Tour of Fifty States: New York's meals

 Oh boy… I did it again.  I somehow overlooked writing up the last THREE states’ meals!  I realized last week, as I was prepping for our LAST state meal, almost 2 years into this adventure, that I never wrote up the last few!  Does that mean no one is reading? 

 

For New York, we knew we needed a “do-over” (see our previous New York meal) and for the state to have its’ foods properly represented.  So we went all out, and dedicated the whole weekend to the state of New York.  It was a fun weekend!  At the height of summer, the weekend began the kids’ first week of our summer visitation with them. 

 

Menu:  Spiedie Sandwiches, Beef on Weck, Buffalo Wings, Cheesecake, Pizza, Eggs Benedict

 

Outcome:  Thursday night we had Spiedies with Corn on the Cob (from Binghamton, in the region of NY that borders northern Pennsylvania, aka “The Southern Tier”.)  Bill’s aunt and uncle served these when we visited them, and we liked them a lot.

 

Friday’s dinner was Beef on Weck (from the Buffalo/Rochester area) with Skewered Red Potatoes, Onions, and Bacon (see Delaware for the recipe.)  I know I want to make this sandwich again, it was so delicious!  It was easy and quick, two more bonus points in my book.  J  Dessert that night was Aunt Barbara’s Cheesecake -- NY style, baked with a shortbread crust.  It’s unlike any other cheesecake I’ve ever had.

 

Saturday we had real NY bagels that we had frozen on our last trip up (Poughkeepsie) for breakfast.  I took the girls to Bee City in Cottageville and we had pizza for lunch!  For dinner, we had Buffalo wings (I had Teriyaki wings because I don’t care for hot/spicy food) with French fries. 

 

We finished up our salute to New York with Eggs Benedict (NYC) on Sunday morning, then we took the kids to their grandparents’ to finish up the week.   Overall, it was a great weekend. 

Next up:  Bridget’s turn!  She chose Iowa!   

                                          

Spiedie Sandwiches 

 

The original idea for spiedies was brought by Italian immigrants to upstate New York in the early 1920s.

 

The traditional method involves serving freshly prepared cubes of lamb, chicken, or beef on soft Italian bread, and occasionally drizzled with fresh marinade. However, it is common to find them served on a submarine roll, and chicken is now the meat of choice due to cost. The bread is used as an oven glove to grip the meat while the skewer is removed.

 

Ingredients

• 2 lb. chicken, cut into 1 ½" cubes
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• ¾ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. red (cayenne) pepper
• 1 ½ tsp. dried thyme
• 1 ½ tsp. dried basil
• 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. coarsely-ground pepper
• 1 loaf Italian or French bread, thickly sliced

 

Spiedies

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and sugar. Add garlic, bay leaf, red pepper, thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper; stir until well blended.
2. Place prepared meat in a large resealable plastic bag set into a shallow dish. Pour marinade mixture over meat and close bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days; turn bag occasionally to distribute marinade.
3. Remove meat from refrigerator and let stand in marinade at room temperature for 2 hours; drain, reserving marinade.
4. Preheat grill. Thread 4 to 5 cubes of meat onto each metal skewer. Place onto hot grill and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until done to your preference, basting with reserved marinade. Remove from grill and serve immediately.
5. To serve, fold the bread over the contents of the skewer and pull the skewer out, leaving the meat sandwiched within the bread.

Serves 6.

 

 

Beef on Weck

The Kummelweck rolls used in New York are difficult to find outside of the state, so a good substitute is to make your own using Kaiser rolls.

 

 Ingredients

 

• 6 Kaiser rolls
• 12 oz. good deli-sliced roast beef slices
• 4 cups beef broth (salted)
• 1 Tbsp. Coarse or Kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. Caraway seeds
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• ½ cup water
• Horseradish

• 

  Beef on Weck with Skewered red potatoes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine the water and cornstarch and in a separate dish, combine the Caraway seeds and coarse salt. 
2. Place the Kaiser rolls on a cookie sheet and, using a pastry brush, spread the cornstarch and water mixture over the top of each roll and immediately sprinkle the Caraway seeds/salt mixture over the top of each roll.  Bake for about 4-5 minutes until the cornstarch mixture has dried.  Remove from the oven and cut in half. 
3. For the sandwich, heat the beef broth in a saucepan until simmering. Dip the sliced roast beef in the hot broth and place on bottom side of the roll. Top with horseradish to taste, then dip the top of the roll in the broth and place it on top of the sandwich.

Serves 6.

 

Buffalo Wings

Ingredients

• 3 lb chicken wing sections
• 1 jar Frank’s Buffalo Wing sauce

 

Directions

1. In a large zipper bag, combine the wing with the sauce and marinate for a day.
2. Preheat the oven to 450F and line a cookie sheet with foil.  Using tongs, remove each wing section from the bag and place on the cookie sheet, reserving the marinade. 
3. Bake for about 20 minutes, until thermometer reads 180 F.  Brush with some of the marinade over each wing and bake for 5-10 minutes more.  Discard the marinade. 

Serves 4.

Platters of Wings!

 

Teriyaki Wings

 

Ingredients

• 3 lb chicken wing sections
• 1 jar Teriyaki sauce

 

Directions

1. In a large zipper bag, combine the wing with the sauce and marinate for a day.
2. Preheat the oven to 450F and line a cookie sheet with foil.  Using tongs, remove each wing section from the bag and place on the cookie sheet, reserving the marinade. 
3. Bake for about 20 minutes, until thermometer reads 180 F.  Brush with some of the marinade over each wing and bake for 5-10 minutes more.  Discard the marinade. 

Serves 4.

 

Eggs Benedict

 

Ingredients

• 6 English Muffins
• 12 poached eggs
• 12 slices Canadian Bacon
• Hollandaise Sauce (see below for recipe)
• 10 Tbsp butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Directions

1. To make the hollandaise sauce, begin by melting the butter. In a blender, add egg yolks, lemon juice, and  salt and blend on medium speed for 20-30 seconds, until eggs lighten in color.
2. Turn the blender down to lowest setting and slowly dribble in the hot melted butter, while continuing to blend. Add more salt or lemon juice to taste.
3. Split and toast the English muffins and place on plates. 
4. Top each muffin half with Canadian Bacon and a poached egg, then spoon the Hollandaise sauce over the top.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6.