Tour of Fifty States: Indiana's meal

Indiana's pork tenderloin sandwich consists of a deep-fried breaded pork tenderloin cutlet placed on a soft hamburger bun. The meat spills over past the edge of the bread. The sandwich is dressed with a variety of condiments usually eaten on hamburgers, including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion.  The sandwich appears on many Indiana’s restaurant and diner menus, having been introduced to the state as wiener schnitzel by German immigrants in the 19th century. Nick Freinstein sold the first breaded pork tenderloin in 1908 from a food cart in Huntingdon, laying the foundation for Nick’s Kitchen, which opened the same year and still stands today. "Gourmet" magazine called breaded pork tenderloin more popular than hamburgers in the state.

Hoosier Pie appears to have originated in Indiana with the Shaker and/or Amish communities in the 1800s as a great pie recipe to use when the apple bins were empty. Similar pies are found in the Pennsylvania Dutch County and a few other places in the United States with significant Amish populations. This pie was also known as “finger pie” because the filling was sometimes stirred with a finger during the baking process to prevent breaking the bottom crust.  The pie is also nicknamed “desperation pie” because of its lack of ingredients from outside the basic pantry.

Menu:  Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Indiana Corn Casserole, Hoosier Pie

Outcome:  The pork pieces were enormous after they were pounded!  I cooked them as they were, but when it was time to put them on the buns, all of us cut our portion in half to make a more manageable sandwich  and we ate the rest of the patty on the side.  The sandwiches were very good, and we dressed them as we would hamburgers with the traditional toppings as we liked (see the first paragraph.)  The corn casserole was a very nice side dish to the sandwich and was flavored nicely with the bacon and sweet corn. 

On the other hand, none of us were fond of the Hoosier Pie … it was cloyingly sweet, sticky and rather plain and boring.  Very easy to make, but not one that we’ll attempt again. 

Next up:  Brandi’s turn!  She chose Michigan!

Indiana's meal!

Tour of Fifty States: Illinois' meal

For the state of Illinois, I knew I wanted to try making Chicago-style deep dish pizza.  I have never had it before, but it seems to be as popular as “New York” style pizza (thinner and hand-held) and hey, I just love pizza! 

The horseshoe sandwich originated in Springfield, Illinois and is served, it seems, in all of the local restaurants. It begins with thick-sliced toasted bread, most often Texas toast and hamburger patties, or ham, topped with French Fries and cheese sauce. There is also a "breakfast" horseshoe that uses ham, eggs and hash browns. A smaller portion, with one slice of bread and one serving of meat, is called a "Pony Shoe".  It is considered a local Illinois delicacy since 1928.

Since Illinois is the #1 producer of pumpkins in the US, I had to make some kind of pumpkin dessert…but pumpkin pie in March isn’t right!  That is for fall!  I ended up combining pumpkin pie with cheesecake and dump cake for one dessert, and pumpkin pudding parfaits for another dessert.

Menu:  Breakfast Horseshoe Sandwiches, Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza, Pumpkin Dump Cake, Pumpkin Pudding Parfait

Outcome:  I ended up using our large heavy lasagna/roasting pan for this pizza.  The crust recipe below covered the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides.  So if I had used a round pan, maybe a cast iron skillet, the crust would have come higher up the sides.  The way it was though, was perfect for us.  The oiled pan and the very high temperature almost seemed to fry the crust, leaving it very crisp and crunchy, even under all that sauce.  I thought it would be too much sauce, but followed the recipe as written.  I’m glad I did.  This pizza was GOOD.  It was hearty and delicious and reminded us of a pizza casserole.  All the kids and Bill said this was a winner!  They want to have it again next time they come! And we even have leftovers.  J

The horseshoe sandwiches were a huge hit as well.  I could only eat one of mine (Pony shoe for me) so I boxed up the leftover – and then I remembered to take a picture!  Haha oh well.  I did pretty well with the other items this weekend (except getting a picture of a slice of the pizza on a plate!)

Up Next:  For this round, we did a simple dice roll…highest went to Paula and she chose Indiana!

Tour of Fifty States: South Carolina's meal

For our gorgeous Palmetto state of South Carolina with SO MANY wonderful food choices, it was hard to narrow it down.  So here's what we ended up with: shrimp, shrimp, shrimp!  MMMMM shrimp!

Speaking of which, I can't find the paper that I wrote the Shrimp and Grits recipe on...it's here somewhere and I'll post an update when I find it!

Menu:  Lowcountry Boil, Shrimp and Grits, Benne Wafers
Outcome:   News flash -- Bill LIKED the grits!!!!  Maybe because they were loaded with cheese and bacon and shrimp?  Who cares, he said he liked it!  Ben, not so much.  That's okay, he ate the Caesar Salad that accompanied it.  The girls and I are big "grit fans" and we're looking forward to the World Grits Festival that will be held next month in our new home in Saint George, South Carolina!
(also, the Benne Wafers were packaged...sigh.  Just didn't have time to make them.  But they were still good!!)
Next up:  Paula's turn!  She chose Illinois!

Lowcountry Boil

Shrimp and Grits

Tour of Fifty States: Alabama's meal

Menu: Barbecued Chicken served with White Barbecue Sauce, Creamed Corn, Cheese Biscuits, Blackberry Cobbler
Outcome:  First, we didn't have the cobbler.  I forgot to buy the frozen blackberries!  It's a dessert that we will make in the future; I may just wait until the fresh ones are available.  The white BBQ sauce is surprisingly very good!  I doubt if I will give up my beloved SC mustard BBQ sauce, but this is quite tasty.  If you have a Jim 'N Nick's BBQ restaurant near you, you just have to try their cheese biscuits.  They are simply heavenly and the "copycat" recipe I found on the internet is perfect.  Very easy to whip up and very light and fluffy, like muffins.
Next up:  Bridget's turn!  She chose South Carolina!  Woohoo!

Alabama's meal

Tour of Fifty States: Georgia's meal

The meal for Georgia, sadly, was on 11/14 of 2015!  Just after that was Ben's, followed by the girls' birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!  it seems we are busy all of the time and I just haven't been able to write up my blog posts!

Ah, well...here's the original Georgia writeup, which will VERY soon be followed by two more states!

This week’s meal was from Georgia…Southern food galore!  What could be more Southern than fried chicken, mashed taters,  and gravy???

Menu:  Southern Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Corn on the cob, Peach Pound Cake

Outcome:  Well, I have to say this honestly -- there is a REASON that KFC, Popeyes, Bojangles, Church's, Bi-lo, Walmart, etc. sell fried chicken:  I don't do a very good job of it.  I love fried chicken, but I either mess with it too much while it's cooking, or it's not cooked correctly. Maybe it's their deep fryers or pressure cookers or whatever.   I have officially made my very last batch of fried chicken.  I will continue to buy it!  (Church's is the best in my opinion,)

As I was impatiently and repeatedly turning the chicken pieces (LOL) I heard this loud bleating coming from the pasture.  Knowing something was wrong, I turned off the burner, moved the skillet, and dashed outside to find Miss Gracie (the younger goat) with her head stuck in the fence.  She'd grown just a little too much and she could no longer get her horns through the fence wires to get to whatever she wanted on the other side.  After I freed her, I returned to the fried chicken to find it .... well, let's just call it "dark brown".  I did serve it, with profuse apologies.  Oh, and the mashed potatoes were boxed.  Sometimes you have to improvise!

The Peach Pound Cake was very, very good (I used frozen peaches.)  I can't wait until next summer when I can make it with fresh ones!

Next up:  Bill's turn! He chose Alabama!  Stay tuned til 2016...