Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

The Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

2013 population: 39,412; 75.9% white, 14.3% Hispanic. Per capita income $46,661.

The first signs of life on Hilton Head Island date back 15,000 years, though not much is known about the peoples who lived there at the time. More recent tribes include the Escamacus and the Yemassee. The first recorded European to make contact with the native peoples of the island was Francisco Cordillo, a Spanish explorer, in 1521. The island has changed hands over the centuries, to various European occupiers.

By the 1700's, the island was used as land for plantations and growing cotton. The oldest structure still on the island, is the Baynard Mausoleum, built in 1846. During the Civil War, the Confederacy built several forts on the island, while the Union built an army hospital there. The Union also conscripted many male slaves from the island to fight on their side, and with their wages, they were able to return to the island after the war and buy land and homes there. The town of Mitchelville was the first town in the United States built solely for freed slaves.

Hilton Head Island is one of the coastal areas of South Carolina known for being home to Gullah culture. Gullah is a combination of English, Native American, and West African cultures, most of which revolve around the cultivation and harvesting of rice. The land in South Carolina is particularly conducive to growing rice, and West African nations were renowned for their rice, so slaves from those nations were particularly in high demand. Because of the way rice was grown and harvested, the slaves were granted a lot of "free time," with which they preserved their culture, which they have passed down along the generations, where it remains intact to this day. It is not only known for its culinary, musical, and artistic elements, but is also its own dialect of English as well.

During the World Wars, Hilton Head Island was used as a lookout for German and Axis submarines, and as a military base. The city itself was not incorporated until 1983, and today the island is mostly used as a vacation destination.

The Food: Shrimp and Grits, and Blueberry Peach Cobbler
Full disclosure: I assigned this menu to the state of South Carolina completely randomly. The dishes are so Southern that I had to use them at some point in time, and South Carolina became the location assigned to them because all the other states had been chosen for other things. I had no idea that Shrimp and Grits was a very important dish in Gullah culture, or that Hilton Head Island was part of it too. I was very lucky to have paired them up, and it makes me look far more clever than I really am!

Shrimp and Grits:
I looked at a lot of Shrimp and Grits recipes and most of them called for cheese of some sort being added to the grits. This is a pretty common way of making them. However, I am one of those old-school believers in the "You don't mix cheese and fish" rule. It just didn't sound good to me, personally, so I looked for recipes that didn't have cheese in it, and came across a couple good ones. I ended up using them as a base, and to find the proper proportion of dried grits to liquid, but basically invented the recipe from there. I also had a good conversation with a coworker that left me with some ideas to build on as well. Unfortunately, it's one of those recipes without proper measurements. I will, however, include the links to the recipes so you can study those if you'd like!

So, you may be asking yourself right about now, what is a grit? Here is a handy explanation of just exactly, what a grit is:

Grits are also known as polenta. Polenta is the Italian version of grits. Grits are just the more humble version...To make my grits, I started with the liquid I was going to add to them. I started with chicken stock and added a handful of shrimp shells I had frozen after another one of my blog meals earlier this year that involved shrimp. I think it was my gumbo, another Southern delicacy! I threw in a bit of onion and a couple garlic cloves and simmered it for a while. It ended up smelling really shrimpy! I was a bit nervous because it was sooo shrimpy. I love shrimp, but sometimes it can be too shrimpy, you know what I mean?

I used 1/4 cup of grits, which was an adventure to find at the store. Hint: Don't go to the breakfast aisle to look for them. They only seem to carry instant, and as we all know, those are an abomination before the Lord. So, I looked very carefully on the pasta aisle, but they only had tubes of the already cooked kind and that isn't what you want either. It was also not available in the bulk section of my store. Where did I finally find it? The baking aisle...with all the small bags of specialty flours and grains. Go figure!

Anyway, I added the grits to the boiling stock, which I had strained and measured to one cup, and it wasn't enough liquid. Thankfully I had more chicken stock so I threw it on the stove, turned it on high and squeezed in some lemon juice to flavor it. You have to add boiling liquid to the grits to properly cook them. Bit by bit, you pour in more liquid and stir well, until its as thick or thin as you want it to be. Grits can be creamy and soupy like Cream of Wheat or it can be thick and chewy like oatmeal. Sometimes people add cream or milk to it, but I didn't. I just added the stock and mine were more creamy and soupy.

For the shrimp, I had purchased frozen, already shelled and deveined shrimp. I thawed them out and threw it in a frying pan with olive oil and some roughly cut garlic. I would have taken more time to chop the garlic properly but I was on the phone when I was cooking so I couldn't spare an extra hand. I squeezed in lemon juice and sprinkled salt, pepper, and some cayenne pepper and just sauteed it all until it was cooked through. To serve, I poured the grits into a bowl and dumped the shrimp on top. And that was it!

The grits probably took close to a half hour to cook, so make sure to know that going into it. The shrimp only takes a few minutes so don't do that till the very end. I looked at some videos online of how to cook Shrimp and Grits, and most of them have gravy involved. None of the recipes I found had gravy, but that might have been a fun addition. Next time!

This dish was really interesting. The grits were soft and slightly chewy. They were highly flavored from the stock I used. The shrimp were also highly flavored and blended well with the grits. They were just slightly spicy which went well with the grits too. The only issue I had was texture. It was all very soft and I wish there had been some sort of crunchy element to it. I'm not sure what I'd do to adjust that, but I'll keep thinking about it. The flavors were almost bordering on too strong, so I might cut back on the salt next time. The lemon works really well in this, so don't skip that!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler:
This is another quintessential Southern dish, and I actually managed to find one of my own recipe cards for this one! Unfortunately I don't know the original source. A couple notes: It's really difficult to find peaches in Seattle this time of year. And by really difficult, I mean impossible. It's also difficult to find them in frozen form at an affordable price. And by also difficult, I mean impossible. So, for the second time in this blog project, I willingly turned to canned peaches. I did manage to find some that were not steeped in corn syrup, so I went with those. I drained and rinsed them well and continued on with the recipe as it is described. For the blueberries, it was pretty much the same story, though I did manage to find affordable frozen berries. I measured out the 10 ounces it called for and let them thaw out before making the cobbler. And for the buttermilk, if you don't have any on-hand and don't want to buy a pint just for the amount you need for this, try this: Mix one Tablespoon of lemon juice in a one-cup measure and fill up the rest of the cup with regular milk. Mix well and let sit for about five minutes. The lemon juice will sour and thicken the milk and it will simulate the buttermilk perfectly.
Here is the recipe:
Filling-
6 large peaches, about 3 lbs., peeled and cut into thin slices
1 pt.(10 oz.) blueberries
1/2 cup sugar(I reduced this down to 2 Tbsp. and it turned out just fine.)
1 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch nutmeg
Biscuits-
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, frozen
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
Topping-
1 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. sugar combined with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 2-qt. casserole dish by coating with cooking spray.(I used butter.) Set aside.
Place the peaches, blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and nutmeg in a large bowl and combine well. Transfer to the casserole dish.

For Biscuits-In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture so that you start with very small pieces.(This sounds like an ingenious idea until you try it out with the three-sided grater and half of it gets stuck inside and pretty much melts before you can get it out again. I did the best I could and placed the plate of grated butter back in the freezer for a couple minutes, but I wasn't able to get all of it out of the grater. If you have a single sided grater, I would recommend using that instead.) Rub with fingertips until fully incorporated. Add the buttermilk and stir just until moistened.(I found I needed a little more buttermilk than it called for when I mixed it.)
Drop the batter on top of the fruit to cover as much as possible. Brush with the milk and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the top.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the biscuits are done and the fruit is bubbling.
Makes 8 servings
309 calories, 5 grams fat, 5 grams fiber

 I found mine needed almost ten more minutes to bake until the cobbler was fully baked. To test them, you have to lift one up and look at the underside. If it's baked all the way through, it's good. If it's still wet, you need to cook it longer. Because of this, the tops of the biscuits were a bit hard. I wonder if I had left the milk and cinnamon-sugar to the very end and let it cook for just those last ten minutes, if it would have helped soften it at all. It might not, but it's worth a try for next time! If you eat ice cream or whipped cream, this definitely is something you'd want to eat it with. This was so good I ate two bowls of it last night! And it makes a lot so it's good for sharing with others. The original name of the recipe is Peach Cobbler with Light Biscuits, but because the blueberry ended up being the dominant flavor, I changed the name to reflect that. The canned peaches seem to have worked just fine in this dish, so it was a good choice that was also comparatively affordable.

I highly recommend both of these dishes. They required a bit of work but weren't difficult to prepare at all. Shrimp and Grits is a true Southern dish. Southern cuisine, I have learned over the course of this project, is one of the most blended cuisines I have ever seen. English, African, French, Caribbean, Native American, and Latino all blended together into something unique and so very American. It is the perfect embodiment of the term "melting pot". Do give it a try sometime!

Sources:
City Map

City Stats

City Pic

City History1

City History2

City History3

Shrimp and Grits History

Gullah Culture Video1

Gullah Culture Video2

Shrimp and Grits Recipe1

Shrimp and Grits Recipe2

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-Conway, Arkansas

 

The Location: Conway, Arkansas

2013 population: 63,816; 75.3% white, 15.6% African American. 2013 per capita income: $24,465.

Conway was established as a railway town after the Civil War ended, by Asa P. Robinson. In 1878, a priest named Father Joseph Straub, who had founded the Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, moved to Conway. He built the St. Joseph Colony there. Both the railroad and Father Straub worked diligently to attract German and Catholic German families to the area. By 1889, more than 100 German families called Conway home.

Conway's proximity to the Arkansas River makes it a popular fishing destination.

Claim to fame: Conway is said to be the city that singer Conway Twitty took his name from.

The Food: Catfish, Collard Greens, and Cornmeal-fried Veggies
So, when I was thinking about what to do for the state of Arkansas, catfish immediately came to mind. I knew it was risky, though, because this is Seattle, and catfish is not native to this region. Nor is it particularly in high demand, which means the chance of me finding fresh catfish when I needed to, was very low. But I was determined to make it work. I lucked out, though. Last week my grocery store had one portion of catfish in the fresh fish section on discount. Not sure why it was discounted, because it was well within its use-by date. Probably because of demand, I would assume. Well, I snatch it right up and looked very carefully at the label. It did not say it had been previously frozen, so I made a risky decision and froze it. I normally would never do this to fish, but you can't keep fish in your fridge for a week before you use it, so it was either freeze it or not use it all.

I wanted a simple catfish recipe because I've never had it before and I wanted it to shine as a flavor and didn't want whatever I put on it to outshine or mask it. I found a very delicious and simple recipe that was also very easy to make. I was happy because it was steeped in Southern ingredients and just screamed "The South". Here is the recipe:

Pecan Catfish
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds catfish
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup pecans, finely crushed
5 wedges lemon, for garnish
5 sprigs fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, salt and pepper. Dip the catfish in the cornmeal mixture; coating well.
Place catfish on a flat, greased baking sheet. Pour the oil over the fish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until catfish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Sprinkle with pecans toward the end of the cooking period.
Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs.


The only thing I didn't do was the lemon wedges and parsley sprigs. I just squeezed lemon juice over it all when it came out of the oven. I did it exactly as it was called for, except I put mine on parchment paper on the sheetpan instead of greasing a sheetpan. That worked just fine. I put the pecans on probably for the last 4 minutes. They will burn in an oven that hot, so don't add them too soon.

This one was really good! The sweetness of the pecan and the tartness of the lemon complimented the fish, but didn't overpower it. And that turned out to be a good thing, because catfish is a really delicate fish. It's a white fish, that just tastes really like the ocean, which is odd because it's a fresh water fish, but it does! It's like fish, but not fishy, if that makes any sort of sense. I highly recommend this one if you can ever get your hands on catfish.

And for my vegetable side, I knew I had to go with collard greens. This again was a risk because it's Seattle in January. Well, it turns out that collard greens are a cold weather vegetable, so I actually timed it perfectly. And it also turns out that my Safeway sells organic collard greens, so it wasn't too much of a challenge at all!

Most people prepare collard greens with ham flavoring the liquid. I am one of those unusual people who doesn't actually like ham-flavored things. I like ham, I like beans, and greens, and pea soup, but not together. So, that meant a vegetarian version. Luckily I ran across a great recipe that seemed easy enough.

Vegetarian Collard Greens 
2 lbs collard greens 
4 -5 garlic cloves, minced 
1 large onion, chopped 
3 cups vegetable stock 
1 teaspoon salt ( to taste) 
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika 
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 
hot sauce (optional) or red pepper flakes (optional)

Wash greens well, submerging in a sink full of cold water to remove any dirt and grit. Drain well. Cut off the stems right where the leaf starts. Stack about 5-8 leaves on top of eachother, then roll lengthwise. Cut rolled up leaves into 1" slices widthwise. Repeat until all the greens are done, and add to a large pot. 

Add all other ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes or until greens are extremely tender. Serve hot, using a slotted spoon to drain the liquid from the greens.

 

So, this started off just fine, and I had it on the back burner doing its thing while I worked on everything else. I thought that it would be fine, because the greens would release their liquid and it would basically stew until I was ready to serve it. That's not how it ended up, unfortunately. I did not take an "after" picture, because I burned the heck out of it and it was ruined! I did try a not-burned bit just to see if it was salvageable. It was very bitter. I'm not sure if that's because collard greens are bitter or because it sat and burned for a half hour, but either way, it was not edible. I was sad, because it was a solid recipe! But, lesson learned, collard greens don't actually give off that much liquid, so make sure to add lots to the pot and check it once in a while!

 

To round out the meal, I wanted a starch and an interesting way of preparing it. I found a recipe that seemed pretty simple and went with it. 

 

Arkansas Fried Veggies

1 cup milk  

1 egg

1 cup cornmeal, or as needed

2 squash, sliced

2 red potatoes, cubed

2 green tomatoes, cubed

3 pods fresh okra, sliced into rings, or more to taste

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

2 tablespoons bacon grease, or as needed

Salt/pepper to taste

Whisk milk and egg together in a large bowl. Pour cornmeal into another large bowl.

Dip squash, potatoes, tomatoes, okra, onion, and green bell pepper into milk mixture; press vegetables into cornmeal to coat.

Heat bacon grease in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir vegetable mixture in hot grease until golden and tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

 

I used this recipe as a base but didn't do all the vegetables listed. I used what I had on hand, which last night happened to be fingerling potatoes that I cut into quarters, green beans, and sliced frozen okra that I thawed out. I cooked the potatoes first because they need a lot more time than the other vegetables. As golden as they got on the outside, they were still not cooked through, so I threw them on a sheetpan and put them in the oven while the catfish baked. That seemed to be enough extra time to cook them through. I fried the other veggies while the potatoes baked. 

This recipe was ok, but not amazing. The problem is that when you fry cornmeal, it gets rock hard, so you're eating these crunchy nuggets with little bits of cornmeal getting stuck in your teeth. I bet it would be better if you ground up the cornmeal into smaller pieces. That might have worked better.

There was a lot of cornmeal in this meal, but cornmeal, catfish, pecans, collard greens, okra, and bacon fat is pretty much the epitome of Southern food, so it's fitting for this menu!

This meal might not have turned out perfectly, but it was a lot of fun to make. The catfish was delicious, and I do think the collard greens would have been really good if I hadn't burned them to smithereens...The veggies were ok, but the catfish was the star. Definitely try it out sometime if you can get your hands on some. It's worth it!

Sources:

City Maps

 

City Pic

City Stats

City History

Arkansas Fried Veggie Recipe

Catfish Recipe

Collard Greens Recipe

 

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Elizabeth Town, North Carolina

 

The Location: Elizabeth Town, North Carolina

2013 population: 18,266. 55.9% African American, 37.0% white. Per capita income: $18,024.

Nicknamed, the "Harbor of Hospitality," the city was founded in 1794. It was originally a mercantile hub, but segued into a commercial and industrial center. It was originally named Redding, but since there was another town nearby with the same name, it was renamed in 1801. Two different theories exist about the name: Either it was named after Queen Elizabeth I, who had funded the colonization of the Virginia and Carolina coasts 200 years previously, or it was named after Elizabeth Tooley, a local tavern owner who donated a lot of her own land to the city.

Elizabeth Town is positioned on the Pasquotenk River, and the nearby Dismal Swamp Canal would help improve the town's financial success. In 1827, the custom house, or the government building where trade paperwork was filled out and filed, for all of Camden County, was moved to Elizabeth Town. This increased business and tolls being paid to the city.

The Confederacy had a fleet stationed in the city during the Civil War. After a brief battle in the city on February 10, 1862, the city was taken over by the Union. Guerilla warriors for the Confederacy would continue to attack Union forces, though unsuccessfully, for the remainder of the war.

After the Civil War, the railroad would alter Elizabeth Town's importance as an industrial center. With transportation moving to the railroad, it left the city less relevant than it had been, but it would be revived during the Second World War. It was made into a center for textiles, aeronautics, and shipbuilding. It would also bring commerce back to the area, due to the increase in population. Today, the city still has a strong economy, with government and agriculture-based industries.

The Food: Vinegar and Mustard BBQ Sauce and Pimento Cheese
The South has a wide variety of dishes to choose from. I have tried to spread them out over the course of this project, and not overdo certain best-known items. Barbeque is one of them. I have done one other state: Texas, and knew I was going to do this one, since the sauces are so vastly different, but I did not want to overdue it. So, two states out of fifty got barbeque, and I think that's fair, even though it's known all over the country.

This ended up being an interesting meal. The items I thought I would like, I ended up not liking, and the item I thought I wasn't going to like, ended up being really delicious! North Carolina has two very unique barbeque sauce traditions that I had never tried before. Vinegar-based sauce and mustard-based sauce are dueling sauces that, depending on where you're from in the state, you are very passionate about. I decided that since they were both simple sauces, I would try them both. I purchased a pork roast and roasted it very simply in the oven with salt and pepper. This way I had a neutral base for each sauce.

The vinegar sauce was basically what it sounds like: cider and white vinegar with Tabasco, sugar, and chili pepper flakes. I made it a couple hours before using it, so I thought it would marinate and become very flavorful. Unfortunately, it basically just tasted like vinegar. Maybe I should have heated it up to help the flavors blend better, but I feel like I shouldn't have had to. Pork with vinegar doesn't taste very good, so this wasn't a win, in my opinion. I will share the link to the recipe in the sources section for anybody interested in trying it out, but I'm not going to type out the recipe here.

The other sauce was a yellow mustard-based sauce. My taste for mustard has begun to expand over the years, so I thought I might be ready for this one. It turns out, I am not. This one just tasted like mustard and vinegar and I did not end up eating it either. It also ended up being a sort of unappealing brown color too, so that didn't help. Again, I'll provide the link, but I'm not going to write out the recipe. It turns out, I'm definitely a traditional tomato sauce-based bbq sauce person. It's what I grew up eating, it's what my palate is used to. It's just what I think is the tastiest. But at least I know now what the other kinds taste like. Barbeque fans are very passionate and particular about what they like and don't like in a sauce.

And now, for the recipe that I was assuming I would detest, and did because it is such a Southern staple: Pimento Cheese. Anything with the word pimento in it is generally something I try to avoid. If you are unaware of what pimento is, think of the red bits inside a green olive. It is a roasted red bell pepper that usually comes in a jar. I cannot stand the taste. So, when I decided to try it out anyway, the first thing I chose to do was to roast my own red bell pepper. I have no idea what a jar of the already roasted stuff costs, but I imagine it's probably more than the cost of buying your own bell pepper and throwing it in the oven. It is the easiest thing in the world to roast a bell pepper and I cannot recommend that over the jarred stuff highly enough. If you have never roasted a bell pepper before, here's the process: Wash the bell pepper and place it on an ungreased sheet pan. Put that into a 400 degree oven. It will start to blacken on the outside and sometimes it will pop and make noises, but don't be worried, it's just releasing the air from the inside of the pepper. Occasionally, turn the bell pepper so that the underside gets a chance to blacken. After about a half hour, remove it from the oven, place it in a mixing bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap to allow the heat to steam the skin off the pepper. When it's cooled down enough, remove it carefully from the mixing bowl(it will generate a lot of juice from the pepper. You can decide if you want or need to use this for whatever you are using it for. I drained mine off except for a very small amount.) onto a cutting board and pull out the stem and peel off the skin. This will allow you to start ripping apart the sides and carefully unfolding it. You will want to remove all the seeds. From there you do whatever you need to with it. Cut it into thin strips, or what I did was dice it very small. One average bell pepper will yield a little over 1/4 cup of roasted, minced pepper.

Fancy Pimento Cheese

20 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh chives
1/2 cup minced roasted red pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dill pickle juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)
1 pinch ground black pepper

Using the smallest holes of a box grater, grate half the Cheddar cheese. Grate the remaining Cheddar cheese on the next larger size holes.
Stir together the Cheddar cheese, chives, roasted red pepper, cream cheese, pickle juice, mayonnaise, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper in a bowl until evenly combined.

I have seen pictures of other pimento cheese recipes over the years, and the ingredients are all blended together. The cheese must be heated up or something, but this wasn't like that. It does feel a little odd to scoop up and spread wet cheese shreds onto a piece of bread and eating it, but it was worth working through the weirdness! One ingredient stood out to me as very unique: the pickle juice. What a brilliant idea for flavoring food! And it turns out it was great in this recipe. I served this spread out on slices of French bread and it was really good! I made a half recipe, as you see above, the recipe is enormous! A half recipe still filled that entire container and I will be sharing it with my coworkers tomorrow.

So, my dinner didn't turn out as I had planned, but that's ok. That's what is fun about this blog project. Not everything is going to turn out how you want it to. Some things will taste amazing and some will taste awful. You never quite know what you will get. And just because you didn't like something, doesn't mean something went wrong in the cooking process. Sometimes it just means you don't care for the flavor, or your palate is not adjusted for it yet. If only I knew somebody from North Carolina who would have tried the recipes and let me know if I did them right or not!! Oh well, it was still a fun experiment!

Sources:
Pimento Cheese Recipe

Vinegar-based BBQ Sauce

Mustard-based BBQ Sauce

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Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Laramie, Wyoming

 The Location: Laramie, Wyoming

 

2013 population: 31,814; 83.6% white, 8.7% Hispanic. Per capita income: $22,441.

Prior to being colonized by the United States, the region around Laramie was home to the Sioux/Lakota tribe. The town of Laramie was first founded in the 1860's, and was built as a tent city next to the railroad line. The city was initially part of what we call the "Wild West" and subjected to a lot of the lawlessness that went along with it before being stabilized and "civilized".

Laramie, or perhaps all of the state of Wyoming, comes across as full of contradictions. Wyoming, as a territory, was organized in 1869. Women were granted equal rights by the legislature. Laramie was the first city in the United States to have women serve on a jury, in 1870. It was also home to the first woman to cast a ballot in an election, on September 6, 1870. It's the first city to ban smoking in public places. However, it is also home to the University of Wyoming, where the Matthew Shepard murder took place. For a place that from its inception was a beacon of what we would today define as liberality, it also has some shockingly conservative attitudes as well.

Supernatural Factoid: Actor Jim Beaver hails from Laramie.

The Food: Turkey Jerky and Three Sisters Stew

Wyoming's food seems to be as contradictory as its history and values. The two themes I came across most while researching food for this state were: Cowboy food and Native American food. So, I decided to run with it and find a recipe that represented each of those halves. Beef and buffalo are big in Wyoming, but they are not big with me, and I've always wanted to make jerky, but that meant finding a different protein source. Enter, the turkey. I modified two recipes I found online and combined them into my own recipe. I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt!

Turkey Jerky
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke (Tip: If you are having trouble looking for this at the grocery store, check out the bbq sauce aisle. It's a good bet you'll find it there.)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 tsp. mesquite flavoring liquid (I could not find this in the store and dumped in some chili powder instead. I think it turned out pretty good this way!)
2 tsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. turkey breast, sliced thin (I used the cutlets that come pre-cut, the Jenny-O brand. I cut them in half but they were the perfect thinness to begin with.)

Combine the liquid smoke through the salt in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Mix well.
Add the turkey slices, and cover all the turkey slices in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator 12-24 hours.
When ready to prepare the jerky the next day, pour the turkey slices and the marinade into a pot, and simmer until the liquid reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. (I didn't actually test the temperature, I just made sure it looked cooked on both sides.)

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. (Note, my oven's lowest setting is 170 degrees. If yours is this higher temperature too, you may want to put the turkey in for less time. Try 2.5 hours and then test for moisture as described below.)
Drain the turkey slices from the marinade. Pat the turkey slices dry with paper towels. Lay the slices of turkey directly across your oven racks. (Place foil or a sheet pan under it to catch any of the slices that may slip off.)
Prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape.

Continue to cook the turkey this way for 3-6 hours.
After 3 hours, test a piece by allowing it to cool,and then bending it. If there is any moisture present, continue to dry longer, checking every so often.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer.

 My jerky tasted awesome! A bit spicy, but I liked that. It was a bit crunchy in some bites, which means it dried out too much, as I said in the notes, this was probably because the temperature was just a bit higher than it was supposed to be. Probably a half hour less would have been perfect. It was way easier to make than I ever expected it to be. If you have been curious to try making jerky but are worried that it might be too complicated, don't be! Try it out! It's a fun project.

Three-Sisters Stew
I came across this name a few times in my researching and decided to use a vegan version of the recipe. According to Native American lore, there were three sisters: Corn sister, bean sister, and squash sister. Those three sisters provided all the nourishment the people needed, and because of this, they were planted together. The corn grew tall and the stalks allowed the beans to grow up without needing stakes. And the squash grew at the corn and bean's feet, making for easy harvesting. And science has proved the truth of this lore, because these three food items eaten together form what is known as a complete protein. Animal proteins are complete proteins because they contain every type of amino acid in them, but vegetarian protein sources are incomplete. Corn, beans, and squash, combined together, contain all the amino acids, which make it a complete protein source, and a boon for vegetarians and vegans. There are versions of these stew with meat in them, but I felt it wasn't needed. The three sisters are the star of this dish, and they deserved to stand out on their own, especially since I was making turkey jerky as well. I didn't need more meat than that!

1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into short narrow strips

1 (14- to 16-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 cans (drained and rinsed) pink or pinto beans

2 cans corn kernels, drained

1 cup homemade or canned vegetable stock, or water (I used water)

1 (4 oz.) can chopped mild green chilies, drained

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. chili powder or mesquite seasoning, or more, to taste (I used chili powder)

1 tsp. dried oregano

Dash cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place squash on a greased sheet pan and roast for about a half hour, until browned and cooked through.

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is golden. Add the squash and all the remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. 

Simmer gently, covered, until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If time allows, let the stew stand for 1 to 2 hours before serving, then heat through as needed. The stew should be thick and very moist but not soupy; add additional stock or water if needed. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve in bowls.

This was really tasty! The squash is sweet and helps temper the spices in the stew. I am curious how it will taste reheated, but it was very good fresh too. It worked really well with the turkey jerky and was perfect for a snowy day like it was here today. It felt very winterish. I highly recommend this recipe!

Sources:
Turkey Jerky recipe

Turkey Jerky recipe

Three Sisters Stew recipe

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Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire

2013 population: 21,440; 88.5% white, 3.9% Asian, 3.9% Hispanic. 2013 per capita income: $40,437

Prior to the European invasion, Portsmouth had been home to the Abenaki and other Algonquian language-speaking tribes. Martin Pring is the first recorded European to explore the area in 1603. By 1630, Europeans were colonizing the area. A British fort, Fort William and Mary, was built near the village of Portsmouth, giving it added protection. Portsmouth is located on a river harbor that opens to the ocean, and is thus a strategic location for trading. Other industries included lumber, ship building, and fishing. By 1645, enslaved Africans were being used as a labor source. Portsmouth profited greatly from their role in the Atlantic Slave Trade.

The city was first incorporated in 1653. In 1679, it was named the capital of the colony of New Hampshire and also became a place of refuge for Puritan exiles from Massachusetts. In 1774, Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth and warned people that the British were on their way. During the Revolutionary War, the slaves helped defend the city from the British. Once the war ended, in 1779, a group of 19 slaves submitted a petition to the state asking them to abolish slavery in exchange for the role they had played in the state and the nation's freedom. The petition was ignored, but New Hampshire did eventually unofficially abolish slavery in 1783 when they changed taxation codes and reworded the state constitution. It was not officially abolished in writing, however, until 1857, when the state passed legislation that stated that a person's decent may not be used to deny them citizenship to the state. Though it wasn't until New Hampshire ratified the 13th Amendment on July 1, 1865, that it was truly and officially ended.

Portsmouth was incorporated as a city in 1849. Though President Lincoln toured through the state of New Hampshire, and the state sent soldiers to fight, the state itself was too far north to have had any battles fought on its soil. Though Portsmouth lost many men to the war, the city itself remained unscathed.

Today, there are many museums and historical buildings dedicated to preserving the early American history of Portsmouth. The city itself now is considered a politically liberal city with many colleges and universities. The publishing company, Heinemann USA, is located in Portsmouth. Portsmouth is home to a plethora of well-known names throughout history. A few recent names include: Ilene Woods, the voice of Disney's Cinderella, Brooke Astor, philanthropist, Samantha Brown of the Travel Channel, and Tom Bergeron, tv host.

The Food: New England Clam Chowder and Brown Bread

I couldn't not do New England clam chowder at some point in time with this blog project. It is so quintessentially New England that it would be criminal of me to neglect it. I know there are several types of clam chowder, but I wanted the traditional New England kind, with a dairy or dairy-like base and no tomato products in it. And soup needs bread, right? One of the most famous kinds of New England breads, is Boston baked bread, the brown bread with raisins, baked/steamed in a cleaned out metal can. But this isn't Boston and so I couldn't do that one. But I found a similar bread and made that one instead. The bread recipe comes from my own recipe collection, at this point in time, the source is unknown. The clam chowder recipe came from online.

Raisin Rye Bread
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup water, 105-115 degrees
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds
1 1/2 cups rye flour
2 3/4-3 cups white flour(I only needed the 2 3/4 and probably could have used less. I had to add a bit of water to get it to mix properly because it was too dry.)
1 cup raisins

1.) In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2.) In a saucepan, combine the milk, molasses, and butter.
3.) Heat to lukewarm, 110-115 degrees. Pour into yeast mixture.
4.) Stir in the salt and caraway seeds. Beat in the rye flour and white flour with the raisins.
5.) Form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured board.

6.) Let rise in a buttered bowl, covered, until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
7.) Shape into a round loaf. Let rise on a buttered baking sheet, covered, for 30 minutes or until almost doubled. Slash the top.
8.) Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
9.) Let cool on a rack.
Makes one loaf, 16-20 slices

The bread was kind of tough to knead. I had to add water to it to get the flour to incorporate fully and I feel like it never rose as much as it was supposed to. In spite of all that, the flavor was fantastic! I bet you never thought that a caraway flavor would taste good with raisins, but it does! This is a nice, rustic bread that is good with lots of butter on it. I am going to try toasting a slice today and I bet it will be really great that way! This was super easy to make.

New England Clam Chowder-Dairy and Gluten Free
I have made the base for clam chowder in the past, when I worked in the restaurants I used to work at, but have never actually made it from start to finish before. I think it's a soup that people are intimidated by for some reason, but there is no reason to be. I wanted a recipe that was dairy-friendly and this one is! It's also gluten-friendly for those who need that. The original recipe that I will put in my sources section, has instructions for using canned and fresh clams. Because I used all canned, I will only write out the recipe the way I did it.

3 (6.5 oz.) cans chopped clams with liquid (Strain these with a strainer into a bowl. Keep the clams separated from the juice because you will add them at different points in the cooking process.)
1 (8oz.) can clam juice
3 strips bacon, chopped (I recommend freezing the bacon before chopping, it will make it so much easier.)
Olive oil, if needed (I ended up needing it, my bacon did not give off much fat.)
1 small onion, chopped
2 leeks (I used one large and it was enough.)
1 cup finely chopped celery, with leaves
2 Tbsp. sweet rice flour (Can use regular flour if gluten is not an issue for you. I had the rice flour on hand so I used it.)
1/2 cup white wine (I didn't have any on hand, but you'll note that sherry is listed as an optional ingredient in this recipe, at the end. I used it in place of the white wine at the earlier step instead.)
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram or thyme (I had marjoram on hand so I used it.)
1 bay leaf
Pepper
1-1 1/2 cups almond milk or alternate to dairy milk of choice (I used coconut milk and it was wonderful in this. Not the kind from the can, the kind from the cardboard carton like you would use for cereal. You'll find it at the store in the same place as the almond milk. Probably the same brand too.)
1/4 cup sherry, optional

1.) Cut off and discard root ends and green tops of leeks. Slice leeks in half lengthwise, remove outermost layer and discard. Run leeks under water, separating layers to rinse out sand. Slice leeks thinly.
2.) Cook bacon in a large pot, until crisp. Remove bacon from pot and leave about 2 Tbsp. bacon fat in the pan or use olive oil to make up the difference, if there isn't enough.
3.) Add chopped leek, onion, and celery to the pot and saute over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes.
4.) Add flour and wine and stir about 30 seconds. Working slowly at first to avoid lumps, stir in the clam juice and deglaze the pan. 

5.) Add potatoes, marjoram, bay leaf, and pepper. Liquid should cover the potatoes. If it doesn't, add water to cover, and bring to a boil.
6.) Reduce heat to simmer and cover, for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Remove the bayleaf and discard.
7.) Using an immersion blender, puree about 1/3 of the potato mixture. Mix in the almond milk, reserved bacon, and the clams, and heat back to a simmer. Add sherry, if desired.

This was fabulous! I am looking forward to reheating this tonight because you know how soup always tastes better the next day. I ate this with the bread and some potato chips and it was a perfect meal for a chilly winter night. The clams and clam juice weren't smelly, which is nice. If I had had Saltine crackers or some oyster crackers, that would have been a lovely addition to the soup.

Clam chowder is easy to find in canned form at the grocery store, or in restaurants, but it really is not hard to make from scratch. If you have always wondered what it's like to make, you really should try it out. It did not take long at all, I had much better control over what went into it, and it tasted delicious! If you want to try out a dish that screams "New England," this is it!

Sources:
New England Clam Chowder Recipe

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Slavery in New Hampshire

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Mankato, Minnesota

The Location: Mankato, Minnesota

2013 population: 40,641. 88.4% white, 3.7% African American. Per capita income: $24,330.

The region Mankato is part of was once home to different groups of Native Americans, and over time, when the East Coast began to be populated with more European Americans, the Native Americans were displaced and many ended up relocating in the Mankato area. European Americans also followed suit and began settling in the area in February of 1852.

Mankato as a city, was formed on May 11, 1858, by a man named Henry Jackson. Legend has it that the town was intended to be called Mahkato, the Dakota word for Greenish Blue Earth, but there was a clerical error, and it was entered as Mankato. The railroad came to Mankato in 1868, connecting it to the greater world and making it much easier to travel to and from.

"Fun" Fact: Mankato was the location of the largest mass execution in United States history. On December 26, 1862, the US Army executed 38 members of the Dakota tribe for their role in an uprising known as the Dakota War in 1862. 303 Native Americans had actually been sentenced to death, but President Lincoln pardoned all but 38.

You may be asking why I chose Mankato, out of all the cities in the state of Minnesota, why such a random, obscure town? Well, the answer is simple: Little House on the Prairie. Not the books, the tv series. Mankato was sort of the go-to town that the people on the show traveled to for trading and other business. And one of my rules in life is, if you can connect something to Little House on the Prairie, you do, no questions asked! And so, here we are!

The Food: Scandinavian Christmas
So, I have had a bad cold and was unable to do this blog project for two whole weeks. This set of food was actually scheduled for last week and I was going to take the food to a family gathering to share, but I was too sick to cook and too sick to attend the gathering. I was very sad to miss out, especially since one of the items was tied to a date. In the end though, I decided to do it this week instead and freeze the results to bring for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Lussekatter-Lucia Buns
December 13th is St. Lucia Day, and though St. Lucia is a Catholic saint, she is highly celebrated in the mostly-Lutheran Scandinavian countries. If you have ever seen drawings or pictures of blonde girls with wreaths and lit candles in their hair, this is it. Traditionally, the eldest daughter in the family dons the wreath and candles and serves her family Lucia Buns, which are a saffron-flavored and -colored sweet roll.

I have had this recipe for Lussekatter for years. Every year around Halloween, I pull out my holiday recipes and decide what I'm going to make for the year, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every year I pull out the recipe and I say, "I'm gonna make these finally!" and every year, I don't, and then I put it back till next year, where the ritual is repeated. When I started this blog project, I thought this would be a great opportunity to finally make these. And in keeping with the tradition, it fought me every step of the way. First off was getting sick when I was supposed to make them. I wondered if I should forget it, yet again, and put the recipe away for another year. But then I decided that I am neither Scandinavian, Lutheran, nor Catholic, so what the heck did it matter if I did it on the proper day or not? So, I did it, a week late, but I did it! And then there was preparing to make it. When you bake, one of the most important things to do is get your mis en place, this is a French term that basically means "getting your sh-- together". You make sure you have all the stuff you need before you get too far into the process and find out something's missing and your project is ruined. I had just gotten back from the store with ingredients for my other recipe, yet did not look at the ingredients for this one. Of course, it turned out I didn't have enough yeast, so back to the store I went and bought yeast. Then I was able to get started!

Traditionally, these buns have saffron in them, but if you can't find it or afford it, you can use turmeric instead. This particular recipe does not have either in in, but as a nod to it, I added a pinch of turmeric to the egg wash I put on the tops before baking to turn it a bit yellowish. If I had thought of it ahead of time, I would have added it to the milk and let it color the entire dough itself, which is how it's supposed to be done.

Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup milk
2 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2/3 cup sugar
5 cups flour, sifted(I did not notice this part, I would definitely sift it)
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 cup seedless raisins(You need two per roll, so a total of 64)
1 egg white, beaten slightly with 1 Tbsp. cold water(I used the whole egg after realizing it should be a yellow dough, I added a pinch of turmeric too. It worked pretty well, I think.)

Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to lukewarm water and mix until yeast is dissolved. Add milk, sugar; mix well.

Add two cups flour and beat until smooth. Add butter, egg, salt, and cardamom. Beat to well mixed. Gradually add in the remaining three cups of flour until well-incorporated. Turn out on a floured board. Knead to smooth and elastic. Place in bowl. Let rise until double in bulk. Punch down and repeat.(Note, I did not repeat, I went directly to the next step. I have never heard of a bread dough where you let it rise and punch it down two times before moving on to the formation and final rise step. You can try it and see what happens, but I can't vouch for it...)

Divide dough into 32 pieces. Roll each piece until about 16" long. Cut in half. Place two side-by-side and curl up ends. (As usual, I didn't actually really read the recipe as I went along and didn't do this. I rolled each piece out as much as I could and then rolled it up into a sort of S shape, making 32 rolls. This is possibly why they came out a bit on the dry side, because they were too small.) Place raisins in curl.

Cover-let rise until double. Brush with egg white and bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes.

The cardamom flavor in these rolls is amazing! I really love the flavor of cardamom, it's a nice change from cinnamon. It's a prominent flavoring in Scandinavian cooking and baking. I like to think about the history of food and these buns are a good example. How do cardamom and saffron, spices from Asia or the Middle East, make their way to the northernmost parts of Europe? Why, the spice trade of course! You can see the geography and history sitting right there in the roll, and you can taste it as you eat it. Portable, edible history is always the best kind, I think.

The next recipe is a Christmas cookie recipe I have also had for a very long time but never tried. I decided it fit in very well with the buns and the theme of the blog meal. There is an icing for these cookies, but I did not make it yet. Since I froze the cookies to take to Christmas Eve and Day, I will make the icing fresh and put it on the thawed cookies. They were pretty awesome even without it, though!

Scandinavian Almond Bars-Source: Taste of Home Magazine

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp. almond extract(I have to thank the tall man at the grocery store for reaching to the very back of the top shelf for the almost extract, or I would have been stuck with the imitation stuff!)
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. milk
1/2 cup sliced almonds, chopped(These are so thin you can actually crush them in your hand and not need a knife and cutting board to chop these up)
Icing:
1 cup powered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1-2 Tbsp. milk

In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter; beat in egg and extract. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. (The recipe does not call for chilling the dough, but I do think this type of dough would benefit well from it. If I was to make this recipe again, I would chill the dough.)

Divide the dough into fourths; form into 12"x3" rectangles. Place 5" apart on greased baking sheets. Brush with milk; sprinkle with almonds.

Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until firm to the touch and edges are lightly browned. (I found 18 was too much and the first batch was a bit overdone. I did 15 minutes for the second batch and it turned out better. 14 would probably have been best.) Cool on pans for 5 minutes, then cut diagonally into 1" slices. (I found mine stuck to the pan, use a spatula and carefully remove each rectangle to a cutting board ASAP.) Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over bars.

Makes: About 4 dozen

These have a texture akin to biscotti, and I thought it could have stood to have a bit more almond flavor. Next time I would double the amount of extract I used to help bring that flavor out a bit more. I am also curious to see what the icing will do to the flavor. I am not generally an icing person, but it will add more almond flavor, so I'll try it out.

Though neither of these recipes turned out perfectly, I really had fun making them, and that's all that really matters. I would make them both again, with the small changes that I think would make them even better. If you are of Scandinavian descent or just enjoy the cuisine, I highly recommend both of these! You can have St. Lucia buns next December 13th!

Sources:
City Stats

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