50 States; 50 Meals: Virginia

We finally made it to my home town!  When most people think of food from Virginia they instantly think of Smithfield Ham and peanuts from the Virginia diner.  A state as large as Virginia as more cuisine to offer.  Southern Virginia has Brunswick Stew and Coast brings Virginia oysters, clams, blue crabs and soft shell crabs.

What we had for dinner:

Virginia Ham Biscuits
Pretty self-explanatory.  Biscuits and Smithfield Ham served with a Dijon mustard and homemade peach preserves that were gifted to me the day of our dinner.    Side note: There is actually a law that says Smithfield Hams must be cured within the Smithfield town limits. 

Quiche with Virginia Ham
I turned our dinner into a breakfast dinner and made quiche to go with the traditional Virginia Ham biscuits.  I used one of our favorite quiche recipes, Cheese and Sausage Quiche, but substituted ham for the sausage.  It was still very good; however, I then realized I basically made a Denver omelet quiche.  That would totally awesome if it wasn't supposed to be about Virginia.  

And of course we had Virginia peanuts

Next State: Washington

50 States; 50 Meals: Vermont

What we had for dinner:

American Chop Suey

Some may also call this American goulash, depending on where they are from.  I'm not sure why this is tied to Vermont.  It seems to be popular across all of New England.  This was one of if not the first state where I already had the recipe in my cookbook notebook.  I had made it a couple times over the years before it became a State Dinner requirement.  If we have been watching the show Wahlburgers then you have heard Alma mention American Chop Suey.  My husband and I love that show and I had planned to use Alma's recipe but my brain went to autopilot and I used the recipe I had on hand.

I found the following recipe on Food.com.  According to their website this is "based on a recipe from Guy Fieri's book, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: an All-American Road Trip With Recipes! This celebrates Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire, a landmark diner established in 1922."

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
kosher salt
1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup tomato juice
1 pinch sugar
1 lb elbow macaroni 

 

Directions

1. In large pot over medium heat melt butter. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in ground beef and cook, stirring and breaking up meat chunks with a spoon. Cook until meat is done, about 7 minutes until no longer pink. Toss herbs and pepper over the meat mixture, add salt to taste, and stir until well mixed.
2. Add canned tomatoes with their juices, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and tomato juice. Add sugar to taste. Simmer gently while you prepare the pasta.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add macaroni and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain the macaroni and add to the chop suey.
4. Serve hot.

 Makes 8 servings

 

Next State: Virginia
 

50 States; 50 Meals: Utah

What we had for dinner:

Pastrami Burgers

This burger is said to be invented in Utah.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound sliced pastrami
1/4 cup Russian dressing
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper. Form into four patties. Grill until almost done. Place 1/4 of the pastrami on each patty and top with cheese. Allow cheese to melt. Serve on kaiser rolls with 1 tablespoon/15 mL of Russian dressing.

Found on about.com

Funeral Potatoes

These potatoes are often served at dinners following a funeral.  This make a great potluck dish.  I have been making a similar dish called Harvest Potatoes for years.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 30-ounce bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, lightly thawed (I prefer cubed)
One 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded sharp yellow Cheddar
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed corn flake cereal

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, an additional 2 minutes.

In a bowl, toss together the cooked onions and garlic, hash brown potatoes, condensed soup, sour cream, Parmesan, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cups Cheddar. Spread the mixture in a 9-by-13 inch casserole dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Top the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, corn flake cereal and melted butter.

Bake in the oven until it bubbles around the sides, about 1 hour. 

From Cooking Channel

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I can't tell you why but they love their jello in Utah.  Utah consumes more jello than any other state.  So I choose to make my favorite jello dish.  

Ingredients
1   8-ounce can crushed pineapple
2 cup boiling water
2   10-ounce packages frozen strawberries
2   3-ounce packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix
1   8-ounce container Cool Whip
3/4 cup sugar
1   8-ounce package cream cheese
3 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2 cup crushed pretzels

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Press this mixture into a 9x13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Fold in the Cool Whip, and spread over the cooled crust.  Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly.  Add the strawberries and pineapple, and pour over the cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate until serving time.
To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of Cool Whip.

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

Next State - Vermont

50 States; 50 Meals: Texas

What we had for dinner:

 

King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch of South Texas is one of the largest ranches in the world.  The story behind this dish is that a ranch hand created the casserole to feed hundreds of ranch workers.  It donned on me that my family has been making this casserole since I was in high school we just didn't know what it was called.  We always called it the Mexican casserole with the torn corn tortillas.  This recipe is so good that my mom would always send in leftovers to my boss. Mostly because he demanded it. It is listed on My Recipes website as their most popular casserole. 

Here is a lightened version by Southern Living.

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
Vegetable cooking spray
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (10-ounce) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 (8-ounce) block reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded (Don't buy pre-shredded reduced-fat cheese.  It doesn't melt as well)

Directions

Sauté onion and bell pepper in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender.
Stir in chicken and next 6 ingredients; remove from heat.
Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third tortilla pieces in bottom of a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third chicken mixture and one-third cheese. Repeat layers twice.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.
Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Texas Sheet Cake

This cake is so delicious.  I wasn't allowed to take the left-overs to work good.  I made Cooking Light's recipe.  We certainly didn't feel like we were eating a "light" recipe.  It was pretty easy to make too for being a non-baker. 

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, divided
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, divided
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup fat-free milk
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
Coat a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set aside.
Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add to flour mixture. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack.
Combine 6 tablespoons butter, fat-free milk, and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in powdered sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over hot cake. Sprinkle cake with pecans. Cool completely on wire rack.

You can also bake the cake in a 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan at 375° for 17 minutes.

Next State: Utah

 

50 States; 50 Meals: Tennessee

I don't know about anyone else but I have anxiously been waiting for this state.

What we had for dinner:

Memphis Ribs

I'm sure there are many rib enthusiasts that will say were prepared these ribs incorrectly but they were fall off the bone delicious.  We used Wegmans' Braised Barbecue recipe where the ribs are grilled and then braised in a beer and barbeque sauce liquid.  Yep, I said beer.  Have your attention now?

We had Memphis style baked beans and squash casserole, a popular Tennessee dish, on the side.

Braised Barbecue Ribs

Ingredients 

1 rack Wegmans Center Cut Pork Spareribs (about 3 lbs), halved
1 Tbsp Wegmans BBQ Seasoning Shak'r (I used McCormick Pork Rub)
1 bottle (19 oz) Wegmans Memphis-Style BBQ Sauce
1 bottle (12 oz) lager-style beer

Directions

Preheat grill on HIGH 10 min.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Clean grill with wire brush. Using soft cloth, coat grill grate lightly with vegetable oil.
Season both sides of ribs with BBQ seasoning. Sear on grill 3-4 min per side; do not cook through. Transfer ribs to braising pan.
Whisk BBQ sauce and beer together in bowl until well-blended; pour over ribs in pan. Cover pan; place in oven.
Bake 2 1/2-3 hours. Carefully remove lid; bake 10 additional min.

 

 

Squash Casserole
I got this recipe from my SIL

Ingredients
2 pounds zucchini or squash or a combination
1 small sweet onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 cup grated carrots
1 (8-oz.) package herb-seasoned stuffing  (Pepperidge Farm)
1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place in a Dutch oven. Add chopped onion, 2 tsp. salt, and water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook 5 minutes; drain well.
Stir grated carrots, cream of chicken soup and sour cream in a large bowl; fold in squash mixture. Stir together stuffing and 1/2 cup melted butter, and spoon half of stuffing mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon squash mixture over stuffing mixture, and top with remaining stuffing mixture.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown, shielding with aluminum foil after 20 to 25 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


Next State: Texas

50 States; 50 Meals: South Dakota

What we had for dinner:

Chislic

"South Dakota Cubed Meat" is a popular bar food in South Dakota.  It is skewered deep fried red meat usually lamb served with saltines.  Worried what they would think, we told the kids we were having steak.  I'm not sure if it was because the meat was on small skewers but they both housed it, which is a big deal for my youngest.  They have recently asked to have it again. 

Recipe from Cooking Channel.com


Ingredients
1 pound boneless lamb leg, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
Serving suggestions: garlic salt, hot sauce and saltine crackers

Special equipment: Toothpicks, for serving

Directions
Toss together the lamb cubes, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper in a bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 375 degrees F. Fry the marinated lamb cubes in batches to avoid overcrowding the oil. Cook to medium-rare, about 1 minute. The meat will have a dark brown crust and will be tender to the touch. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Skewer the lamb cubes with toothpicks and serve with garlic salt, hot sauce and saltine crackers on the side. 

Side Dishes

Mushroom Rice - Recipe by Tickled Red
Squash with Roasted Walnuts and Goat Cheese

We had another Kuchen (same as North Dakota) for dessert.

Next State: Tennessee

50 States; 50 Meals: South Carolina

I definitely needed a food dictionary for this state. Hoppin John, Perloo, Frogmore Stew, it wasn't easy to make a choice.

What we had for dinner:

Frogmore Stew

Commonly known as Low Country Boil, this dish gets its name from St. Helena Island aka Frogmore, SC.  It traditionally includes redskin potatoes, corn on the cob, kielbasa and shrimp.  I love all the ingredients in this dish except for the Old Bay.  If anyone has a recipe that doesn't require Old Bay please pass them on.  This is a great summer family get-together meal.
Try this recipe from My Recipes.
Ingredients
5 quarts water
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
4 pounds small red potatoes
2 pounds kielbasa or hot smoked link sausage, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

6 ears fresh corn, halved
4 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp
Old Bay seasoning
Cocktail sauce
(I added a fresh squeezed lemon juice)

Directions

Bring 5 quarts water and 1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning to a rolling boil in a large covered stockpot.
Add potatoes; return to a boil, and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Add sausage and corn, and return to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add shrimp to stockpot; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Drain. Serve with Old Bay seasoning and cocktail sauce.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbasa.
 

Love Old Bay? Pair your Frogmore Stew with a Flying Dog Dead Rise

 

Dictionary:

Hoppin John - Black-eyed peas and rice
Perloo - One pot rice dish similar to jambalaya 

 

Next State: South Dakota

50 States; 50 Meals: Rhode Island

What we had for dinner:

I lost my picture! This one is courtesy of whatscookingamerica.net

Johnnycakes

No, these are not pancakes.  Johnnycakes, also referred to as Journey Cakes, are made from corn meal.  The ingredients include cornmeal, sugar, salt and water.  Top them with butter, maple syrup or applesauce.  We choose syrup.

I used this Martha Stewart recipe because others have you grilling the cakes in bacon grease. 

Ingredients

1 cup stone-ground white cornmeal

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
Unsalted butter, for griddle

Directions

Preheat an electric griddle to 380 degrees. or place a griddle pan or large skillet over medium-high heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Add boiling water, and mix to combine. The batter will be thick. Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the griddle 2 inches apart for each johnny cake. Let cook for 6 minutes, turn and cook 5 minutes more. 

Coffee Milk

The "Official State drink of Rhode Island", coffee milk was originally created during the 1930's.  It's made the same as way as if you were making chocolate milk with milk and syrup.  We also tried it on top of vanilla ice cream and in actual coffee too.  haha  A big thank you for my MIL for bringing this to us from Connecticut. 

Next State: South Carolina

50 States; 50 Meals: Pennsylvania

What we had for dinner:

Cheesesteaks 

Probably one of the most famous food wars is the cheesesteak showdown between Pat's and Geno's. 
Pat Olivieri began in the food industry by running a hot dog stand.  The story is told that one day he made the, now famous, chopped steak and onion (no cheese) sandwich for lunch.  A cab driver happened to stop at the hot dog stand and asked for his own steak sandwich.  The stories of the cab driver range from he suggested that Pat stop with hot dogs and focus on the sandwich to him telling all his cab driver friends about it (Word-of-Mouth Marketing at its best) and they all came looking for a sandwich.  Either way we all owe our gratitude toward this mystery cab driver. Provolone cheese added to the sandwich later by Joe "Cocky Joe" Lorenza, a manager at the Ridge Avenue location."
Some say that Joe Vento, the founder of Geno's, says that he added cheese to the sandwich first. 

How to order a Cheesesteak:

I would like a Cheesesteak = One
I would like cheese = wiz; provolone
I would like onions = with
I would not like onions = without

Example:
I would like a cheesesteak with Cheese Wiz with onions.  = One wiz with
I would like a cheesesteak with provolone without onions. = One provolone without

My cousin once took me to Philly for a cheesesteak.  I was so worried about ordering wrong I made him order for me.  I was worried it would turn into a Soup Nazi situation and I was too hungry to let that happen.

The meat traditionally used on a cheesesteak is thinly sliced rib-eye or top round.   Most cheesesteak places use Amoroso or Vilotti-Pisanelli rolls and the most commonly used cheeses are Cheez Whiz, provolone, and white American cheese.
We used an awesome recipe from The Little Kitchen.  We will definitely make these again.

Rita's Water Ice/Italian Ice

Rita's is based out of Trevose, PA.  The company began when Bob Tumolo, a former Philadelphia firefighter, started selling Italian Ice porch window. Rita's was named after Bob's wife.
More History

We brought home a quart of Cherry to share.

Soft Pretzels 

Pennsylvania today is the center of American pretzel production for both the hard crispy and the soft bread types of pretzels.  According to Ushistory.org, the average Philadelphian consumes about twelve times as many pretzels as the national average.

We just picked up a box of frozen soft pretzels.  I taught my girls how to dip the soft pretzel into their cherry Italian ice.  Something I learned from my boss when I worked at Rita's. 

Stromboli

One claim is that Nazzareno Roman, owner of Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria created the first Stromboli in 1950 in Essington, Tinicum Township, just outside of Philadelphia.

I made my Stromboli using pre-made pizza dough, not the can kind, pizza sauce, a package of shredded pizza cheese and pepperoni.
Roll out the dough into a circle.
Add the sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.
Roll the dough like a jelly roll
Bake at 500 for 8 - 10.

I just winged it but for an actual recipe you can try this one from Lauren's Latest.
Lesson learned:  divide the dough in half of you end up the with the biggest Stromboli ever.

Next State: Rhode Island

50 States; 50 Meals: Oregon

What we had for dinner dessert:

Marionberry Pie

The marionberry was developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service at Oregon State University.  It is a cross between the 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie' blackberries.  You know the difference right? Right? The marionberry is currently the most common blackberry accounting for over half of all blackberries produced in Oregon.  These berries are similar to raspberries but a little sweeter.

Marionberries are not in huge demand where we live so I was stuck. Then one day I was in Wegmans and pushed my cart past a freezer end cap and what did I see? A Marie Calendars Razzleberry Pie. And in this pie was raspberries AND marionberries! I almost did the dance of joy in the middle of the store. That pie was deeeeelicious.



 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: Oklahoma

What we had for dinner:

I nicknamed this meal the Cracker Barrel meal.

Chicken Fried Steak
Cube steak coated in flour, fried, and served with thick gravy.  We had never had this before and we all liked it.  The gravy reminded me of one of my favorite breakfasts and another Oklahoma fav, Biscuits and Gravy.

Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits covered with a sausage gravy.

Both of the recipes were from the Pioneer Woman.
Chicken Fried Steak

Biscuits and Gravy - You should know by now that I used can biscuits. HA!

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What is your favorite Cracker Barrel meal?

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: Ohio

What we had for dinner:

Cincinnati Chili
This chili stands out for its use of seasonings such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice or chocolate.  It can ordered in the following way:

• Bowl: chili in a bowl


• Two-way: chili and spaghetti


• Three-way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese


• Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions


• Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

The four way chili was surprisingly good.  My favorite part of this chili is the amount of cheddar cheese that gets added to the top and it was great over spaghetti.
This recipe, from Food Network, makes the five-way chili.



Buckeyes
These treat is named after the nut from the Buckeye Tree.  Peanut butter balls dipped into chocolate.  Need I say more.



 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: North Dakota

What we had for dinner:

Well... we didn't.  It seemed that most of the recipes involved dough and baking is not my strong suit.

Strudel, Lefse, Fleischkuekle - There was a lot of Googling for these German dishes.

So we had a store-bought Kuchen.



 

 

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: North Carolina

What we had for dinner:

North Caroline Style Pulled Pork sandwiches.  North Carolina pulled pork is served with a vinegar-based barbeque sauce.  I served hush puppies on the side as they do in Lexington.



 

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: New York

There are so many choices for New York.  New York style pizza, bagels, Manhattan clam chowder.  We traveled outside the big apple for our New York chicken dessert but came back for dinner.

What we had for dinner:

Buffalo Chicken Wings
The first wing was made in the Anchor Bar owned by Teresa and Frank Bellissimo

Baked Chicken Wings - The skin gets just a crispy as fried with this recipe.  I didn't make the sauce and bought a bottle of Anchor Bar sauce instead.

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Spiedies Pronounced "speedies"
Spiedies were originally from Italy.  They are marinated cubes of meat, traditionally lamb, cooked on a skewer like a kebab.  Pork, chicken, veal, venison, and beef are also used. The meat is marinated and then grilled. The marinade recipe varies, usually involving olive oil, vinegar, and a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint. The meat is then served on Italian bread.  The bread is used to take the meat off of the skewer.I was able to find bottle Spiedie marinade at my grocery store.

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New York  Cheesecake
No-Bake Cheesecake - I made this version so the kids could help me.
Traditional New York Cheesecake

Black and White CookiesDevil's food cake cookie with white buttercream frosting on one side and black frosting on the other side.

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What is your favorite food from New York?

50 States; 50 Meals: New Mexico

What we had for dinner:

New Mexico is home of the green chili.  We had Green Chili Cheeseburgers.

It only made since to use a Bobby Flay recipe.  I simplified it a little by not using as many varieties of chili's.

 

50 States; 50 Meals: New Jersey

One of our country's great debates.  What do you call a sandwich made on long Italian or French bread stuffed with meat and cheese?  Whatever you call it usually determines what region you are from.  "Hoagie" originated in Philadelphia.  They're "Heroes" in New York.  New England calls them "Grinders".  If you hail from New Jersey they're a Submarine, Sub for short.

There are two theories about where the sub first originated.  One theory is that a man named Dominic Conti immigrated to New York from Italy in the early 1900's.  He opened a grocery store called Dominic Conti's Grocery Store.  Mr. Conti sold his traditional Italian sandwiches at his store.  His recipe was a long crust roll, filled with cold cuts, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, oil, vinegar, Italian herbs and spices, salt, and pepper. Mr. Conti used a special sandwich making technique of starting and ending with a layer of cheese so the bread would not get soggy.  He named the sandwich a Submarine after seeing the Fenian Ram, a recovered submarine in the Paterson Museum.

I consulted with my Jersey cousins about this week's meals.  One of my cousins said that Italian subs were a must in southern Jersey and that the bread must be crusty.  No soft rolls.  I turned to the best sub maker I know, Wegmans.  Don't get me wrong I thought about buying all the meats and making them myself but getting them made at Wegmans was more budget friendly.  I got two "Danny's Favorites"; Genoa Salami, Capicola, Spicy Ham.  The "grown-up" version had provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, submarine oil, oregano and hot peppers.  The "kid version" had regular ham, provolone, lettuce and tomato.  My girls loved the salami and it is now requested for lunches.

Just look how yummy.  My mouth is watering.

We had Disco fries on the side.  Disco fries are usually found in Jersey diners.  They are steak fries covered in cheese and brown gravy.  I combined a quick recipe with a Paula Dean recipe.

Disco Fries

One Bag of Steak Fries
One packet of McCormick Beef Gravy
2 Cups (1 bag) Shredded Yellow Cheddar

Prepare the Steak Fries following the oven directions on the bag.
Prepare the gravy following directions on packet.
Place cooked fries in a wide, shallow casserole dish or baking sheet and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese, layering the fries and the cheese. (If you want the cheese to be completely melted, bake in a 350 degrees F oven for about 4 minutes after layering the fries and cheese.)
Remove from oven, top with Brown Gravy and serve immediately.   Another option is to serve the gravy on the side.

Side note:  This was a lot of cheese and I don't usually say such a thing.  I will probably start with a cup of cheese and go from there.

Next State:  Home of the Chili

50 States; 50 Meals: New Hampshire

For New Hampshire we went all maple syrup.  It was very delicious but by the end of the meal I was maple syrup'ed out.

What's not to love about having breakfast for dinner?  We had some texas toast in the house after making Hot Browns with some leftover Christmas turkey so I made french toast.  (As I write this the Throwdown with Bobby Flay: Hot Brown is on Food Network.)  To go with the french toast I made Maple Syrup Apples.  I'm pretty sure I wasn't using the famous New Hampshire apples but they were good nonetheless.  Some of us put the apples on the french toast and some put them on the side.  Either way they were very good AND easy to make.

               

For dessert we had Maple Syrup and Snow Candy.  This apparently is very popular in New Hampshire.  Lucky for us it happened to snow that day.  I had the girls get two big bowls of snow before it turned to ice and rain.  We stored the snow in the freezer until it was time for dessert.  Two big mixing bowls turned out to be enough for a family of four.  It's pretty cool.  The syrup hardens once it touches the snow.  We did not finish by eating pickles or saltines as the recipe suggests but I do see why they make the suggestion.  After the french toast, apples and snow I was ready for a different taste.



Next up: We're getting on the turnpike and heading to Jur-zee.

50 States; 50 Meals: Nevada

Well it's a good thing that we weren't actually in Nevada for this meal because it didn't have the "stay there".  Get it?  Bad Joke.

So obviously when anyone things of Nevada they think of Las Vegas and when they think of eating in Las Vegas they think of All-you-can-eat buffets.

Our buffet included the basics you would see on any buffet.  I wanted to keep everything an appetizer size because we were decorating our Christmas tree at the same time.  It is our family tradition to have an appetizer dinner (aka Pickies; aka Appy's; aka Mrs. Flax dinner, Mermaids movie anyone) while putting up our tree so this worked out perfectly.  We had:
99-Cent Shrimp Cocktails
Steak Bites to stand in for Prime Rib
Grilled Mushrooms
Veggies
Summer Sausage - This was to fulfill another Christmas tradition


I filled the green dish with ice and then placed the shrimp on top in effort to make it look like a buffet chafing dish. 

I used Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond's recipe for the steak bites.  They were amazing.  Butter and Steak.  What could be better?  To add on to the steak I also cooked up some button mushrooms in some butter too with a splash (or two, or three) of red wine.  I have to say as we get closer to New Year's Eve those steak bites I have been on my mind. 

It was a  very delicious dinner.  We all got to keep our money but I would have liked to catch Britney Spears residency show or the Blue Man group. ;)

Next, we head back to New England for a mapley dinner.

50 States; 50 Meals: Nebraska

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! It is a great season for foodies for sure.

We had a simple meal for our Nebraska dinner.  It was a very Cornhusker dinner, if you will.  We had corn dogs, homemade popcorn and Eskimo Pies for dessert.A corn dog (just in case someone doesn't know) is a hot dog dipped in a cornmeal batter and then deep fried.

When I don't use the air popper I make Olive Oil Popcorn.  I follow the same instructions as you would to make popcorn with a canola oil but with a healthier oil.

Olive Oil Popcorn
1/4 Cup Olive Oil into a skillet
Add a single kernel of corn
Cover and heat at medium heat
When the kernel pops add enough corn to cover the bottom of the pan
Cover and shake
When the popping slows down, remove the pan from the heat
Salt to taste



Then for dessert we had Eskimo Pie ice cream bars.  Christian Kent Nelson, a school teacher and candy shop owner in Iowa, invented the Eskimo Pie in 1921, when a boy in his shop couldn’t decide between an ice cream and a candy bar. But it wasn't until Nelson traveled to Nebraska, where he met Russell Stover who helped him patent the idea and dub it “Eskimo Pie.”

Next up is a state famous for their buffets.