What's in Grandma's Recipe Tin?-Wiener Schnitzel

My original plan was to make this meal last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, when I was going to Leavenworth on Saturday, but I had misplaced the recipe and couldn't find it, and was just too lazy to deal with it all, so I scrapped it till this weekend. I chose this wiener schnitzel recipe because Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style town, and I like German food, so it was a perfect connection. While there, I picked up a package of spaetzle to try, because I've never had it before and it's the quintessential German side dish. Neither disappointed.

The recipe is from a newspaper clipping from an unknown year, from one of the Seattle newspapers, because I can see Seattle-related things advertised on the other side of the clipping, but no date or year listed anywhere. It does say the recipe is a reprint from the San Francisco Chronicle originally. I'll type it out because it's larger than the last recipe and won't show up very well in a photograph.

Wiener Schnitzel
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

4 pork cutlets, each about 1/2" thick or slightly less (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups panko or homemade breadcrumbs (see note)
2 Tbsp. butter, plus more as needed
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, halved

Preheat oven to 225 degrees and place a serving platter in the oven.

Pound the cutlets until they measure roughly 7" by 10" and are very thin, about 1/8" thick. It takes about 4 minutes per cutlet to accomplish this. The cutlets can be pounded the day before and wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to cook, if desired.

Pour the milk in a shallow bowl, and put the beaten egg in another. Sprinkle the panko or breadcrumbs on a sheet of aluminum foil.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. While it is melting, dip one cutlet into the milk, then the egg, and then lay it in the panko or breadcrumbs, then turn and coat the other side. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. When the butter foams, put the breaded cutlet into the hot butter. If the pan is large enough, repeat with a second cutlet.

When the crust is golden brown, about two minutes, turn and repeat on the other side, 1-2 minutes. Remove and place on the warm platter in the oven. Repeat, adding more butter as needed, until all are done.

Serve hot, along with half a lemon.

Note: To make homemade breadcrumbs: Simply put dried baguette or other artisan bread in a blender or food processor and chop or process to medium light crumbs.

I started off with two thin-sliced pork chops. Basically one pork chop, cut down the middle. The recipe doesn't say exactly what kind of cut of meat to use, which would have been helpful, so I just went with these, because they were already thinner, and affordable.

And as you can tell, I don't always follow directions as they are written. This is usually because I don't actually really read them until just before cooking, and then I generally wing-it as I go, as long as I got the ingredients right, which I also sometimes don't follow either, cuz what's the fun of following the rules? I mixed the egg and the milk together, like you would for dipping bread for French toast, and you know what? It turned out just fine. Don't bother dirtying up a third plate for the breading process, it's totally ok to mix the egg and milk.

Here is the finished result! I used panko, and half of it falls off, so don't freak out if that happens to you too. Enough will stay on to be delicious and coat it all. And as you can tell, it's not nearly as thin as the recipe says it should be. This is because I spent forever pounding them with a meat mallet and that's as thin as they got. I got worried my apartment neighbors would start to get upset if I kept at it, so I just stopped. Again, if it had said what cut of meat to use, it would have helped because some work better than others for this, and clearly the pork chops I had weren't the right cut. It's ok if yours don't get as thin as they should either, just know that you'll need to cook them longer, but it'll all work out fine in the end. Don't panic.

Here they go in the melted butter. The butter immediately sucked up into the breadcrumbs and I had to keep adding more and more that I finally switched to oil because I was tired of using so much butter. It still needed way more than it called for, so be prepared emotionally to be consuming so much butter and oil in one dish, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, you know? Just work out a few extra minutes the next day and you'll be all good.

Here's the first flip. It does take a few times on each side to get it really browned. Be careful with the tongs because the breading is delicate and will scrape off if you press too hard with them. And make sure to take extra care to fry the edges too, because they won't brown on their own if you don't. If they were thinner, they'd cook faster and probably cook the sides better too. But, just adapt to what you ended up with and it'll be fine!

Here's the spaetzle I bought in a German cheese shop in Leavenworth. It was expensive, but worth it. It's an imported item and you're supporting a small, independent store, so I had no problem shelling out some extra money on it. I just followed the directions on the package exactly, which are thankfully in English, and it turned out great. I know sometimes people fry these in butter after they're cooked, and I'd definitely eat it that way. It would just make it that much more awesome. It's a good alternative from other, more common forms of side dishes, and a must for German entrees!

Here's the final result! Nicely browned, crispy breading which you must put lemon juice on, it just takes the flavor up to a whole other level of deliciousness! This didn't go exactly as the recipe said it would, but it still turned out great. That's the important lesson to be learned with cooking. Don't be intimidated by the instructions. If one way doesn't work for you, find another way!

If you like German food, or want to explore German cuisine more, this is a great starter recipe. It's pretty basic, and quick and easy. I think you'll all enjoy this one! Happy Cooking!

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of the World: Mongolia

The Location: Mongolia

Continent: Asia, north
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Current Head of State: President-Tsakhiagiin Elbegdarj, Prime Minister-Chimediin Saikhanbileg
Form of Government: Unitary Semi-presidential Republic
Official Language: Mongolian
Ethnic Groups: Mongols, Kazakhs
Formation Date: Has been occupied by humans for 40,000 years.
Population: As of 2015-3,042,511
Currency: Togrog(the o's have the two dots over them but I can't make my computer do that on this blog program.)
Independence Day: 1911-From China
Main Religion: Buddhism
National Anthem:

Mongolian Folk Song:

The Food: Mongolian Millet and Green Milk Tea and Tsuivan
I think a lot of people in the US think Mongolian food is the same as Chinese food or that it's grilled meat and stir-fries, but this is wrong. Mongolia lies between China and Russia, and because of this, its cuisine is influenced by both cultures. Mongolia is a landlocked nation, largely pastoral and nomadic. It is heavily meat- and dairy-based because the land is not very conducive to growing produce.

Mongolian Millet and Green Milk Tea

2 cups water
2 cups whole milk
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1 Tbsp. green tea

For the millet “garnish” (optional):

1/4 cup millet
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. flour

Add the milk, water, and salt to a saucepan and heat until almost simmering.

Add the green tea (in a tea ball) and let steep over the heat for 4-6 minutes, or to desired strength. Remove the tea and increase the heat so that the mixture just barely simmers.

Meanwhile, toast millet in a skillet over medium heat in butter. Dust with flour and continue toasting until golden brown.

Add the toasted millet to the tea mixture and cook 15-30 minutes or until the millet is tender.

Right before serving, check your seasonings and add some extra salt, if desired.

Ladle steaming hot tea into everyone’s cup or bowl, being sure to give everyone a healthy amount of millet (which will most likely be settled on the bottom of the pot).

Makes 4 servings

This recipe didn't really work for me. It had potential, but I would have needed to tweak a couple things. First, I think the salt didn't blend well with the green tea. Green tea has a very grassy taste and if you aren't used to it, you might want to add something sweet to counter the flavor. Salt just made the grass flavor even stronger. And it was just too salty. I recommend leaving it out, as well as using unsalted butter, if you have it. You could also use oil to toast the millet and it would work just fine. And as for the millet, I should have cooked it for the full 30 minutes, because it was only half cooked. Half-cooked millet is very chalky and doesn't taste very good. I think the tea, water, and milk would have been just fine, and if the millet had been properly bloomed it would have added a wonderful texture. I might try this again one day with these changes.

Tsuivan-Mongolian Noodle Stew

10.5 oz. flour(This was translated from metric, so you definitely want to measure this out exactly. Same with the water.)

6.7 oz. water

Oil

7 oz. meat of choice, sliced thinly(traditionally lamb is used, but I used a pork spare rib.)

Vegetables of choice, sliced thinly(I used the following: green cabbage, bok choy, onions, green onions, carrots, and zucchini)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Water

Salt

Pepper 

Make Noodles:

Mix the flour and water in a bowl until well-combined. Add more water or flour if needed. Once mixed, set aside for 15 minutes. You don't want to activate the gluten too much. This is a noodle dough, not a bread dough.
Once the dough has rested, cut it in half and roll each half out thin into a round. Pour about one Tbsp. oil onto the center of the dough. Spread it out to cover the entire surface of the dough. Repeat with the second round and set one on top of the other. Cut down the center and put one half on top of the other. Cut again and place on top of the other. Cut into 1/2" strips. Keep the strips in the stacks they're already in. You will separate them after they are cooked.

In a large pot, heat some more oil and add half the onions. Once they are mostly cooked, add the meat. When that is browned, add the carrots and garlic. Let cook for a while and then add a few tablespoons of water. Top this with the vegetables. Add salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes to help cook the vegetables down a bit. Remove the lid and add water to about 2/3 up on the vegetables. Add the rest of the onions before placing the strips of dough on top.

Put the lid back on and cook for about 15 minutes. The dough will still be in thick strips, but will be cooked enough to separate with forks, chopsticks, or what I ended up using: my fingers. Make sure to give yourself time to do this. Each piece of dough has about 7 noodles that need to be separated. They are also hot, so you might need to go slowly. Once they are all separated, gently stir them into the meat and vegetable mixture until well-incorporated. The water will have nearly evaporated by then, which is supposed to happen.

The original recipe recommends adding some sort of sauce to it and I found it did need a little something. I added a bit of soy sauce and it was lovely. Tonight I want to try it with some hoisin sauce and see how that is. If you like spice, you could add some Sriracha sauce.

This was a lot of work! But it was pretty tasty too! There is something very homey about the homemade noodles. It was fun to see them separate into strips. If you've never made noodles before, I recommend this version. It's pretty easy, it just takes time.

Sources:
Tsuivan Recipe
Tea Recipe
Map Link
Flag Link
National Anthem Link
Folk Song Link

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-New Haven, Connecticut

The Location: New Haven, Connecticut

2013 population: 130,660; 33.1% African American, 32.0% white. Per capita income: $22,714

The city was founded in 1638 by Puritans. New Haven's claim to fame is being the home of Yale University. It is the basis of the city's economy, and is its biggest employer. New Haven was Connecticut's co-capital from 1701 to 1783, before power was transferred entirely to Hartford. New Haven is said to be the cultural capital of the state.

Prior to the European Invasion, New Haven was home to the Quinnipiac Native American tribe. They were corn farmers and fishers. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the area, followed by the Puritans from England. Rather than being slaughtered or displaced, however, the Quinnipiac sold their land to the settlers in return for protection from a nearby rival tribe.

The Collegiate School moved from Old Saybrook to New Haven in 1718. It was renamed Yale University after Elihu Yale, a merchant in the British East India Company who made a large donation to the school.

New Haven was one of the first cities to embrace the anti-slavery movement in the 1830's. During the Civil War, New Haven sold a lot of goods to the war effort, but didn't engage in any battles of their own. After the war ended, it became home to many Italian and Jewish immigrants.

After the two world wars, New Haven became a victim of urban decay, as more residents left the city to move to the suburbs. In the last few decades, though, it has begun to be built up once again.

The Food: Connecticut Not-Beef Supper and Connecticut Apple Brownies
Connecticut was one of the most difficult states to find recipes that I was willing to try. One of their most famous recipes is clam pizza with white sauce. That was a "no" for me...So I had to keep looking, and finally, after days of searching, I came across these two recipes. They sounded simple enough, yet tasty, so I went with them. They did not disappoint.

Connecticut-Not Beef Supper:

This is actually called Connecticut Beef Supper, but as I do not eat beef, I had to change it up a bit. I think it turned out really well and my sister actually ate some and loved it. That really says something for how good it is. I will rewrite the recipe as I did it and include the link to the original in the sources section.

2 Tbsp. cooking oil of choice
2 lb. cubed pork roast
1 onion, sliced 
1 cup water 
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced 
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream 
1 1/4 cup milk 
1 tsp. salt 
1/4 tsp. pepper 
1 cup cheese, grated 
Bread crumbs(optional)

Heat oil in large skillet. Brown meat and onions. Add water and heat until boiling. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Pour meat into 13" x 9" ungreased dish. If there is a lot of liquid left in the pan, drain it out, you don't want this in the dish. Put potato slices on top.In a large bowl, stir soup, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. For last half hour, sprinkle with cheese and bread crumbs, if using, over the top and return to the oven.

This was really delicious and comforting on a winter night. I highly recommend this if you are looking for comfort food, but something a little different from what you usually go for. And if you have leftover liquid from simmering the meat, don't throw it away. Skim off the fat and freeze the liquid for something else. My sister and I discussed making a stew and that liquid would be perfect for it.

It's hard to go wrong with cheesy, creamy potatoes, and you throw the meat in it and you have a one bowl dinner. Those in my family are well aware of a dish called Patio Potatoes that is a staple for our Christmas Eve dinners. This dinner is much along those lines, but it's a little more dairy-friendly. I am looking forward to trying this reheated tonight for dinner!

Connecticut Apple Brownies:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 egg

2 cups apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I used Honeycrisp)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine sugar, applesauce, butter, and eggs. In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add them to the butter mixture, and mix well. Stir in apples and nuts. Spoon into greased 9" square pan (or double recipe for 9 x 13 inch pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Mine only needed 30 minutes. I made them in the morning to take with me to a tea party and they ended up being very popular! Calling them a brownie is a bit of a misnomer, because as you can see, there is no chocolate anywhere in the recipe. But, the texture is very much like a brownie. Maybe Apple Blondie would be a better name for them. By cutting out half the sugar and replacing it with the applesauce, it is healthier, but you don't notice it. The apples are sweet and the applesauce fits right into the recipe.

Both of these recipes were fantastic! I had to work so hard to find them in the first place that I am very glad they turned out so well. You definitely need to try these out. You will not regret it!

Sources:
City Map

City Pic

City Info

City Stats

Connecticut Beef Supper Recipe

Connecticut Apple Brownies Recipe

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-Bristol, Rhode Island

 The Location: Bristol, Rhode Island

2010 census: 22,954; 94.0% white, 2% Hispanic. 2013 per capita income: $30,527.

Today, the city is home to large Italian, Azorean, and Portuguese-American populations, but prior to the European invasion, the land was home to the Wampanoag and Narragansett Native American tribes. Bristol was where the first battle in the King Phillip's War, a war between the Native population and the European settlers, took place in 1675. The Native Americans eventually lost this war, and this would lead to more wide-spread colonization of the area by Europeans.

Bristol was originally part of Massachusetts before being transferred to the Rhode Island colony in 1747. Despite being a northern town, due to the fact that it was a successful port town, it became a center for the slave trade. During the Revolutionary War, Bristol was attacked twice by the British navy.

Claim to Fame: Bristol is the home of the oldest 4th of July celebration in the United States. It was started in 1785 by Reverend Henry Wight of the First Congregational Church. The parade that still happens today, was started in the early 1800's. Today, the celebrations begin on Flag Day in June, and last through Labor Day weekend. You might be asking me, why didn't you do this place for 4th of July? What a perfect opportunity that you missed! Well, there are two very good reasons. One, I didn't do a 4th of July post. And two, I didn't know about this until afterwards. This would have been a perfect location to do a 4th of July post. The other option was Delaware, which was the first colony of the United States. But I ended up skipping the 4th, so it doesn't matter now!

The Food: Rhode Island Johnny Cake with Raspberry Syrup, and Green Onion and Apple Sausage
Besides seafood, the one item I kept coming across for Rhode Island, was the Johnny cake. For those of you who are not familiar with the term or have never read the Little House on the Prairie books, a Johnny cake is basically a cross between cornbread and a pancake. They are a very simple, very basic, humble food that can be made quickly and with very little preparation. I had my pick of recipes, but chose one from a cookbook I have never had the opportunity to use before. One of the things I like to collect from used book stores is the Time/Life cookbook collection that came out in the 60's and 70's. Each one is a large, hardback book with various regions of the United States and the world. The one I used was specifically for Northeastern foods of the United States. These are fun books. If you can get your hands on them, I highly recommend them. I will write out the recipe the way the book says, but will add some notes based on my experience.

Rhode Island Johnny Cake
1 cup white cornmeal(I used yellow because that's what I had on hand. Some will say this isn't as authentic, but that's ok.)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter, softened, plus 1/4 cup butter, melted, plus 4 butter pats
1 cup boiling water
1/4-1/2 cup milk
Syrup

Combine the cornmeal, salt, and softened butter in a deep bowl. Stirring constantly, pour in the water in a thin stream. When the butter melts and the liquid is absorbed, add 1/4 cup milk. (I made a half batch of this and noticed that the liquid didn't absorb very well into the cornmeal. I ended up having to add more cornmeal to absorb it all. It probably ended up being a 2:1 ratio of cornmeal to liquid, rather than 1:1.) Beat until the batter holds its shape lightly with a spoon. If necessary, add more milk by the teaspoonful.
Heat a skillet or griddle over moderate heat until hot. Brush the skillet lightly with melted butter. To form each cake, ladle 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Cook 1-2 cakes at a time, leaving enough space so that they can spread into 5" rounds. Fry them for 3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden and crisp around the edges. As they brown, transfer the johnny cakes to a heated plate and drape with foil to keep them warm while you cook the rest, brushing the pan with melted butter as necessary. If the batter thickens, thin it with an additional tablespoon of milk.

Top each cake with half a pat of butter and syrup. Serve at once.
Makes 8 cakes

These were so easy to make. There is no leavening agent in them, so I suppose technically, a person could make and eat these during Passover if they wanted to. They are also gluten free, and I would imagine you could use any alternative milk you wanted and use oil instead of butter to make them vegan. You could probably also fry these in bacon grease if you wanted to impart more flavor to them. They're a very plain, very basic food and I definitely think they were better with the syrup I made.

Raspberry Syrup
Ok, I'll admit, this was more of a sauce than a syrup, but it was really delicious! I just made it up as I went, so this is actually one of my own creations! Here is the recipe:
1 pt. raspberries, washed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Wash the raspberries, but don't drain all the excess water off. Keep some of it and place all of the berries in a small saucepan. Combine with the applesauce and heat on medium until the raspberries are hot enough to break apart when stirred with a spoon. Once they are broken apart, turn off the heat and add the cinnamon. Mix well and set aside until ready to serve the johnny cakes.

This was really good. Just sweet and tart enough but not overpoweringly so. This could probably also act as jam for toast if you have any leftovers, like I do. Or over ice cream, if you like.

To go with the johnny cakes, I made homemade sausage. I found this recipe in my card collection, but I don't know the original source. It turns out it's not that hard to make sausage from scratch! I had ground pork last weekend that needed to be used before this week, so I actually made the sausage, formed the patties, and froze them last weekend, but didn't try them until tonight. Here's a tip I learned the hard way: When freezing them in one large package, put a layer of foil or plastic wrap between each patty or you'll have to thaw all of it and chisel them apart to use...

Green Onion and Apple Sausage
1 1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. white pepper(I don't have white pepper, so I left this out.)
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage, crushed
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cooking apple, cored, peeled, and finely chopped
1 Tbsp. butter

In a large bowl, combine pork, salt, peppers, sage, green onions, and chopped apple. Mix thoroughly and form into six 3/4" thick patties. (At this point, they can be wrapped and frozen, if you want.)

In a large, heavy skillet, melt butter. Cook patties in butter until sausages are brown on both sides, and centers are no longer pink (10-12 minutes total).
Makes 6

This recipe is also easy to cut in half, which is what I did. Since I had to thaw all of them, I will be having the rest over the next couple days, which is fine, because this was really rather tasty! I do think it could have used a smidgen more salt than it called for, and my sage is rather old, so it could have been "sagier" if I'd had fresher.

I served this with scrambled eggs topped with cheese for a really decadent and fancy breakfast for dinner. Making breakfast food is difficult because timing is so important. Everything has to be done all at the same time in hopes of serving it all hot on the same plate. The cakes were finished first, so I kept them under foil. A few minutes later, the eggs were done and then the sausage at the last minute. and it was all pretty darned delicious! I definitely don't have time to cook like this during the week for my breakfast, so this is a special weekend treat. I cooked everything in its own pan, so it does create several dishes to wash, but it was worth it!

I definitely recommend these recipes, but honestly, the real stand out was the raspberry syrup. It was ridiculously easy to make and tasted so good! You really do need to try it out!

Sources:
City Map

City Pic

Johnny Cake History

4th of July History

City History-This has some really amazing pictures in it

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Kailua, Hawaii

The Location: Kailua, Hawaii

2010 census: 36,513 people. 2013 per capita income: $25,138. 2010 census: 43.8% white, 21.1% Asian.

Kailua means "Two seas" or "Two currents" in Hawaiian. It is estimated that people came to Kailua and the rest of Hawaii in the 500's AD. During the 1500's, Kailua became home to the "Ali'i", or the ruling class that governed the region. Kailua became the residential seat for the Ali'i, replacing Waikiki.

Kailua remained a small town throughout the years of colonization by various cultures, until World War II, when Fort Hase and Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay were built. This brought in a large increase in population that never went down again after the war ended. The area continued to grow, with a hospital, churches, and schools being built. The first supermarket was opened in 1947.

Kailua Beach is thought to be the best beach in the entire state. It is a popular destination for all kinds of surfing, including traditional and wind surfing. President Obama has visited Kailua five times on his winter vacation during his tenure as president. This has increased tourism to the area, with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the president or his family.

The Food: Traditional Luau

This blog posts marks the halfway mark for this project. For my 25th post, I am honoring the 50th state! I researched foods from Hawaii that predated colonization of the region. Hawaii has been influenced by many cultures over the years, including American, Japanese, and even Russian. I wanted to find as close to "true" Hawaiian food as I could. This led me on a journey and a search for ingredients I've never used in my life and were rather perilous if used improperly. For this meal, it wasn't about the final product or how delicious it tasted. It was about trying out new ingredients and preparing them in ways I've never done before. And it was a lot of fun!

One of the ingredients I love most from Hawaii was one I wasn't able to use for this post. Pineapple, widely regarded as Hawaiian, is actually not Hawaiian. Pineapple hails from Brazil, which means, it's presence in Hawaii is the result of colonization. Coconuts were on the ok list, because these are thought to have been brought over by the Polynesian peoples who first inhabited the Hawaiian islands. They are also said to be responsible for bringing taro root to the land as well, which was something that played a very prominent role in my meal.

All of my recipes came from the internet, so I will not write them out here. I will write about the experience and result of making them and you can refer to the link to see the original recipe, if you are interested in trying it.

Lau Lau Pork:

This is the recipe that required the most amount of hard-to-find ingredients, and one that I was never able to find. I don't think it was missed, however. This dish required a trip to two different stores to procure everything. I visited my local Asian market for the second time in two weeks and became the very proud owner of frozen banana leaves and fresh taro leaves. Banana leaves are used to line the crockpot or whatever vessel you use to make the Lau Lau Pork. If you are like me, then you have never seen a banana leaf in person before. They are big! I unwrapped them and they are as tall as, if not taller, than I am! I only needed one to line my crockpot, so I put the rest back in the freezer for future use. What future use they might have besides making more Lau Lau Pork, I have yet to find out. But that will be the challenge, won't it?!

The taro leaves are also big, though not quite as large. They are also poisonous if not handled properly. Fun right?! Believe me, I treated these with great care, and wore gloves and everything. Apparently it's not like you get poisoned and die, but it can lead to skin irritation and kidney stones if not cooked thoroughly. So, treat it properly, treat it with care, but don't be terrified of it. If you know me, then you know how I feel about taking great risks to my personal safety. So, if I can do it, so can you! I cut the stems off the leaves and boiled them a couple at a time in water for a few minutes. This acts to start the cooking process and also makes them more pliable for folding.

For the pork, I just used pork spare ribs that I cut into large pieces. The dish is traditionally made with salted butterfish as well as pork, but I didn't have access to butterfish, so I left it out. For the seasoning, I used a combination of reduced-sodium soy sauce and red Hawiian sea salt. It's actually a sort of coral color and it colors the pork as well. If you can find this in your grocery store, I would recommend using it over Kosher or table salt. It's worth the extra money.

Two taro leaves are overlapped and then you place some of the seasoned pork mixture in the center. Fold it up like a burrito and if you are able to get your hands on the ti leaves that I was unable to get, use those to tie it up. If not, use toothpicks like I did. I used three toothpicks per bundle. Place each bundle into the banana leaf-lined crockpot and repeat until they're all used up. I had one taro leaf leftover so I just placed it on the top to help cover everything.

Put a cup or two of water into the crockpot over the leaf bundles. Place another piece of banana leaf over the top, and fold in the overhanging leaf so it's all well contained. Place a piece of aluminum foil on top of that and top with the lid. Turn the crockpot to low and cook for at least 8 hours. Make sure you actually plug in the crockpot, unlike me. Fortunately my sister was home when I called her on my way to go see Ant-Man and she was able to plug it in for me. Otherwise this would have been a blog meal fail. A very sad and expensive one.

The banana and taro leaves smell strong when you cook them. It reminds me of the smell of jasmine rice, if you are familiar with that scent. The taro flavors the meat and blends well with the soy-salt seasoning. The recipe I based mine off of calls for 4-6lb. of pork, but I used about 1.75lb, so I did the seasonings based on two pounds. This meant 1 1/2 Tbsp. each red salt and reduced soy sauce. However, when I saw just how much one tablespoon of salt looked like on the meat, I chickened out and left it at that. The water you add to the crockpot does help dilute the saltiness a bit so it turned out perfectly for my tastes, but if you like things salty, go ahead and add that extra 1/2 Tablespoon of red salt. This turned out really good!

Poi:

Poi is made from taro root. It is gluten free, fat free, and full of vitamins. Taro root, like the leaves, can also be poisonous if not cooked thoroughly. I got mini taro roots, which most likely means that they were picked before they were fully grown, from the same Asian market that the banana and taro leaves came from. They are sort of hairy on the outside, so when I thoroughly washed these(while wearing gloves), I tried to get as much of that off as I could.

This was a really simple recipe to make. Cover the taro root with water and boil it for about an hour or until softened completely. Remove from the water and peel. Traditionally, poi is made by men. The cooked taro root is placed on a wooden board and mashed with a rock. It's a sacred tradition in Hawaii, so you should enter into making it with reverence. For the people, for the land, and for the ingredient. However, I'm not a man, and though I do have a wooden cutting board I could have used, I didn't have access to a rock, so I just used my potato masher. I think it turned out pretty much the same.

Poi is pretty much everything you've ever heard about it. It's softer than mashed potato, and has a slightly bitter taste to it. I ended up sprinkling a little of the red salt into it just to give it a bit of flavor. I ate a little of it but it definitely isn't something I would seek out again. I did wonder what it would be like if I prepared it like mashed potatoes, meaning adding milk and butter to it. It sort of congeals when it sits for a while so it also made me wonder what breading and frying it would be like. It also turns purple when it oxidizes, but when I ate it, it was still off-white in color.

Haupia: Coconut Pudding

I have never had luck making pudding, besides the packaged kind where you add milk. I tried many times when I was in high school to master pudding-making, only to be banned by my parents from trying it again after so many failed attempts. So, you probably won't be terribly shocked to hear that my pudding-making attempt was yet again a fail. The recipe is basically coconut milk flavored with sugar and vanilla and thickened with cornstarch. You pour it into a pan and let it chill and cut it up into squares. Alas, mine never thickened enough and ironically, turned out to be like what we know as pudding. Except it wasn't supposed to be that way at all. Sigh. The flavor was on point, though. I replaced the regular sugar with coconut sugar, which is an actual thing. The recipe said 4-6 Tbsp. cornstarch and I used 4. I probably should have used 6...But as I said, the flavor was good.

Not everything from this meal turned out perfectly, and not all of it was to my tastes. But that wasn't important. The important thing was immersing myself in ingredients and a culture not my own, for a day. It was a good way to see the world from somebody else's perspective. The Lau Lau pork was fantastic and I have leftovers that I will eat with rice. This was a wonderful meal to make in the summer time, even though yesterday was cold and rainy. It made me think of hot, tropical days in the sun, something definitely lacking in yesterday's weather.

I would highly recommend Lau Lau pork. It takes a bit of prep work, and a trip to an Asian grocery store for the proper ingredients, but once it's in the crockpot, the job is done. If you don't think you're brave enough to try poi, rice would be a perfect starch for this. The haupia, if done properly, would be a good dessert, but if you don't care about pre vs. post colonization ingredients, fresh pineapple would also be a lovely finish to the meal. In fact, I might have some tonight with my leftovers!

Aloha!

Sources:

Haupia and Lau Lau Pork recipe

Kailua info

City pic

City Map

Lau LauPork-my recipe based on this one.

Haupia-my recipe based on this one.

City Info

Poi Recipe