the country of the month for October....

[Susann]

As the suspense builds, I present to you the country (well, region) for October....The midwest United States (I know this is broad. I blame my husband!!!!)

Any recipes or web sites would be appreciated. Thanks, everyone!

[lorilei]

Whoa, Susann http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif I didn't know we had our own culture over here in the midwest!

Let me mull this over for a moment or two and get back to you. I'm sure I can dig up a couple of things http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

Keep in mind that the population in Wisconsin and a great deal of Minnesota are very German. Kraut and sausage is very popular, as well as a simple meal composed of crusty hard rolls, summer sausage and cheese.

Also -- you can consider this an excuse to eat lots of dairy (cheese!!) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[sneezles]

Susann
Having been raised in Chicago, where every time you turned a corner you entered another ethnic neighborhood, it would be very difficult to decide. But then between the corn-fed beef of Nebraska, stockyards of Chicago, dairy farmers in Wisconsin, cornfields of Iowa, the wheatfields in Kansas...maybe your husband has a great steak and bkd 'tato with all the trimmings in mind! And cheesecake for dessert?

[S]

I know this doesn't encompass the whole mid-west, but since I grew up in Chicago, I have to put my vote in for Chicago style pizza! The only kind I make. Another dish I always have to get when I go home is Italian beef sandwiches.

[lorilei]

I've had the great honor of having worked in a superb bookstore for many years, and I often find my experience to be useful http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Hope these resources help!

COOKBOOKS YOU MIGHT CHECK OUT:

Ethnic Chicago Cookbook - Carol Haddix, ed.
("The sources of the recipes include the Chicago Tribune's test kitchen, contributions from readers and local chefs' signature dishes. The book also includes historical and contemporary photography of Chicago's culinary scene.")

Celebrating the Midwestern Table: Real Food for Real Times - Abby Mandel
("Ms. Mandel has updated traditional Midwestern recipes such as berry pies and buttermilk biscuits by reducing the fat, salt and sugar. "The delicious flavors, the ones that taste just the way we expect they should, come right through," she
assures readers")

Heartland : The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens - Marcia Adams

Best of the Best from Wisconsin : Selected Recipes from Wisconsin's Favorite Cookbooks - Gwen McKee (Editor)

Best of the Best from Minnesota : Selected Recipes from Minnesota's Favorite Cookbooks - Gwen McKee

The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook : The New Standard of Midwest Cooking, With 1000 Recipes and 100 Techniques - Diane Roupe

A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook - Marian K. Towne

The Wisconsin Herb Cookbook - Suzanne Breckenridge

Gunflint Lodge Cookbook : Elegant Northwoods Dining - Ron Berg, Sue Kerfoot


WEBSITES:
Cooking in the Heartland www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/midwest.html (http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/midwest.html)

Midwest Gourmet? www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/02/16/p21s1.htm (http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/02/16/p21s1.htm)

Prairie Home Cooking www.harvardcommonpress.com/Cooking/prairierecipes.html (http://www.harvardcommonpress.com/Cooking/prairierecipes.html)

Midwestern Eating Habitat www.urc.ukans.edu/News/99N/NovNews/Nov19/eating.html (http://www.urc.ukans.edu/News/99N/NovNews/Nov19/eating.html)

[Deanna]

Lorilei: How nice to see you mention "Prairie Home Cooking" in your post. The book was authored by an acquaintance of mine, Judith Fertig. It's a great book that gives a wonderful sampling of Midwestern cooking, traditions, and history. Highly recommended!

This is taken directly from the Harvard Press website:

Prairie Home Cooking: 400 Recipes That Celebrate the Bountiful Harvests, Creative Cooks, and Comforting Foods of the American Heartland; by Judith M. Fertig

IACP Award Nominee

The food of the midwest is the food of America itself, a combination of tradition and innovation, comfort and creativity, abundance and thrift. In Prairie Home Cooking, Judith Fertig serves up a warm-hearted invitation to savor the best of America's breadbasket––delightful combinations of garden-grown vegetables, orchard-picked fruits, wild nuts and berries, fresh fish and game, and prairie-raised beef, chicken, and pork. Fertig offers recipes for hearty breakfasts, flavorful soups, big-plate main courses, and desserts that brim over with custards and fruit. In 400 recipes and extensive sidebars, she celebrates the cooking of the many ethnic groups that have made the heartland their home. read more

"No one captures the spirit of this region better than native daughter, Judith Fertig. Part cookbook part travelogue, part social history, Prairie Home Cooking is one hundred percent delicious, with recipes that will thrill your taste buds and warm your soul." –Steven Raichlen

[Peggy]

Susann,

You are probably well taken care of with Lorilei's list of cookbooks (WOW!), however I can recommend an article that was in the July/August 1995 issue of Cooking Light. They were featuring US regional cuisine and there was a section on the Midwest. Last year my daughter was working on a Girl Scout badge and she had to cook a meal from a region in the US and I remembered the article. She chose the Midwest and made part of the menu from the CL magazine. Her menu (from CL):

Corn Meat Loaf
Herbed Mashed Potatoes
Browned Green Beans
Whole-Wheat Cloverleaf Rolls

It took her all day, (she was only 9 at the time), but it turned out great. She liked the meat loaf and herbed mashed potatoes so much that she just requested I make them for her family birthday dinner last month. If you don't have access to the issue and are interested in any of the recipes let me know and I will post them for you.

Peggy

[Susann]

Thanks everyone. I think my husband likes for me to have a challenge. Your suggestions have been great (and Lorelei you have given me an excuse to go to the library!!!). What I am thinking of doing now is devoting one meal to each of the states (I count 11) in the region. I am thinking this "month" might just last a few months!!

[Grace]

I would like to vouch for Peggy's suggestion of the Corn Meatloaf. It is one of my favorites of all time from CL.

Also, Peggy, you must be so proud of your daughter, and she must have been so proud of herself after tackling such a big and complicated menu! It reminds me so much of me when I was young - I was very ambitious in the kitchen, and my mother tells stories a lot of all the "stuff" that I emerged from the kitchen with, beaming with pride! One time I made "bread" - but must have used expired yeast or something - the bread never rose and was about 2 inches tall. My mother braced herself - she thought I was going to cry and be mad and disappointed - I BEAMED!! (What a dork?!) My mother was so relieved, and ooohed and aahed over my creation...Most of my stuff came out a lot better though, but it was the time when I really learned (or discovered) the joy and pleasure in cooking, and it has been my hobby ever since. Cheers to you and your daughter - sounds like she'll soon be a big CL fan too, just like the rest of us! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 10-04-2000).]

[venus]

Susann,

I know you have tons of suggestions (and lots of reading) already, but may I add one more suggestion? How about venison pot roast or buffalo steaks? Game is something that is very popular in both historical midwestern cooking and in modern home-cooking (or so my friends in Michigan tell me). Both venision and buffalo can be easily found at most food and specialty stores and are surprisingly lean and delicious. I have a very good recipe for Venison pot roast that melts in your mouth.
I second the idea of spoon bread or johnny cakes--anything with corn seems like a good bet.

Can't wait to hear what you make!

[ElinorC]

Susann,
I'm curious as to what states you include in the 'MidWest'. Would you mind listing them? I'm from Ohio and have always thought it was included but not all agree.

[Susann]

Elinor-sure thing! Before I list them, let me apoligize in advance if I leave a state out! Nebraska, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri. Any more?

[sneezles]

How about Michigan, Indiana?

[Danielle]

My vote would be for a good ol' fish fry, complete with fries/hashbrowns (if they have cheese and onions, all the better), tartar sauce, cole slaw, and a dark rye roll, a big thing here in Wisconsin. I used to live in Fond du Lac, and a few years ago they got a Red Lobster. Well, since there are so many good fish fry places in Fond du Lac, Red Lobster went out of business! Red Lobster is still pretty popular in Madison, but I guarantee you if you open a newspaper on a Thursday night, you'll find tons of ads for fish frys on Friday. When I was younger I could never understand why my grandparents (who live in Illinois) would insist on going to a fish fry when they came to visit. Now I know why.

They also stocked up on brats... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Danielle (edited 10-04-2000).]