Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I've been wanting to do a thread on favorite dishes of the American States, so I'll start us off with Maryland where, despite being born in Washington, D.C., I've lived all the rest of my life.

Since 2008, the official dessert of Maryland has been the Smith Island cake:

http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/dessert.html

(It's a little difficult to parse the sentence on the website which declares Smith as "Maryland's last inhabited island, reachable only by boat". What it really means is that Smith is the last inhabited Maryland island with no land-bridge to it - one can only get there by boat. We have quite a few other inhabited islands, and perhaps too many commas ;-)

And here's the recipe (you need at least 8, and ideally 10, cake layer pans for this - no cheating, by slicing thick layers into thinner ones ;-)

http://www.smithisland.org/cakerecipe.html

*******************************************

The Maryland State Crustacean is the Blue Crab - our 'Beautiful Swimmers', as the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by William Warner was entitled. And, if 'Virginia is for Lovers', then 'Maryland is for Crabs' ; though our claim to these beauties has been met with some contention lately:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crabbing-the-truth-mcauliffe-hogan-spar-over-blue-crab-origins/2015/07/29/b262d3f6-35f4-11e5-9739-170df8af8eb9_story.html

I've already admitted that I have yet to really master the Crab Cake; but I've made Crab Imperial successfully, and Bea Tom's recipe is a good one. Mrs. Toms is a beloved Maryland caterer and writer, and here is her website:

http://beatoms.com/

This recipe is adapted slightly from the Crab Imperial recipe in her book, 'Recipes from a Country Cook', which is available for sale on her website.

Be sure to pick over your crab meat very carefully, to get out every tiny bit of shell - this recipe is ruined by shoddy 'picking', as one of my restaurant experiences has proven.

Crab Imperial Bea Toms

1/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Flour

2 Cups Milk

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

a dash of Tabasco

1 egg yolk

2 Tb. Cream Sherry

1 Cup soft Bread Crumbs

2 tsps. finely minced Onion

2 tsps. finely minced Green Pepper

3/4 Cup Mayonnaise

1 pound back fin Crab Meat

2/3 Cup buttered Bread Crumbs

1/8 tsp. Paprika

Melt the butter and saute the onions and green peppers. Slowly add the Flour, Milk, Salt, Pepper and Egg Yolk, in that order.

Continue to stir over low heat until all is blended well.

Add Paprika, 1/4 C. of the Mayonnaise, and the soft bread crumbs.

Mix well and check the seasoning. Adjust if necessary. Remove from heat, and add Sherry. Then fold in the Crab Meat gently.

Spoon into a buttered 1-1/2 to 2 qt. casserole, and glaze the top with the remaining Mayonnaise.

Top with the buttered Bread Crumbs, and sprinkle lightly with the Paprika.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes, or until things are bubbling, and the top is golden and a little crusty.

The recipe says that it should serve 6; but I would say 4 :-) For a dinner party, it's also very nice baked in individual gratin dishes, with a starch side and a wonderful salad.

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This week: American State Dishes, Official and Favorite!

I’ve recently seen recipes for a Minnesota Wild Rice Soup, which I want to try; and I love both Manhattan and New England Clam Chowders. Do folks have favorite recipes for those?

(I’ve diverged slightly from my original plan to post this thread on Thursday or Friday, because my personal schedule has changed somewhat. Will get back to ‘later-in-the-week’ posting soon!)

If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread, please send me a private message.

-JT

[KosmicKitty]

Oh my, I love crabs. Your recipe sounds so good!!

Connecticut, the Nutmeg State. My suggestion, grate nutmeg into your lightly teamed green beans with a nice chunk of butter.

Nutmeg is also outstanding in New Year’s Eve eggnog, with or without rum!

[Safetgiver]

Oh my, I love crabs....I highly disagree with you.....Oh,...wait... Never mind.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, it’s not my recipe, but Bea Toms’.

I agree with you on Nutmeg; it’s wonderful in many egg-y things!

-JT

[OftheOhio]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3209644/posts?page=1
A past thread but a good one for Clam Chowder. I would like to see that Wild Rice Soup recipe, hehe.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

That crab recipe sounds good. I will try that substituting Dungeness crab cause that’s what we got here.

[Arthur McGowan]

Also born in Washington, D.C., but always lived in Maryland.

My favorite Maryland dish:

Cornbread, buttered, with maple syrup. With beef stew on top.

[Jamestown1630]

I think this is the one that I first found; haven’t tried it yet:

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/minnesota-wild-rice-soup.html

-JT

[lee martell]

I don’t have a dish to suggest yet, but I’m conducting experiments with Lousianna Hot Sauce. I find the flavor distinctive and satisfying without being too hot. I like Sciarrchia (sp?) too, but the flavors, aroma and the texture are completely different.

[Jamestown1630]

Love the buttered, syrup-ed corn bread; but I’ll have my stew on the side ;-)

(I see chicken in sweet waffles a lot these days; don’t really get it...)

-JT

[Twotone]

Please add me to your ping list.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an Oregon dish, but I just found this website...

http://www.americanfoodroots.com/50-states/

Guess I’ll have to look.

[FlJoePa]

I make Teaberry Ice Cream (It’s a PA thing). I don’t use heavy cream and instead use 4 cups half and half. Teaberry oil can be found online (don’t use much of any mint oil as it is usually VERY strong - 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon usually does it). Pink food coloring is needed if you want it pink.

Any flavoring can be used - just add it at the end when you put the custard in the machine. Very good with good vanilla beans!

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups half-and-half cream

8 egg yolks

1 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Pour the heavy cream and half-and-half cream into a heavy saucepan, place over medium-low heat, and heat until barely simmering, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to low. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat three times more, whisking thoroughly before adding each additional 1/2 cup of hot cream to the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream, and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens and will coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes. Do not let mixture boil.

Pour the ice cream base into a bowl and allow to cool for about 20 minutes; place in refrigerator and chill overnight. The next day, pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Remove the ice cream, pack into a covered container, and freeze for 2 hours or overnight before serving.

[Jamestown1630]

I like Sriracha for many applications; and when I introduced it to my workplace, they went through it like wildfire. I have trouble keeping up with their need for supply :-)

But as a real Hot Sauce, it’s a little sweet for me. I think it complements Asian foods wonderfully; but for American ‘South of the Border’ recipes, I’d go differently.

I do love the documentary about the Vietnamese gentleman who made it to the US after the war, and created the company that makes the famous “Rooster” Sriracha sauce; it’s a great ‘American Success Story’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXOAx58LBDo

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

LOL! My husband is from Pennsylvania, and when I told him about your post just now, he said:

“Oh My God, it is SO GOOD; and you can’t find it anymore!”

(I’ll be saving your recipe!)

-JT

[RedMDer]

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S AVE O UR S ITE

Seriously, folks, we're just over halfway there and
still have a long way to go.

We truly do need your continuing support to keep FR on the air.

If you love using FR and think it's a worthwhile endeavor,
please help us keep it going by
making a donation today.

Thank you all very much!

God bless.
~ Jim.

We cannot exist
without you.

[Conservative4Ever]

Oh my goodness, but that sounds just yummy.

[jocon307]

“I see chicken in sweet waffles a lot these days; don’t really get it..”

I have the impression that chicken and waffles was a dish originated in Harlem as a late, late night snack for nightclub performers to have after they finished working.

To me that made total sense. You’d be really hungry, so you’d want that fried chicken, but it would be almost morning, so you’d want that breakfast dish which could also serve as desert.

I too was always like: what?!?! when I’d hear chicken and waffles, but after I heard that story it made total sense.

But I still think I’d only want to eat it at about 4 AM.

This also reminds me of a restaurant sign I saw in Jersey City: BREAKFAST....LUNCH....FRIED CHICKEN

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“But I still think I’d only want to eat it at about 4 AM.”

After copious amounts of alcohol.

[econjack]

I'm not from Texas, but I get more requests for this recipe than any other when I take them to a pitch-in.

Texas Beans

3 cans (16 oz) Vegetarian Beans

1 can chili beans

1 can Great Northern beans

drain (all but Chili beans)

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (or Turkey sausage)

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 med. onion, chopped

saute onion and green pepper in oil, drain and add to beans with the browned meat (we usually brown the green pepper, onion and meat together)

Combine:

1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup catsup 2 Tbls. mustard 1/2-1 tsp. salt

Mix and add to beans. Place all in large pan or casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.