green beans and potatos

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:44 am

I was making dinner last night,(one of my all time favorites) green beans and potatos. I was also thinking of other foods that are mostly a local food, and if you travel more than 50 miles away the local foods change completley. I have been across the U.S including to Alaska and food preferences vary a great deal.Now to my question, what is your favorite meal that you may not be able to get anywhere else?Mine is green beans and potatos, although I have had it other places , it just wasn't the same.I like mine SPICEY! I lived in a tiny village in Alaska for a year( that was all I could handle) and the food there was nothing like any I have ever had before, oh the names were similar to what I recognized but the food I ate did not resemble anything I have ever had before. I mean no offense if any of you are from there. someone there told me, you know what the difference between what you will or will not eat? about 24 hours. Not true! But there were things that I ate that were quite good. If you want to know I'll tell later. I just got side tracked. So on with the local foods you like please.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:40 am

I know this will contribute to the Canadian stereotype-poutine. I love it. French fries with shredded mozzerella cheese and topped with gravy. Bad for the waistline but great comfort food. Although it is French Canadian cusine. I prefer the Ontario flavour. I am not sure how it is different, but it is to me!

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:50 pm

I know I'm in Ohio, but I grew up in Wisconsin so I'd like to mention a Wisconsin favorite I miss down here - also sure to reinforce a stereotype, I think... Squeaky cheese! It was these little cheese curds so fresh (or something) that they literally squeaked between your teeth as you at them. We had to get them at a creamery store, if I'm not mistaken. Fantastic.

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:15 pm

I've had squeaky cheese curds. Some friends of mine brought some from Wisconsin. The "cheese curds" they sell here in the grocery store are just chunks of cheese, not squeaky at all. Maybe they're not fresh enough. Honestly, I don't know what the local food is here. Maybe Lutefisk, most people can't stand it, but they eat it once a year anyway. I've never tried it. I've had Kuchen and Poffertjes , but I don't think they're really very localized. Kuchen is the "state dessert" of South Dakota, and Poffertjes are a Dutch dessert. We get them when we go to the Tulip Festival in Orange City, Iowa almost every year. I know a lot of people who make Lefse, but I've never had that, either. Norwegian food is very bland.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:44 pm

Dutch, are there any Amish folk around there? I lived in Lancaster Pennsylvania for about 10 years and loved the Amish. Right though food had no taste. Me, I like spicey!

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:41 pm

I don't think the Amish are Dutch. They do call them "Pennsylvania Dutch", but I think the Amish are German. The "Dutch" part is a corruption of "Deutsch", which is German for "German" (LOL). And not all Pennsylvania Dutch people are Amish. Anyway, there are a lot of Dutch Refomed churches in that area, but no Amish. South Dakota does have Hutterites, though. They're kind of like the Amish, except they use electricity, cell phones, and cars. And the women wear colorful clothes, although the style is the same as what the Amish wear. They live in colonies, and usually run really big farms, known for being clean and well-managed. I see them all the time at Sam's Club, where they buy a few dozen boxes of toilet paper and other stuff they can't grow or make themselves. They speak some kind of German dialect amongst themselves, and when they speak English, they have a German accent.But that's off-topic. I can't think of anything food-related to add, though .

PSUPrncess10 · Post by **PSUPrncess10** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 5:39 pm

quote:Originally posted by Willow:I don't think the Amish are Dutch. They do call them "Pennsylvania Dutch", but I think the Amish are German. The "Dutch" part is a corruption of "Deutsch", which is German for "German" (LOL). And not all Pennsylvania Dutch people are Amish. Anyway, there are a lot of Dutch Refomed churches in that area, but no Amish. I just graduated from Penn State with a BA in German and you're right! Deutsch is the German word for German (pronounced doytch).... the 13 original families that came over to the colonies, came seeking religious freedom and a better living and originally settled in eastern PA... ok, enough of me actually using my degree, hahaBeing from South Jersey (10 minutes from Philly) I have to say the cheese steak (ok, and funnel cake from the shore too)! NOTHING compares to a Pat's cheese steak from Philly (American or whiz and without - if you're a local you get it)! I mean you can get a decent steak in the suburbs surrounding philly too, but I won't even look at a cheese steak offered anywhere out of the area! When I was in Germany for 6 and a half weeks in high school, their idea of a cheese steak was more like a char grilled slab of beef on a round kaiser roll... very insulting to a student exchange from South Jersey, haha Man, now I want a cheese steak but it's almost 2am here!

Baneykinz · Post by **Baneykinz** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 5:47 pm

Um the only thing that I can think of that's a michigan thing is Faygo....lol!! I'm not quite sure about anything else.Also, on the "squeaky cheese" there is a cheese factory near Shipshewanne (sp) Indiana, they have cheese curds there that squeak!! I eat a whole bag of those things like candy!!Also a restaurant called Das Essenhaus, or Das Dutch Essenhaus, I can't remember which, but the food there is MMMMM........

KittyCaller · Post by **KittyCaller** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:45 pm

I miss really good Tex-Mex. Didn't know I would, but being in NY, you just can't get good Mexican food. (We tried a "mexican" resturaunt that's been in business for a long time. Turns out they're famous for their hot Buffalo wings! The food was pretty gross) A very localized food around here that just hasn't branched out are called speidies. They're these little grilled cubes of marinated meat (we buy chicken, but traditional is lamb. They sell all sorts though; lamb, chicken, pork, beef etc) that are served in buns with a "speidie sauce". They're from an adapted recipe (I think Italian)brought over with the immigrant population. They're not bad, especially with baby spinach and I like 'em with caesar dressing.

Baneykinz · Post by **Baneykinz** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:52 pm

Half of my dad's side is Mexican, and boy howdy do I love the food!! We also have one of those resaurants here, Mexican Buffalo wings.Those Spiedies sound really yummy though!!

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:45 pm

If I concentrate, I can understand the German dialects the Amish speak, it's a kind of Low German (there are many different kind, each reagion has it's own Low German, but not many people still speak it).I have difficulties getting good bloodsausage for making Dead Granny around here. Dead Granny is fried bloodsausage, usually served with potatoes and fried onions (in that case called: Dead Granny with fingernail clippings). I also like pear soup with pig ears, but around here no-one eats that. Okay, I know, it's a bit gross Does anyone have a picture of squeaky cheese curd and kuchen? I can think of a lot of recipes for kuchen, but I'd love to know what exactly I get when I order kuchen in South Dakota PSUPrncess10, where did you stay in Germany?

TheCrabbyTabby · Post by **TheCrabbyTabby** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:49 am

Where I was born, in Minnisota, they have some great and interesting foods at the State Fair. The most interesting is fried cheese curds. I have never had them myself but they must taste great if they keep on selling them.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:08 am

quote:I have difficulties getting good bloodsausage for making Dead Granny around here. Dead Granny is fried bloodsausage, usually served with potatoes and fried onions (in that case called: Dead Granny with fingernail clippings). I also like pear soup with pig ears, but around here no-one eats that. Okay, I know, it's a bit gross Oh holy nelly, that's just raunchy, lol. I'm french, and one of our things is called 'graise de roti' Translation - roast fat. Usually from a roast pork or beef. It's the drippings from the bottom of the dish you cooked it in. You put it in the the fridge until it solidifies. It's the texture of jelly, eaten usually on toast.

PSUPrncess10 · Post by **PSUPrncess10** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:35 am

quote:PSUPrncess10, where did you stay in Germany? We spent most of the time (3.5 weeks) in the south... my exchange family actually lived in Austria, but they went to school,etc in Oberstdorff Germany (small resort town)... the rest of the time we spent in various places: Munich, Berlin, Heidelberg, Rothenberg, etc...

Nicole · Post by **Nicole** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:39 pm

I grew up outside Baltimore (crab country, but I never ate one crab!), but now I live in PA Dutch country and it suits me just fine not to see Maryland Crab-whatever on the menu.I do like my foods obscenely spicy, but some local foods I've tried and liked are spaetzle (sp?), German onion soup, and shoo-fly pie.