Thanksgiving in the United States

This is a really interesting article that shares a recipe that supposedly embodies each state:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ng-recipes-across-the-united-states.html?_r=1


Do you think they captured your state?

For me they did as a Chourico and Clam stuffing is specific to my little area of Massachusetts.

No; not at all.  But then we are not truly natives.    I looked up the state where I was born (New York) and they had an apple pie.  IMHO; no one touches my Gram's apple pies.  I looked up where DH is from and his mother; neither dish sound familiar. 

No. Not Glazed Bacon for Pennsylvania. No way. While I agree about the PA Dutch in Pennsylvania, I would have to say that maybe a Shoofly Cake or Shoofly Pie (more likely the pie) would be more appropriate. Certainly not a bacon dish.

But while I'm talking about this, Betty Groff--whose Glazed Bacon recipe is the one mentioned in the article--is (or was) a great cook. I have all of her cookbooks and use her recipes quite often. Her Chicken Stoltzfus (sp?) is to-die-for delicious and I usually make it for Rick's dad's birthday dinner. We used to visit Groff's Farm quite often for special dinners as Mount Joy is only about 2-1/2 hours away. Rick's mother loved the place. Alas, they had to sell it and I think it's now closed down. And that's a shame. The first night we had dinner there, Rick told her that I often made her Chicken Stoltzfus; she actually sat down at our table and talked with me for quite a while. About cooking in general and about the Chicken Stoltzfus. She was a very interesting woman.

The Groffs used to own the Cameron Estate Inn, too, at one time (I don't think they still have it) and Rick took me there for a lovely weekend vacation. It was beautiful.

And Cope's dried corn is probably a staple in most PA homes, not just around Thanksgiving, but throughout the year. I always make Ina Garten's Sagaponek Corn Pudding for holiday dinners here, but Rick just loves dried corn, so I try to have it a lot with dinners, just for him.

English Pea and Onion salad for Ohio, to be honest I had never heard of it.  It came from someplace in Cleveland and my ex was from that area and I still had never heard of it.  The state that I am from is Kansas and theirs was candied yams.  I have at least heard of it, I think everyone has, but I don't think it's something that Kansas is known for anymore than any other state.

I just saw on the front page of the Minneapolis newspaper that there's an uproar because nobody in Minnesota has ever heard of grape salad :lol3:.

I guess kuchen for South Dakota is as good a pick as any. Not a lot of people make their own but you can buy semi-locally-made frozen kuchen at the grocery store. Can't say I've ever seen pear flavored kuchen though.

Willowy said:

I just saw on the front page of the Minneapolis newspaper that there's an uproar because nobody in Minnesota has ever heard of grape salad

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I guess kuchen for South Dakota is as good a pick as any. Not a lot of people make their own but you can buy semi-locally-made frozen kuchen at the grocery store. Can't say I've ever seen pear flavored kuchen though.

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I find the selection for Ohio odd but it's not something I am going to get bent out of shape over.  When I think about it Ohio out side of the Amish community is known for Buckeyes.  Buckeyes are good, I mean you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate, but that isn't really something associated with Thanksgiving.  Kansas is known for the beef that is raised there but beef isn't associated with Thanksgiving.

I thoroughly enjoyed this article and read through every state. I was born and raised in Illinois and could not relate to the pumpkin soup but I am sure it is yummy. My mother cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and her younger  sister's family always came. We would normally have 15 - 20 people.There was a joke that if they didn't come to our house they would eat Thanksgiving at McDonalds. My mother's cooking was always like a thorn in my Aunt's side. Until one year my Aunt brought a broccoli casserole she decided to try . From that year on my Aunt's broccoli casserole was a staple on my Mother's Thanksgiving table. I included the recipe in this post. Certainly not a fancy dish just good ole comfort food like I was raised on.

1. 2 bags frozen Broccoli florets. Cooked in microwave just enough to de-thaw them.

2.This casserole is layered in an oven safe casserole  dish (I think 2 qrt.)

3. First layer Broccoli

4. Second layer Velveta cheese cut into cubes. I buy the medium size block of velveta. Mix in chunks of margarine with velveta, about  a whole stick.

5. repeat broccoli, velveta, and margarine layers.

6.Top with a generous amount of  ritz crackers crumbs that you crumble with your hands some  small crumbles and some larger pieces. About a whole sleeve of crackers maybe more. 

7. Melt margarine and pour over ritz crumbs evenly on the top of casserole.

8. Heat uncovered at 350 until casserole is nice and bubbly hot but not so long that the broccoli is way over cooked.

I have made this casserole so many times to take to potlucks, work eating meetings etc and it is always a hit. Even people that do not care for  broccoli like this casserole.

Heh, just saw that North Dakota got lefse. I know more people who make lefse than kuchen, but both of them are more Christmas-related than Thanksgiving. Also, Hawaii got mochi! I grew up in Japan and I don't like mochi . But it's cool that it was mentioned.

Being I'm Georgia, pecan pie is a big yes. Considering all of the pecan trees! It doesn't even have to be thanksgiving to make a pecan pie! A big southern thing is... Giblet gravy :nausea: I remember being at my southern families thanksgiving dinner and going for the gravy. It was thin, and chunky. Terrible and terrifying,

interesting article! yes! i think they captured my state -- new york. but that may have to do with my living in an agricultural area where there are apple orchards all over the area. i love all the fresh fruit and veggies that's grown in my area, and look forward every year to apple season.

Oh man, I just knew Virginia was gonna be corn pudding! Haha! So I would say, yes, they did get it right. And mmmmm, corn pudding. I can't WAIT until Thursday!