Tour of Fifty States: Kentucky's meal

My mom, a.k.a Granny, was born in Middlesboro, KY. Her mother’s family lived and worked the coal mines in the area. When doing research for this project, I discovered some pretty interesting facts about this little town of just over 10,000.

The city claims to be the only one in the United States built entirely inside such a crater, as well as the home of ragtime music and the oldest continuously-played golf course in the country.

The town of Middlesboro, built in the crater, was established in 1886 to mine iron and coal, although the town's founder, Alexander A. Arthur, apparently did not know of the crater's extraterrestrial origin. K. J. Englund and J. B. Roen, working for the U. S. Geological Survey, identified the impact basin in 1962. The Middlesboro crater forms part of the string of geological features that made the Cumberland Gap, a critical westward passage during the settlement of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. Starting around 1775, the Gap became the primary route of transit for settlers moving west; between 1775 and 1810 as many as 300,000 settlers may have used the Gap.

Without Middlesboro crater, it would have been difficult for packhorses to navigate this gap and improbable that wagon roads would have been constructed at an early date. Middlesboro is also the only place in the world where coal is mined inside an impact crater. Cool facts!

On another note, in 2012 Kirstin and I took a long road trip and one of our stops was in Louisville, where we visited the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory. That was a fun experience and got to bring home a mini bat. We also visited the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, and several Kentucky bourbon distilleries in and around Lexington. Had I known about the Brown Hotel and its world famous Hot Brown sandwiches, we’d have surely stopped to try the local favorite. Here’s a link to the hotel’s description and their recipe: http://www.brownhotel.com/dining-hot-brown .

Menu : Kentucky Hot Browns, Kentucky Wonder Beans, Kentucky Bourbon Fudge Pie

Outcome: We all think the Hot Browns came out very well. Cheesy, bacony, and just really good! The flavor combination can’t be beat. The pie was rich and fudgy with just the right consistency. Mmm good! We each had a piece and shared the last 2 slices with Granny and Grandpa…hope they liked it as much as we did!

Next up: Bill’s turn! He chose Virginia! Two weeks away…

Tour of Fifty States: Idaho's meal

It seems like forever since we did our last state meal … it’s been almost 2 months!  We had a triple birthday celebration, Thanksgiving, putting up the Christmas tree, a last soccer game, an end-of-season soccer party, tree decorating, cookie decorating, driving to Florida to pick up Matthew, a Dollywood trip, Christmas dinner with 15 people (!), returning Matthew to Florida, and an on-call weekend for Dad.  Whew.  Now it’s January and we can get back to a calmer schedule. 

Christmas was especially important and poignant this year.  First, we got to enjoy it with Matthew.  Normally he lives with us and spends Christmas with his father; but now that he lives with his father, he spent Christmas with us for the first time in many years.  Second, both of my brothers came to Christmas Dinner.  The 3 of us haven’t been together in a long time, let alone for a holiday meal.  Since we’re all getting older, we felt it important to be together with our parents at Christmas.  That thought brings me to the third point about Christmas being so poignant.  Bill’s stepmother Diane passed away on December 27 after her final Christmas with the rest of her family by her side.  She had a short but hard-fought battle with cancer.  All of us were sad to hear of her passing, but we are grateful that she no longer has to suffer in pain.  She will be missed. 

Menu :  Grilled Flank Steak with Mushroom Sauce, Duchess Potatoes, Blueberry Buckle

Outcome:  When everyone thinks of Idaho, they think, “POTATOES!”  Of course, I had to find the perfect potato recipe.  Plain old mashed or baked taters just wouldn’t cut it.  I came across the recipe for Duchess Potatoes and knew it would be perfect with the flank steak and mushrooms.  My piping bag and I had a disagreement, so I ended up spooning the Duchess Potatoes into individual au gratin dishes and baking them.  They came out very nicely with lots of little brown crispy bits all over the surface. 

On to the main dish…we are all huge mushroom fans in our house!  The recipe for the sauce called for “dry sautéing” the mushrooms, meaning that butter or oil was not added except at the very end for flavor.  I really loved the intense flavor that this brought to the mushrooms … almost beefy.  Bill grilled the flank steak to a perfect medium rare for us. Bravo! 

As for our dessert, various cake-y desserts topped with fruit are referred to by many names:  crisp, crumble, cobbler, grunt, slump, brown betty, kuchen, but this was a new one to me:  buckle.  Same type of dessert, though, a simple cake batter covered with fruit and baked.  The recipe called for huckleberries, which are nowhere to be found in SC!  So we used blueberries.  Upon doing a little research, I’ve found that huckleberries are very similar to blueberries but they are NOT grown commercially (being resistant to domestication) and are only harvested in the wild.  Mystery solved!

Next up:  Ben’s turn!  He chose Kentucky – and we see the kids again this weekend, so it will be faster for the blog update!

Tour of Fifty States: Wisconsin's Meal

Following last week’s South Dakota meal (kind of in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder) here is another state that is linked to her.  She was born in Wisconsin, so many years ago.

Today Wisconsin is a state that is very, very proud of its heritage and is known as “America’s Dairyland.”  I got the recipe idea for the soup that I made from the Wisconsin Cheese Board.  Their website is www.eatwisconsincheese.com/recipes.  The one they have is called “Wisconsin Cheese Soup” but as usual, I doctored it up a bit and made my own version.

When you get to the recipe for the brats, be sure to read the “guidelines” that were given at www.bratwurstpages.com. J

Menu :  Bratwurst and Sauerkraut on buns, Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup, Schaum Torte

Outcome:  We all really liked the brats with the grilled onions.  I think I’m the only one who had sauerkraut though, LOL!  I found some “brat rolls” made by the same National Brand of brat manufacturer…but they were much longer than the brats made famous by the National Brand. Most of us ended up dipping our extra brat buns pieces into the beer cheese soup.  Speaking of the soup, it was pretty good!  I found some “Pretzel” bread sticks at Wal-Mart in a pack of 6 --these tasted just like soft baked pretzels and they were excellent dipped in the soup. 

As for the dessert – I don’t know what happened, but I followed the directions for the meringues to the letter and yet, they were sticky on the inside.  The outside parts of the meringue were super light and crispy, but when I cut into them with a serrated knife, they were the consistency of marshmallow fluff.  Not too appealing, being so gooey, but pretty good tasting with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and frozen (thawed) mixed berries.  I left the meringues in the oven all night to hopefully dry out more, but the next day they were still sticky on the inside.  Note:  The recipe ended up with 12 large meringues, so if I prepare this again I will half the recipe and make the meringues a little smaller. 

Next up:  My turn to choose!  (This round, we are going by middle names in ABC order.) I picked Idaho!  With the holidays quickly approaching, with birthday dinners for 3 of the kids and other mandatory dinners/occasions, our state meal may be pushed back to January.  I will keep writing up the recipes I make for us, however, and post them on here! 

Wisconsin!  YES I used ketchup!

Tour of Fifty States: South Dakota's Meal

As a lifelong fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie book series and the 1970s TV show, I was excited to have the meal from South Dakota.  Brandi, who is also a huge “Little House” fan, mentioned that South Dakota was one of the places that Laura and her husband lived.  J  She was even re-reading Farmer Boy this weekend.

My ancestors settled in Sioux City when they came over from Norway and for many years I had a great-aunt who lived in Rapid City.  I’ve always wanted to visit the area and we’re thinking about making next summer’s vacation trip to see Mount Rushmore…and we’re going to try to stop by DeSmet, SD along the way to see Laura’s home. 

Menu :  Chislic, Potato Skins , Berry Kuchen

Outcome:  Bill really liked the seasoning on the beef cubes.  We opted to serve the meat on each person’s plate instead of on a platter to be speared with toothpicks, South Dakota style, but it was still very, very good!  The Kuchen recipe for South Dakota was much different from the one for North Dakota, which was more like a cake.  This version came out like bars, with a more solid crust on the bottom.  The recipe called for blackberries, a fruit you would more likely find on the South Dakota prairie, but we had 5 gallon-sized bags of blueberries in the freezer – so a Blueberry Kuchen is what we had! 

Next up:  Bridget chose Wisconsin!  (Brandi also remembered that was where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born!)

Tour of Fifty States: New Jersey's Meal

When we were visiting Grandpa John and Grandma Diane in New Jersey this summer, Bill mentioned our Tour of the Fifty States meal project.  Grandpa John immediately asked what I chose for New Jersey.  I answered, “Italian Subs”.  “Bah!” he replied, “all New Jersey is famous for is chemicals!!  There is no state food!” 

Well, I decided to stick with my original concept of the North Jersey Italian-American culture.  So here we go!

Menu:  Italian Subs, Jersey Sweet Corn, Cannoli Tart

Outcome:  Although The Garden State is famous for its Jersey Sweet Corn, I couldn't find any here in South Carolina.  We had some white corn on the cob.  We served the kids’ Italian Subs on the regular Italian bread, but Bill and I opted to use lettuce leaves to make “wraps” of our Italian subs (to save a few carbs and calories).  Yum!  The Cannoli Tart was quite good, although I found the crust to be a little too thick for my liking.  If I make this again, I will half the quantity of everything for the crust.  But it was still really good and reminded us all of real Cannolis.

Next up:  Brandi chose South Dakota!

Ignore the shadow on this lovely piece of Cannoli Tart!

Tour of Fifty States: Alaska's Meal

For this meal, I was thinking about what Alaska is famous for … Alaskan King Crab legs (way too expensive), Reindeer sausage (I’m not willing to pay those shipping fees), Salmon (too fishy for my taste), another kind of fish?  I know there are TV shows about fishing in Alaska, so I decided to go check it out. I found a recipe on an Alaskan fish company’s website and decided to give it a try.  It called for Halibut.  Of which I know nothing except that they are very, very large.

When it came time to serve Alaska’s meal and I started shopping for Halibut I found myself in a dilemma.  Do I buy 5 Halibut steaks at $9.99 each from Grocery Store 1?  Do I buy one and we all share it? Do I buy a couple of pounds at $26 a pound from Grocery Store 2?  Or at $25 a pound from the local fish market?   I checked the Big Box store and they didn’t have Halibut, nor did the Warehouse store.  Grocery Store 3’s fish guy looked at me like I was crazy. 

Then I thought, what other kind of fish is Alaska known for other than salmon?  Stumped, I typed the various fish types that the grocery store did have into my phone looking for their place of origin.  I settled on Alaskan Cod, which according to my phone, was fished in the Aleutian Islands.  It happened to be on sale BOGO, so for $9.00 I got 10 Cod filets.  Perfect … until I got home with the package and it said “PRODUCT OF CHINA.”  Oh well, at least the species is found in Alaska! 

Menu:  Spicy Denali Alaska Halibut Cod, Steamed Asparagus, Sourdough bread, Individual Baked Alaska with Berry Sauce

Outcome:  We’d never had Cod before but we can compare it to Tilapia and I’ll add it to our rotation of dinner items.   The Cod was light and mild tasting, and cooked up nicely.  The spice mixture was really spicy and I ended up scraping off most of the spice layer since my mouth was on fire.  The Asparagus was yummy, and the Baked Alaska was, “The best dessert you’ve ever made,” as spoken by Ben!  As for the Sourdough bread that was to be in honor of the Alaskan Gold Rush…it’s still in the freezer.  L

Next up:  My turn to choose and I got New Jersey!

Alaska's Meal

Tour of Fifty States: Oklahoma's Meal

Oooooklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain....  Sorry but I had to!  :)

This meal was a total hit!  We'd just watched an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" where the show had traveled to a little place in OK (Tulsa, I think) that was making the same onion burgers.  Everyone was looking forward to trying these and they were just so juicy and oniony.  

Menu:  Onion Burgers, Fried Okra, Pecan Pie

Outcome:  YUM!  

Next up:  Ben chose Alaska! 

Well, I took pictures this time:  the main and side dishes while they were cooking, and the dessert after we'd jumped into the pie...but I didn't get a "pretty" picture of the plated meal or the dessert!!!  Gotta keep working on that.  I'll get it together one of these days.  :)

Tour of Fifty States: Texas' Meal

Well, we picked the states oldest to youngest, then youngest to oldest...Bill being the oldest, we needed to decide how to choose the next state.  This round will be length of each person's name!

Texas has so many good food choices, it was hard to narrow down just one main course but after a long debate, we've ended up with:

Menu:  Chili con Carne, Tortilla Chips and Salsa, and Texas Sheet Cake

Outcome:  The chili was good, the tortilla chips and salsa were good, but WOW this cake was just super delicious.  So much better than a box cake and quite easy.  Next time I make it I will half the recipe but I'm 100% making it again.  VERY good flavor and texture!

Next up:  Ben chose Oklahoma!   

This cake is SO good!!

Tour of Fifty States: Tennessee's Meal

We've had a change in our family -- my son Matthew decided to move to Florida to live with his father, so our family of 6 is now down to 5.  We decided that we are still going to continue with our Fifty States Meal plan.  Normally if one of the kids isn't with us on a weekend when a meal is planned, we postpone that meal until we're all together.  This time is different, however;  we don't know when or if he'll be rejoining our family, so onward we go.

I just haven't had the time (or energy) to get back on here and get the pictures and recipes uploaded, but I plan to be better at doing this.  Tennessee's meal was served 8/24/14.

Menu:  Memphis Dry Rub Ribs, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Tennessee Apple Stack Cake 
Outcome:  Everyone really liked the delicious Ribs and the risotto is a family favorite!  We weren't in love with the Apple Stack cake (not sweet enough?)
Next up:  Bill chose Texas!

Delicious Grilled Peaches

Since we are in summer, a.k.a. peach season, I bought some lovely SC peaches and grilled them.  I’ve seen the recipe in magazines and on the Food Network, but I’d never attempted grilling any fruit besides pineapple before.  

I removed all of the silly little stickers from the peaches, washed them, and cut them in half (discarding the pits.)  Next came a light sprinkle of cinnamon.  

On a very hot grill, I placed the peach halves cut side down.  After about two minutes, I turned them over and let them grill cut side up for another two minutes.    That’s it!  They were very hot, so they cooled as we ate lunch.  

After about 30 minutes, I put two peach halves in a bowl and topped them with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dusting of cinnamon.  (Not cayenne pepper, as the kids joked that I did!)  Thinking about it later, I think a teeny light sprinkle of cayenne might just be really good with the soft sweet peaches and the sweet ice cream!  I must try that next time!

NO I didn’t take any pictures. I just forgot!  Again! I’ll do better next time!

Summer Fruit Pizza

Dessert for this past weekend was Fruit Pizza that everyone, kids and adults, just loved.  I’ve seen lots of variations on websites and in magazines, and this fit the bill for an easy and “healthy-ish” summer dessert.  This is definitely going on our go-to list for favorite desserts.  Noone has to know that it’s good for them. ;-)

NO I didn’t take any pictures. I just forgot!  Again!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

When our local grocery store had cabbage on sale for a really great price, I got a head and put it in the fridge.  And there it sat.  Hmm, what to do with it?  The past several weeks have been busy and we’ve been trying to make easy and fast meals for the kids.  ( A lot of grilling!)  This past weekend, I decided I have GOT to do something with that cabbage.  So Stuffed Cabbage Rolls it was!  I really had no idea how everyone would take to these, but I forged ahead with it anyway.  It was a nice surprise to have everyone ask for seconds!   A low carb version is listed below the recipe.

I served these with herbed Italian bread and some buttery Brussels sprouts and sautéed pierogies.  NO I didn’t take any pictures. I just forgot! 

Tour of Fifty States: Colorado's Meal

Well, it has been a busy summer.  I had forgotten to post our latest state meal (Colorado) from weeks and weeks ago, so with apologies, it is below.  (I just found the pictures on my camera. Ooops.)

Just after school got out in early June we all went on our big family trip to New York and New Jersey to see Bill’s family (2024 miles round trip over 6 days.)  We also visited Washington, D.C.!  That was a first for me – and all of the kids.  I think they liked the Air and Space Museum the best.  

After we returned from NY, the following week I drove up to Tennessee and picked up my oldest daughter Kirstin and we drove just outside of Cincinnatti, OH to visit Kings Island for the day.  (Nice theme park, but we agree we like Dollywood better.)

Then the following week, I went with Matthew and his Boy Scout troop to camp for a week in Saluda, NC.  Now he’s in Florida with his dad, and we have the other 3 with us for some summer visitation.  We’ll all be back together again in mid-August!  Until, then, we are holding off on doing our state meals but I have a few more recipes to share.  

Menu:  Denver Omelets (for breakfast), Denver Chili Colorado, and Colorado Cowboy Cookies

Outcome:  This was our first state where we included breakfast…but we couldn’t do Colorado without making Denver Omelets!  Everyone really enjoyed the chili and Bill says it’s how we should make chili from now on!  No more ground beef…the beef cubes really made the chili so tasty to us.  Of course all cookies are good, but these Cowboy Cookies were great! 

Next up:  I chose Tennessee!  It will be August before we have it, but that’s okay.  We are looking forward to some Memphis-style ribs.