trees... then you can go "way down yonder in the paw paw patch." :)

lol I thought before I planted any, I should make sure I like the fruits!

I ordered a Sassafras tree to plant after reading Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery. I was surprised about all the positive things about that tree that I didn't know about before. It should get here today.

I also started quilting after reading The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini. Books change my life for the better.

When I visited Florida, my friend ordered Shrimp Grits. I was thinking, "Eww, shrimp in cream of wheat!" Wish I had ordered it! It tasted amazing and nothing like a breakfast cereal.
My friend is a chef and a foodie! I had my first Reuben sandwich during my visit. Everything was homemade and top shelf! The restaurant chef came out and visited with us! That was a first!

Scrapple! I was going t mention that one too. We just had a veggie version of that yesterday for breakfast. My grandmother used to make it with cooked, shredded pork and sometimes sausage, fried in butter and covered in maple syrup. OMG! A heart attrack and heaven on the same plate.

I like scrapple and headcheese and various sausages. And spam at least once a year.

We did live in Georgia for a couple of years in the early-mid 60s. I am more familiar with "corn meal mush" rather than grits or polenta, but overall they are very similar other than some differences in the grind and/or type of corn or seasonings (sweet or savory??). With school lunches everyday there were hush puppies, not something I find myself craving.

One of my favorite pantry (that is, no fresh) breakfasts is fried spam and cornmeal mush served with maple syrup. You make the mush the night before and cool in a bread pan, then make slices the same size/shape as your spam slices and fry both until a nice crisp on the outside.

In general, I like all the hot grain breakfast cereals -- Maypo or Ralston or Cream of Wheat (or rice) or just rice with milk, oatmeal is just fine. For cold breakfast cereals, I liked Buc Wheats but those are no more.

Is hard for younger people like my son to understand when many of us were young, there simply weren't the fast food options there are today and that some things they take for granted were once exotic. Like pizza! That was ethnic food before Shakey's and Pizza Hut came along...

So enjoying this thread! Born and raised in Minnesota, and probably have the softest, narrowest palate. Salt and pepper are spices, and ketchup can be a hot sauce. My mom made beef goulash. Elbow macaroni, diced tomatoes, sauce and hamburger. Hamburger hot dish is ground beef, celery, onions, and a can of chicken noodle soup. Steak was a rarity, and only fried. She refused to serve/eat oatmeal, because she said that's all she ate for years growing up. Chicken came in a can. Pea salad is ring macaroni, peas, and miracle whip, with cubed cheese in it. There are a few tuna creations she came up with during lent that are best left forgotten. Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches were a staple. Tomato soup was always made with water, and you'd better double the water! Growing up with 9 kids was tough sometimes!

Luckily, Ive expanded my choices and food experiences. Took many years, and lots of kitchen failures!

Cincinnati has something called Goetta. It's a ground meat and oatmeal combination formed into a loaf then sliced and fried. I've seen it on menus as breakfast, in sandwiches and even on pizza. Natives love it but, in 30 years of living here, I've never tried it.

For me growing up in CA, it's real nachos. Those fake nachos that are so popular now, with that slimey cheese sauce, drive me crazy. The real deal with several kinds of fresh, grated, melted cheese, charred meat, fresh jalapenos, fresh guac and tons of other goodies on homemade tortilla chips is pure heaven. The Mexicans did not invent Velveta...Kraft Foods did.

i just googled the Sassafras but it wouldn’t grow here, but saw some negative things about it as well as the positives.
Here is a copy and paste of one of the articles.

Is sassafras legal in Canada?
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...Xz1aUYv99BYA&s
It is important to note that dried Sassafras bark which is found in some health-food stores should be used with caution if at all as it contains Safrole which is a carcinogenic item and is banned in the USA and Canada. Wild Turkeys, squirrels, black bears and foxes all feed on the fruit of Sassafras.

Since I'm not planning on eating the tree, I'm exicited to have all of the positive things about the tree in my yard. LOL!

Aebelkag (Apple cake)
The women in my family kept a cake pan in the oven and it’s where stale bread landed. When the oven was preheating for other things, the bread got toasted with no real effort. Eventually there was enough to crush it with a rolling pin to make bread crumbs. A little sugar and melted butter was added to make a loose crust on a big platter. Next layer is applesauce topped with real whipped cream. Platter is passed around the table for everyone to help themselves. It’s best eaten that day so platter gets passed a second time. Try as I might, I can’t make it taste like Mom & Grandma made.

We had stuffed baked potatoes this week. That is a potato fixed with with what you like: butter, grated cheese, bacon bits, sour cream. Then, it is topped with a mound of chopped smoked brisket. One of my favorites. I first had one when working in a tiny town called Alamo, TX. I wonder if Willie B's is still opened...

My relatives made fried dough. When coming out of the oven you roll it in sugar. Heavenly!!
My Mom didn't make it though. She didn't think it was healthy. She was way ahead of her time in the nutrition department!

[QUOTE=GingerK;8617953]I grew up in central Canada (just think north of the Dakotas) and in a German farming community. My mom and dad were both first generation Canadians.

The third is Ruhl Kuhchen--a rich, but not sweet dough made with 'top cream' (the cream that rises to the top of fresh milk after it sits for a while)It was rolled out and cut into rectangles (sometimes a slit would be cut down the middle and one end would be pulled through to make it 'fancy') and deep fried. Always served with watermelon in my family, but also with rhubarb sauce or Roger's Golden Syrup.


I remember my paternal grandmother (German) making these and I never knew what they were called to find a recipe. Thanks so much for sparking that memory. I hope when I make them it’s as good as my memory.

I should mention that during the rainy season (like right now) we have fresh Chanterelles. Saute those up with some wine, butter and garlic...yummm! Other goodies that we have locally are oysters and Dungenes crab, plucked fresh from the wild ocean.

I have lived in Michigan all my life and never heard of a horseshoe sandwich. The sandwich that Ice Blossom described as something like a Philly Cheese Stake with out the cheese in my neck of the woods is called a French Dipped sandwich and at least here in the mitten state is commonly on the menu of casual resturants and in site that offer "bar food". They will often have golden pan seared onions and a slice of white cheddar cheese. Quite yummy when dipped in the Au Jus.

Pasties are common in Michigan but like all food with an ethnic origin, they are not "real" pasties unless you find them in a mom and pop restaurant in the UP where they were working man food a couple of generations back.

The first things that came to mind when you mentioned mid-west food was fresh orchard fruit, berries in season, corn by the bushel and jello. Jello is often the companion of a covered dish! Tee-Hee-Hee. But with the ease of purchasing foods of all types, I think we are losing our regional flavors. I live in a college town and we have a generous variety of foods in grocery stores, restaurants, specialty food stores and of course our many farmer's markets . We can eat or cook internationally with ease.

Could it be you are seeking tomatillos out of season? I have seen them at my local farmer's market for a number of years now.

Interesting thread. Made me think a bit.

Are your pasties a hand pie of some sort?