Chef Pro II: Week 7: American Regional, North and East

Pennsylvania, Vermont, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, Illinois, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Maryland and New Hampshire were the states we studied in Week 7. Lots of seafood with clambakes, lobster rolls, she crab soup, crab cakes, the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish influence, the Italian, Irish, Jewish, and other ethnic influences, maple from Vermont, cranberries, blueberries, apples, potatoes, beans and corn. Johnny cakes, corn cakes, baked beans, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream are all associated with this region. I did my presentation on Connecticut. As many of the other New England states there is a big emphasis on fresh seafood, particularly shellfish. The apizza, particularly white clam, is something I've never eaten but sounded very interesting. Connecticut is home of the Subway sandwich chain, Bigelow Tea Company, and Pepperidge Farms--all very familiar to me. Grinders, the hoagie type sandwich, was named for men who worked in the shipyards grinding rivets. Some classic dishes such as clam cakes, lobster rolls, and crab cakes are my favorites but the New England Boiled Dinner is not on my list of favorites. So naturally when it came time to draw slips of paper with our two dishes to prepare I drew New England Boiled Dinner. Yuk! I also drew another dish I can live without, Buffalo wings. Then we had to make a dish inspired by our particular state using beans.

Here are the dishes we made:

Buffalo chicken wings

New England boiled dinner

Manhatten clam chowder

Baked beans

Crab Puffs

Navy bean soup

Roasted corn chowder

Chicago Deep-Dish pizza

Cod cakes

Croquette potatoes

German apple pancakes

Beef potpie

Philadelphia cheese steak

Pioneer beef stew

Johnnycakes

Beet and Apple Salad with horseradish vinaigrette

Chicken with dill dumplings

Waldorf salad

Shaker-style cutlet

Summer squash noodles

Fresh corn cakes

I have been to New York, Vermont, Virginia, and Maryland and to Danbury, Connecticut (to visit a federal prison for women). I enjoyed the best crab in Maryland a few years ago but my food memories of New York and Vermont are from years ago, before I paid much attention to the concept of "regional foods". I am looking forward to a trip to New York City in the near future but this time for a food adventure. A drive through New England is also on the agenda.

We made some great food! My personal favorite was Kristin's corn cakes with a piece of cod and some type of sauce. I'm trying to get her to tell me how she made it. (see the photo) Other things I found very tasty: crab puffs by Eric, baked beans, and beet and apple salad.

I'm also including a photo of my Buffalo wings plated my way and then the classier way by Chef Kurima and a photo of the lovely boiled dinner made with pork loin.