Category: Stateside Cuisine

Hail, South Dakota

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Miss A is at the helm again! Not only are we touring the culinary delights of Russia at Miss A’s request, but it’s also her turn to pick our stateside adventure. This past summer we took our western road trip which included South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado. South Dakota was easily one of Miss A’s favorite spots from meeting “Cornelius” at the Corn Palace in Mitchell (with whom she has a definite love/hate relationship – she loves to talk and giggle about him, hates to see him), to the peeking prairie dogs in Custer State Park and to “hikin’ it” in the Badlands. So it came as no surprise to us that Miss A chose the Mount Rushmore State this week, and we’re all happy she did.

Today we all spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking up several different dishes, including the South Dakota Peach Kuchen. The Kuchen is the official dessert of South Dakota – making it an obvious (and delicious) choice. We adapted this recipe from Midwest Living Magazine. Continue reading →

The Traveling Pan

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Magnolia Tree

This past week our stateside cooking adventure took us to Mississippi. While we were researching recipes it became very clear that two dishes are synonymous with the Magnolia State – catfish and Mississippi Mud Pie. It also happens that I need a dessert to take downstate to a family get together this weekend.

My family has a traveling 9″x13″ pan that always carries my favorite dessert when it makes its way up to this part of the state – my Grandma’s Blackberry Cobbler. Then when we head south, my mom whips up a chocolate dessert to take back in the pan. It just so happened that this time, the pan was at my house, giving us the perfect opportunity to try the Mississippi Mud Cake (similar to the pie, but suitable to this size baking dish).

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not big on baking cakes and especially cakes that involve icing; but there are two things I love about this recipe: 1) It’s easy. 2) It’s supposed to look like mud. I figured that the kids and I could tackle this one. We chose Paula Deen’s recipe because she too is synonymous with the south. Continue reading →

Dishin’ Up Some Good Ole Southern Comfort

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After our first weekend of amazing summer-like weather we found our schedule full-up with activities (and an unforeseen event – get better quickly Nana!). Given our wacky schedule we opted to cook-up our weekly stateside meal today, and start sampling new recipes from our next international destination later in the week. The unseasonably humid and warm temperatures reminded us of the South, so today we sampled some traditional cuisine from Mississippi – Buttermilk Biscuits and Crispy Fried Catfish.

We began with the biscuits. It’s a quick and easy recipe. The dry ingredients are combined first, then the shortening and butter are cut in, followed by the buttermilk. Once the dough was formed, we transferred it to a floured surface and began to press it out. Continue reading →

Taste of the Green Mountain State

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Maple syrup, apples, cheese and Ben & Jerry’s all come to mind when we think of Vermont. We had the pleasure of vacationing in the Green Mountain State several years back and it was one of the highlights of our New England and Canadian road trip. One of the many things we learned about Vermont was that not only is it known for the yummy foods listed above, but it’s also a great dining destination for foodies. Vermont is fairly well-advanced when it comes to sustainable, organic and local farm to restaurant cooperatives. One of our favorites was the Three Tomatoes Trattoria in Burlington – delicious!

Tonight, however, we opted to stick with some down-home, traditional recipes from the Dakin Farm including Apple Cheddar Muffins and (mom if you’re reading this, sit down) an Upside Down Ham Loaf. I am not a fan of meatloaf, to which my mom can attest, but this recipe sounded more appealing than most – especially after we adapted it a bit. Continue reading →

Minnes-O-ta Maple Chicken

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Tonight’s stateside dinner was especially fun for us because Minnesota holds a special place in our hearts. We spent several years (away from our family and friends) living in Winona, MN where we made great new friends, traveled the state and welcomed our darling Miss A to the family. Lutefisk, lefse and hot dishes are among the traditional dishes for which Minnesota is known, but local cuisine often makes use of fresh fish, wild rice and locally grown produce.

Now admittedly while in Minnesota we never ate Lutefisk, lefse or hot dishes. We did however eat lots of locally grown produce, wonderful homemade doughnuts and deli sandwiches from our favorite restaurant, The Acoustic Cafe. 

Sadly we can’t quite reproduce the delicious little sandwiches we love so much (and that’s not for lack of trying!), so we instead chose a Maple Baked Chicken. Mr. N and Miss A were both very excited for Minnesota night, and for a recipe that combines syrup, chicken and oatmeal!  Continue reading →

Meet Me in St. Louis…

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…Louis, meet me at the fair, don’t tell me the lights are shining any place but there. Right now I’m thankful that this is a blog and you can’t hear me singing. You should be thankful too. Let’s just say I’m no Judy Garland. So as you guessed, tonight’s state cuisine is from Missouri – St. Louis, Missouri to be exact. The “Gateway to the West” and the home of St. Louis Toasted Ravioli. Now I don’t know about you, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of St. Louis is ribs, not ravioli. But according to Midwest Living magazine and my good friend and St. Louis resident, toasted ravioli is indeed the specialty of the city. The recipe we chose for tonight is adapted from Midwest Living, which got the recipe from Charlie Gitto’s restaurant in St. Louis. Incidentally, this is the same restaurant that Mr. N and I met my friend for dinner last week. We didn’t order the toasted ravioli, but the pasta dishes we did order were delicious!  Continue reading →