North Carolina

We've been looking forward to this meal for a while. Years ago, Marc and I lived in Maryland and several of his colleagues were transplants from North Carolina. Two gentlemen in particular--Willie Smith and Linwood Williams--knew where to find all the best food in the area. One day for lunch they went out for Carolina barbecue and promised Marc they would bring some back for him. Mr. Smith described the shredded pork and vinegar sauce and informed Marc that the sandwich would include cole slaw. Marc was not pleased--cole slaw, in the Midwest, is a side, not a sandwich topping. Not to mention, he doesn't even like mayonnaise.

But, Mr. Smith ignored his protests and told him to sit down and eat the sandwich. Marc talked of nothing else for days. In fact, I think that specific event may have been a turning point in his foodie career.

This is most certainly not a quick meal. It's an all day event for man and grill alike. The goal is to get a hunk of meat up to a temperature of 185 degrees as slowly as possible. As it cooks, it develops a deep smoky flavor and a crisp charred bark on the outside. Good stuff.


Start with a bone-in pork shoulder (this one was about 8 1/2 lbs), with a good, thick fat "cap" on one side. Generously season with salt and pepper. Heat charcoal and soaked hickory chips and try to maintain a temperature of about 225 degrees. Smoke the meat for 8 to 9 hours, replenishing the charcoal and chips every hour or so. Remove the meat from the grill and wrap well in foil to rest for about 45 minutes.

The shoulder blade should slide easily out of the roast:


Remove any excess fat, and finely chop the meat.


Finish with cider vinegar, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Use enough vinegar to thoroughly coat and moisten the meat.


Now for the slaw. Traditional Carolina slaw is not mayonnaise based (much to Marc's surprise years ago!). In the past, I've used this recipe, and it's very good. I've recently been converted to Rick Bayless's version, which is quicker to prepare:

Hickory House Sour Slaw
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 T dry sherry
1 T sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt

1/2 medium head green cabbage, shredded.

Blend the dressing ingredients with 2 T water and pour over shredded cabbage. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.


You'll noticed there are no "plate" pictures--I was in too much of a hurry to eat!

Lucy was initially skeptical, as she was not a big fan of the brisket we prepared for the Missouri meal. We assured her that this was nothing like brisket. She liked the slaw well enough to agree that this meal is pretty good. Maia also liked it, and was looking forward to concocting another Arkansas barbecue salad with the leftovers.

We (finally) got to draw our next four states: Alaska, Delaware, Nebraska and Colorado!

Nevada

Yes, we're here! We haven't completely fallen off the wagon! Somehow, these past few weeks have been busy, but we're finally coming up for air.


Nevada had us a little stumped. I suggested we set up our meal buffet-style and charge the kids a buck each to eat, but all I got were a few eye-rolls in response. Instead, we opted to highlight a little of Nevada's ethnic diversity. Nevada, California and Idaho all have sizable populations of Basque-Americans. Many of these people immigrated, via South America, to the American West where their shepherding skills provided meat for mining camps in the late 1800s. With origins in Spain and France, you can imagine that the community has a strong culinary tradition!

Lamb and mutton dishes are popular, but we also managed to find a good pork recipe (we do like pork in this house!). Our recipe came from a restaurant in Carson City, Nevada. After the pork loin went into the marinade, the rest of the meal was quick and easy to prepare. We grilled outside over charcoal, even though the weather is quickly approaching official-winter here in Iowa.


We purchased a jar of roasted peppers, rather than roasting our own, which made our Thursday night meal even easier.

On the side, I put together a salad, found here.


The dressing for this was exceptionally good--and so simple! Olive oil, garlic, cider vinegar, salt and mayonnaise. It was rich and satisfying, and the boiled egg balanced the intense garlic flavor.

Everyone liked this meal. Maia was initially suspicious of the salad, but consumed it at a rate that indicated she liked it. Lucy liked the pork and dipped hers in bottled barbecue sauce. Marc, who does not generally like mayonnaise, (how we've been married nearly 12 years I'll never know) really liked the dressing.

I was initially a little intimidated by cooking an official "Basque meal." Hopefully, we've done it justice. Even if we haven't, we'll eat this meal again in our house.


Next stop: North Carolina

California

California's diverse population and agricultural legacy make it difficult to create just one meal that is representative. "California Cuisine" blends Mexican and Asian flavors with abundant seafood. And, don't forget that the first McDonald's restaurant was also in California! We ultimately decided on sushi. Wikipedia (I know, I know) claims that the progressive food culture in Los Angeles was instrumental in introducing sushi to American audiences.

Both kids like sushi already, but we had not "rolled our own" since long before they were born. On the side we made miso soup, which Lucy had specifically requested, and strawberries, which Lucy suggested after learning from Fruit Ninja (I wish I was kidding, but I'm not) that California produces a lot of strawberries.

Most of our sushi rolls were vegetarian, but we did pick up about 6 ounces of fresh salmon as well.


For the sushi rice, I used a recipe from Tyler Florence:
4 cups white sushi rice
4 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt

Combine the rice and water in a rice cooker and let it do its thing. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
When the rice is done, spread it onto a sheet pan and drizzle with the vinegar mixture. Gently blend the vinegar into the rice. Cover with a clean, damp towel and leave at room temperature until you're ready to use it.

Aside from the salmon, I cut thin strips of carrot, cucumber, sweet red pepper, avocado and scallion to use in the rolls. Rolling was an all-hands-on-deck event:


The miso soup recipe comes from Diana Shaw's Essential Vegetarian Cookbook:

3 cups water
6 scallions, including greens, chopped
6 dried shitake mushrooms
6 thin slices fresh ginger
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
2 T yellow or red miso
1/2 cup cubed firm tofu

Put the water in a saucepan and add 3/4 of the scallions, reserving the rest. Add the mushrooms, ginger and carrot. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
Strain the broth. If desired, slice and reserve the mushrooms. Heat broth over medium low heat and add the miso, tofu, and (if you like) the sliced mushrooms. Heat the soup, but do not allow it to boil.

After all of this was assembled, a nice California Sauvignon Blanc was a welcome treat!


Both girls liked the sushi, though they avoided the rolls with avocado. Neither had tried the soup before. Lucy was adamant that we prepare it, but (as in the past) she did not like the final product. Maia liked the soup, particularly the bites with either tofu or onion. When she got down to just broth, she said it was a bit bland. Marc and I enjoyed this meal and felt so virtuously healthy that we experienced not the least bit of guilt as we finished off that bottle of California wine.

Next stop: Nevada

Vermont

Even though Vermont has designated only apple pie as an "official" state food, several key ingredients came to mind when we started thinking about this meal. In particular, cheddar cheese and maple syrup.

These items seemed to lend themselves especially well to breakfast. A perfect opportunity for a breakfast-for-dinner state meal!

Marc is the official pancake maker in our house, his recipe is:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 small eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
3 T vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients separately, then add them to the dry ingredients. Drop by tablespoons onto a hot, greased griddle.


That extra space in the middle of the griddle is perfect for sausage! We like Aidell's, these were the maple and smoked bacon breakfast links. I fried up some bacon and mixed up some eggs to scramble. When the bacon came out of the pan, the eggs went in and absorbed some fine bacon-y flavors. I topped the eggs with the shredded Vermont cheddar.


We brewed some fresh coffee for the grown-ups and the kids had cider. No one could complain too much about this meal. Maia, who had always declared a strong dislike for maple syrup, finally admitted that it was pretty good. Lucy was the only one of us who had not yet had the sausage. As good as it is, it did not replace bacon's privileged position as her favorite meat. Neither of them are big egg eaters, but were happy to eat these.

All in all, a good Sunday night, post-soccer game meal.

Next stop: California

Ohio

I officially declare this meal "most surprising." We went with the Food Network version of "official Ohio food" and prepared Skyline Chili. Chili on spaghetti is unusual enough, but this chili recipe, which includes grated unsweetened chocolate, allspice, cinnamon and cloves really pushes the envelope.

I halved the recipe and used fresh garlic, but otherwise followed it exactly. This was an easy Tuesday night meal--I put the chili together, took one kid to orchestra practice and let it simmer. By the time we returned, it was time to prepare the pasta and put it on the table. When I got back, Marc looked concerned. "That chili is weird," he declared. I mentally went through the contents of our refrigerator, wondering what we would eat if this turned out to be a complete disaster. I tasted the simmering chili and, he was right, it was weird. The cinnamon and chocolate were stronger than I expected, and it lacked the thick, rich consistency I expected of chili. It seemed unbalanced.

Despite our concerns, we powered through and served the chili and spaghetti with the traditional accompaniments: grated cheddar cheese and diced onions. Kidney beans are also traditional, but I didn't happen to have those in the pantry.


To assemble this dish, top your spaghetti with chili and shredded cheese. Chopped onions and beans are extra options. The kids both stopped with cheese, Marc and I included onions. Now comes the "surprising" part--this was incredibly good. Somehow, that unbalanced (weird) chili, blended with the bland pasta and sharp cheddar turned into a well rounded flavor combination. The cheddar offset the sweet cinnamon, cloves and allspice and the pasta provided that satisfying breadiness that you get when you add saltines to traditional chili. I don't know exactly why it worked, but it did.


Lucy was the least enthusiastic, but managed to eat her portion. Maia mumbled "mmmm, this is good" through a mouthful of spaghetti and Marc and I each had seconds. I've never been to Cincinnati, but if I ever get there, I'll definitely try the original.


We drew our next four: Nevada, Vermont, North Carolina and California

Missouri

It took us a while to decide what to eat for Missouri. I grew up near the Lake of the Ozarks, far from Kansas City and St Louis, each of which get a fair amount of attention for their food. Barbecue reigns in Kansas City and St Louis gave us toasted ravioli and some pretty tasty frozen custard. In the rural part of the state where I grew up, many people (including my family) regularly hunted. Wild rabbit, fried squirrel, dove and frog legs were not uncommon at our table. Now that I'm a city girl, these things are harder to come by.

We're always up for smoking a hunk of meat, so Kansas City barbecue it was. We had a brisket in our freezer from our favorite local grass-fed beef producer that was about 4 lbs. Marc smoked it for about 6 hours on a Saturday morning on the charcoal grill, keeping the temperature at around 225. The night before, he coated it with a blend of 2 T brown sugar, 2 T paprika, 1 T black pepper, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder and 1/2 tsp celery seed.


It turned out beautifully--the outside "bark" was nicely charred, but the inside was tender and juicy.

On the side, we served our now standard rosemary potatoes and this outstanding cole slaw from Rick Bayless:

Hickory House Sour Slaw
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 T dry cooking sherry
1 T sugar
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt

1/2 medium head of green cabbage
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine the first 6 ingredients along with 2 T water in a food processor and blend well. (Or, just chop the garlic very fine and blend well with a whisk). Thinly slice the cabbage. Blend cabbage, parsley and dressing in a large bowl. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

Lucy and I opted to construct sandwiches, Marc and Maia ate theirs on the plate with sauce.




I deviated from our state and built a "Carolina style" sandwich, with the coleslaw and sauce right on top.


Marc and I enjoyed this meal quite a bit. The girls, less so, but they powered through! Lucy said that the flavor wasn't too bad, but she didn't like the texture. We had quite a bit of leftovers, which were excellent both as thinly sliced, cold sandwiches and cubed and heated up with sauce.

Next stop: Ohio

Virginia

Virginia is for lovers, so they say. Certainly, lovers of rich, salty, delicious foods would be quite at home!


Ham seemed the most logical choice for Virginia, even though the traditional country (or salt-cured) hams are harder to find in the Midwest. I went with a Beeler Ham, a naturally cured ham produced in central Iowa. Interestingly, if you get a naturally cured meat--meaning it was cured without nitrites--it will say "uncured" on the label. This isn't exactly true, the meat is cured using salt and spices (celery seed in particular). Labeling requirements don't allow a "naturally cured" option, though, so the label will state uncured.

On the side, we served collard greens and cheddar biscuits. We had a nice fresh bunch of collard greens from our CSA and cooked them up Southern-style for this meal. In a large skillet, brown 4 strips of bacon until it's nice and crisp, then remove and crumble. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook in the bacon grease until the vegetables are soft and aromatic. Then, add the collard greens, salt and pepper, and about a cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until the greens are nice and tender. Then uncover and continue cooking until the juices (pot likker) thicken and coat the greens. Finish with a splash of vinegar.


The cheddar biscuits are from Ina Garten and are one of our favorite recipes. These are great for a weekend breakfast or a dinner side. The leftovers, if there are any, make handy snacks or lunch additions. I don't use a mixer, but blend the butter in using a pastry cutter; and I don't roll out the dough, just pat it into a rough circle. Too much handling will make the biscuits tough.

The only new item for the kids was the collard greens. Lucy adamantly refused to taste them. Maia agreed only after I pleaded that I needed a reviewer for the blog so she agreed to taste a tiny bite. When we asked if she liked them, she said, "no....they're just...gross."

The rest of the meal was a hit. Lucy likes her ham with honey-mustard--which I make by mixing, shockingly, honey and mustard. Diced ham and a leftover biscuit will serve as a fine lunch-box addition tomorrow.


Next Stop: Missouri