Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Frederick, Maryland

  
The Location: Frederick, Maryland

2013 population: 66,893; 58.2% white, 14.9% Hispanic. Per capita income: $32,998.

Before the European invasion, the area around Frederick was used by tribes of the Iroquois nation as a passageway on their hunting travels. The city of Frederick was founded in 1745, as Frederick Town, by Daniel Dulary. It was inhabited by mostly German immigrants, including a large German Jewish community; so much so, that the town was entirely German-speaking until the first wave of Irish immigrants came and settled there in the mid 1840's. The Irish had left Ireland to escape the Great Famine, and brought with them the English language that would end up becoming the predominant language of the town. In time, Frederick would grow to become a religious, legal, economic, and mining center for the region. The Baltimore and Ohio(B&O) Railroad came to town in 1831. By the 1850's, Frederick was connected to St. Louis and Chicago, via the railroad.

During the Civil War, Maryland was in a unique position. It was a border state, lying on the Mason-Dixon line. It was a slave-owning state, and yet it did not secede the union. It fought for the Union, and would end up being the site of many a battle. Frederick itself housed several hospitals to care for the wounded, and was also a passageway for escaping slaves on their way north to freedom. After the war, Maryland imposed segregation in all public places. It would not be until 1921 that the first African American high school was established.

Firefly Fan Factoid: Those of you familiar with the tv show, Firefly, may find this interesting: In 1864, a Confederate General by the name of Jubal Early came to Frederick and demanded a ransom of $200,000 to be paid to him or he would burn the town down. Town officials raised the ransom by going to all the town's banks and getting them to contribute to it. Once the ransom had been paid, General Early honored the agreement, and left the town unharmed.

The Food: "Crab" Cakes and Old Bay Seasoned Pork Chops
The state of Maryland is known for a couple of specific foods: crab cakes, and Old Bay seasoning. There was really no way to avoid this if I wanted to do the state justice. Here's the problem though: I don't like crab. I never have. So, what was I to do? I had to honor the crab cake, but I wasn't about to eat it. And then I found it...A recipe that would end up being my salvation: a vegetarian crab cake. A zucchini cake, to be specific. The zucchini stands in for the crab, but is prepared in the exact same way. It was the perfect solution! The recipe also had Old Bay seasoning in it, so that was even better! But one cannot live on zucchini cakes alone, so enter, the pork chop recipe. It's marinated in Old Bay seasoning, so it would feature prominently. Perfect!

Old Bay seasoning has its start in the early 1900's, in Chesapeake Bay. It was created by a Jewish German immigrant named Gustav Brunn. Many seafood seasonings were created around that time, but Old Bay is the one that survived. It has become synonymous with the state of Maryland. There was no way I could not feature it in this week's meal. There was just one problem: I couldn't find any. I went to two grocery stores and couldn't find it in bulk format or canned. Seriously, how hard is it to find this stuff? It's usually everywhere, right? Apparently Seattle doesn't do Old Bay seasoning that much...Fortunately I had found a knock-off recipe online and could make it myself. According to what I read, the seasonings are all listed on the container, so it's not too hard to figure out how to make it for yourself. But there was another problem: It's nearly a two to one ratio of salt to celery seed. Now, as you know from this blog, I cannot stand the taste of celery. There was no way I could use it as it was written. I had to change it. But how? What to use instead of celery seed but would still be keeping with the idea of a seafood seasoning? I decided that even though it would change the flavor significantly, I would substitute dill for the celery seed. I adore dill and it's a natural pairing for seafood. I've never actually had Old Bay seasoning before, so I don't know what it should taste like. I realized I was probably bastardizing a time-honored, tried-and-true tradition, but too bad. I had to be able to stomach it, right?! So, I told my sister what I was doing and that I should call it New Bay seasoning and she suggested Elliot Bay seasoning since we're here in Seattle. So, Elliot Bay seasoning it is!!

Making a seasoning blend is super easy and usually is far less expensive than buying a jar of it. Because you control the spices, you control how hot or not it is, and how fresh the spices are. If you don't have one already, I highly recommend getting a small coffee grinder that you use only for grinding spices. It really is the best way to crush spices. But keep it just for spices, because the flavors would mix with the coffee if you used it for both.

Summer's "Elliot Bay" Seasoning:
 3 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. dill weed
1 1/4 tsp. dry mustard powder
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes(the original recipe says to grind these, but do so at your own risk. These are very spicy and if you inhale any of that dust, you will regret it. And also sneeze all over the place. I kept mine whole.)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground bay leaves(Yes, ground bay leaves! A revelation to me, but you should smell them after they've been ground. It's wonderful!)
1 tsp. paprika
1 pinch each: ground cloves, ground allspice, ground ginger, ground cardamom, and ground cinnamon(Note, some recipes call for nutmeg too, so feel free to add a pinch of that as well, if you want. I did not.)

Mix everything together and keep in an air-tight container.

Any time you would use Old Bay seasoning, you can use this, if you'd like to try something different. It was ridiculously easy to make and should keep for quite a while. I think the next time I have salmon, I'll use this. I might even throw some in my tuna the next time I make it.

First up were the zucchini "crab" cakes. I found two recipes but chose the one that called for pan-frying instead of baking in the oven. I mean, if you're going to make crab cakes, even if it's just with zucchini, I wanted to do it right. You can bake these in the oven if you want, but I think pan-frying them is best. I made a half batch, so I will write it out here, but provide the link for the original in the sources section at the end.

Zucchini Cakes:
1 1/4 cups grated zucchini
1/2 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/8 cup(2 Tbsp.) minced onion
1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/8 cup flour
Vegetable oil, for frying

In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, egg, and butter. Mix in the breadcrumbs, onion, and seasoning. Mix until well blended.
Using a 1/3 measuring cup, measure out cakes and pat together into a hockey puck-like shape. (Mine made 6.) Don't pack them together too much or the texture will be gross. Just enough to keep their shape.

Place flour on a plate or a bowl and dip cakes into it, coating both sides in flour. Gently tap the excess flour off the cakes.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add cakes to the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides. You may have to turn a few times to make sure they're properly heated through. Mine didn't really get too greasy so I didn't need to drain them on paper towels. Keep an eye on the pan and add more oil as needed. The cakes absorbed a lot of oil as they fried.

Two of three of these would be a serving, depending on what else you're eating. If it's your main side, you might want to go with three. If you're having another starch with your entree, two would be good. I thought these were really good! They were nice and oniony and had a lovely texture. I think I would add more seasoning next time, because zucchini is rather bland and I didn't detect much of the seasoning, though I didn't need to add any salt or anything. I will see what they taste like reheated tonight for my dinner when I eat the leftovers.

Next up, was the entree. I chose a pork chop recipe because it was marinated in Old Bay seasoning and grilled. I have a grill pan, so I grilled mine on the stove, but if you have an outdoor grill, definitely use it. Mine ended up taking a while to cook all the way through and were still a bit on the medium-well side, so you might want to cut your pork chops in half so they're thinner before you marinate and grill them. I'd do that next time. Here's the recipe:

Chesapeake Bay Pork Chops:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic(I actually missed this when I did the marinade, and left it out. This is what happens when you don't print the recipe from your computer and just scribble notes instead. Definitely add this.)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil(I couldn't find those little packages of basil when I was shopping because I looked in the wrong spot. Who knew that fresh basil would be over with the garlic and tomatoes and not hanging over in the refrigerated section with all the other fresh herbs? So I opted for one of those tubes of pre-chopped basil instead. I don't use fresh basil often, so I think the tube might be a good way to go. You can just squeeze out however much you need.)
1 lime, juiced
Pepper, to taste
8 boneless pork chops, 1/2" thick(I used the whole marinade recipe but only did 2 pork chops. I didn't want to deal with cutting down the proportions because I was in a hurry, but feel free to cut down the marinade depending on how many chops you'll be grilling)

Combine the oil, vinegar, Old Bay seasoning, garlic, basil, lime juice, and pepper, in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Mix well and then add the pork chops. Seal the bag and place in the fridge to marinate for 4-6 hours. Turn over every couple hours to make sure it marinates evenly.
Heat the grill pan over medium heat. Oil the pan lightly. When heated, remove the pork chops from the marinade(discard marinade), pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel, and place in the grill pan. Grill 5-7 minutes per side until cooked through. The meat should be 145-150 degrees when finished.

The marinade on this was fantastic! Nice and tart from the lime and vinegar, and well seasoned. It was very moist as well, which can be something lacking in pork. I was really happy with this as well and have another pork chop for my dinner tonight. I am quite excited about this! I found that the two cakes and one chop wasn't quite enough for a full meal. Tonight I'll be adding a baked potato and I think that should be just about perfect.

If you are a fan of crab cakes or are a vegetarian who misses them, I highly recommend this recipe. It's a nice change from crab, and a good serving of vegetables. I don't know what you would use instead of the egg for the binder, but you could easily switch out the butter for olive oil and make them vegan. Not sure how to make them gluten-free, however. Unless you have a good brand of gluten-free breadcrumbs and flour that you like, then by all means, test it out!

Maryland was a state that started out as a very difficult state to find food to try, but ended up being a very delicious experience after all! I'm glad I keep researching!

Sources:
Pork Chop Recipe

Original Seasoning Recipe

Zucchini "Crab" Cake Recipe

City Pic

City Map

City Info

City History

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Dearborn, Michigan

The Location: Dearborn, Michigan

2013 census: 95,884 people; 87.9% white(of this, 42.4% are people of Arab ancestry. People of Middle Eastern descent are counted as white for US census purposes. As of 2000, the number of Arab Americans in Dearborn was 40,000.); 4.% African American. Per capita income as of 2013-$19,592.

Dearborn is a suburb of Detroit. Prior to the European invasion, the region was home to Algonquian-speaking Native American groups. The French were the first Europeans to establish a trading post and other connections in the region, though this was lost to them as part of losing the Seven Years' War with Britain. Dearborn was established in 1836, named after Henry Dearborn, a general in the Revolutionary War. It was incorporated in 1893. Today, Dearborn is home to several prestigious museums, including The Henry Ford, and The Arab American National Museum.

Dearborn is the often thought of as the Arab-American capital of the nation. Like other towns with large ethnic enclaves, this town has grown to house a large group of Arab Americans who either immigrated here, or were born there. Immigration began in the first half of the 20th century, with most people coming to work in the auto industry.

While not all Arabs are Muslims, many of them are, which makes Dearborn the city with the second largest Muslim American population, behind New York City. With this comes a lot of fear and misinformation by some people. The internet is rife with it. Contrary to popular internet belief, Sharia Law has not taken root and is not the "law of the land" in Dearborn. It is not the hub of ISIS in America, nor is it where terrorists are born and bred. For the most part, it is home to people who merely wish to be left alone to practice their religious beliefs in peace. There is also a certain amount of harassment they must endure as well, unfortunately. One popular story on the internet shows a video of white Christians being "stoned" by "cruel" and "aggressive" Muslims as they are driven out of a community festival. What the video doesn't show, however, are the protest signs filled with words of hatred and messages about "burning in hell", etc. The video does show people throwing empty pop cans and water bottles and driving the protestors back out of the festival with very little assistance from the police, from whom the protestors demanded help. However right or wrong it may be to counteract hateful protestors who are harassing you and your community, one does need to see the entire story in its proper context before passing judgement on a huge section of the American population.

So, you might be asking me right now, why Dearborn, and why now? I have been looking forward to this post since I started this blog. This past Friday night marked the beginning of Eid al Fitr, the huge celebration at the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is the month of fasting that most Muslims participate in. During this time, no food or liquid may be consumed during daylight hours. Imagine what that must be like, particularly in the hot summertime. Ramadan occurs at different times each year, but this year it took place in the super hot summer. This is dedication! While there are many different ethnic groups who are predominantly Muslim, I wanted to focus on Middle Eastern food because I love it so much and haven't cooked it in a very long time. Dearborn fit into this perfectly, and with Eid falling on the actual day I planned on doing the post for it, I couldn't resist. Though I did not partake in the fasting, I did partake in the feasting, and so, I present to you...

The Food: Middle East Feast

This ended up being one of my favorite meals so far. When this project is over, I will go through it and pick my top ten meals and favorite dishes, etc. This one is guaranteed to be in my top ten. It was just that good. It was also one of, if not the most labor intensive meals I've done so far. Many of the posts I've done have been crockpot meals or simple dishes, but this one took hours over the course of two days to prepare and I loved every second of it. I made three dishes- an entree, a side, and a dessert.

This post also marks a first for me in that I went to a family gathering and shared my food with my family. Many of them read this blog but have never had a chance to actually try the food, and this was their chance to taste some of it, finally. I'm glad it all turned out as well as it did because I had an audience to impress! They seemed to like it all, or at least they were very polite and ate it anyway!

Shish Tawook:

This entree was a last-minute thing because I was going to have access to an actual grill and wanted to take advantage of it. It is a flavorful dish, and I really enjoyed it. Grilled chicken skewers that were marinated in a yogurt-based marinade. There were tons of spices and lemon juice and it was just fantastic! The recipe comes from the internet and I didn't alter it at all. I will share the link in my sources section at the end, but I won't type it out here.

Fatoosh Salad:
Salad:
1 large pita bread(I tripled this recipe and ended up using the entire package of pita bread even though it was more than it called for.)
2 cups finely torn romaine lettuce, lightly packed(I used a combo of romaine and Boston lettuce and I liked the contrast of colors and textures.)
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped(Even though I tripled the recipe, I only used this amount and it was fine.)
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped(I used one regular-sized English cucumber. I did not peel it though I did seed and chop it.)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. minced parsley(I skipped this)
1/2-1 tsp. oregano(The recipe doesn't specify fresh or dry and I didn't want to spend the money on fresh so I actually used dried and put it in with the dressing. I would recommend doing this if you plan on using dried.)
Dressing:
2 Tbsp. lemon juice(Fresh-squeezed really is best for this one.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed garlic
Pinch salt/pepper

For Salad: Slice the pita bread into 8 triangles. Separate each triangle in half, creating 16 pieces total. Place on a baking sheet and toast briefly under the broiler, just until crisp and lightly brown. Watch closely so the bread does not burn. (Will only take a few minutes.) Break the triangles into large pieces and set aside. Combine the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl.
For Dressing: Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper(Summer's Note: And add the oregano here if using dried) to taste in a small bowl, and whisk until well combined. Pour over the salad and toss gently. Add the toasted pita pieces just before serving and toss once more. Serve at once.

Makes 4 servings; 142 calories, 8 g. fat, 3 g. fiber

This salad was fabulous! It's sort of a Middle East version of a Panzanella, the Italian bread salad. Since I was making this to take to a gathering, I had to prep everything and put them in separate containers and assemble it at the party. I transported the lettuce in that bowl and had the dressing in a carefully sealed container that I would be able to shake to mix the dressing. Everything was carefully packaged to prevent spilling and it turned out wonderfully! The lemon is tart but not overwhelming. It's really light and refreshing. I highly recommend this salad!

Ma'amoul-Date-filled Cookies:
1/4 cup orange blossom water(Available at Middle Eastern grocery stores though I found mine at the HT Market out on Aurora next to Oaktree Cinema. Do not use the smaller bottles that can be found in some alcohol sections of grocery stores as this is essentially orange extract. What you need is the type made from actual water and orange blossoms. Believe me, I know the struggle of finding this but it's worth it. I went to four stores before finding it and after buying the wrong kind first. If you know of a store that sells rose water, chances are they sell this too. Try that place first.)
2 cups flour
1 cup semolina
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups pitted dates, chopped
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

*In a small bowl, combine orange blossom water with 1/3 cup water. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
*In a large bowl, whisk together flour, semolina, sugar, and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs; drizzle orange blossom water over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until dough holds together. Form into ball; press into disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. (Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.)
*Meanwhile, in saucepan over medium-high heat, bring dates and 1 cup water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and smooth; about 5 minutes. Let cool. (Summer's note: This can be done ahead of time as well. Just reheat over low heat until the chill is gone when you go to fill the cookies. Keep covered in the pan in fridge or put in a leftover container and refrigerate.)
*Drop dough by 2 Tbsp. onto waxed-paper-lined baking sheet to make 26 mounds. (Summer's note: I didn't measure this, I just pulled the dough into 26 pieces and then pulled parts off the larger ones and added to the smaller ones to make sure they were all approximately the same size. The dough is very workable and forgiving so don't worry about overworking it.) Place 1 ball in palm of hand; press thumb halfway into center of ball, forming a cup shape to hold filling. Spoon in 1 tsp. filling; fold dough over filling and pinch edges to seal. (Summer's note: This did not work because there's not nearly enough space to put that much filling without it spilling out the edges when you try to seal it. What works better is this: Take the ball of dough in your hand and pat it down as thinly as possible so it resembles a small pizza dough, or a potsticker wrapper. Place the teaspoon of filling in a line along the center and fold dough in half. Seal the edges so it resembles a potsticker but place sealed-side down on the baking sheet.) Repeat with remaining balls and filling. Place, pinched side down and about 1" apart, on parchment paper-lined or greased baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
*Bake in center of 400 degree oven until bottoms are golden grown, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to rack. Dust with powdered sugar. (Summer's note: I did this in one turn with the oven. I put one rack on the top and one on the bottom and switched them halfway through baking and it did just fine. I found mine only needed about 19 minutes to cook, possibly because I'd had to stretch the dough thinner than it called for.)
Makes 26 cookies; 153 calories, 7 g. fat, 1 g. fiber

These were fantastic! I had a hard time not eating all of them myself. My family enjoyed them a lot as well, which surprised me since many of them don't like cooked fruit mixing with dessert products, generally speaking. So, they must really have been good! The flavor of the orange blossom water is difficult to describe. It's floral, but not overwhelming. It's not particularly orangey, but has a slight citrus flavor. I wouldn't recommend not using it and if you were inclined to try rose water instead, I would not use the amount listed in this recipe. Rose water is much stronger and way more overwhelming. I would cut it down to maybe a half teaspoon and regular water to make up the difference. I also think walnuts or pistachios would be an amazing addition to this cookie. Mixed in with the dates would be the natural place to put them.

This was an amazing meal and I'm so happy I got to share it with others! I love Middle Eastern food so all the hours I put into it, were spent in love and joy of the food. If you have never tried anything like these recipes, please try them out. You might just fall in love with a cuisine that has a rich, and very long history. You will be transported half way around the world, but remember, that it's also just as American as any other food I have celebrated here!

Sources:
Shish Tawook Recipe

City Info

City Map

City Pic

I am not going to post links to the hatred I found on the internet regarding the citizens of Dearborn. The video and story I referred to can easily be found online and I will leave that up to you to research if you are so incline. I choose to not spread hate, either on this blog or in my life in general.