What you see above are fried green tomatoes. Ever heard of them? They are quite the delicacies in the south. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of tomatoes, so I cannot tell you if these are good or not. However, I am told they are - so - go for it!
In the south, if it can be eaten - it can be fried. Seriously. Everything is fried. (Now you know how I got this girlish figure!) A signature dish for a true southern meal would include: fried chicken, green bean casserole, creamed corn,cornbread or buttermilk biscuits, creamy gravy, potato salad, and then add the following, fried: okra, pickles, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, eggplant.. etc. etc.
Not only do we fry it up, we have to have something to dip it in, right? The answer? Ranch dressing.
I must admit, it is not so much the fried item I crave, as it is the ranch dressing I am going to cover it in.
Once you have consumed all of these heavy foods - then we expect you to indulge into an array of desserts. Banana pudding (sorry Leanne ;-), pound cake, chess cake, peach cobbler.. etc. etc.
Makes me full just writing about it.
Important to know, depending on which state you are in, and which portion of that state, you will find different specialities.
Here is an example of what you might find traveling through the southern states (specifically what is known as the DEEP SOUTH - this is where I live):
Louisiana
Crawfish Étouffée
Jambalaya
Shrimp Alfredeaux
Crawfish Fettuccine
Pompano en Papillote
Red Beans and Rice
Shrimp Creole
Chicken Creole
Trout Meuniere
Sauce Piquante
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Blackened Salmon
Mirliton
Creole Baked Chicken
Shrimp Bisque
Mississippi
Grits with cheese
Crawfish
Flounder
Pizza with french dressing dip
Po Boys
Mississippi Mud Cake
Alabama
Fried Pies
Open faced sandwich made with butter and sugar
Alabama Pound Cake
Hog jowl
Pickled pigs feet
Pickled ham hocks
Blackeyed peas
Peanuts
peanut Butter Pie
Pecan Pie
Peanut Brittle
Cajun Frog Legs
Grilled Catfish with Strawberry Salsa.
Dinner Dogs
Chitterlings
Pork Belly
Smoked Pork Sausages
Granpa John's Traditional Cracklins
Alabama Barbecue Sauce (Mayonnaise as its base rather than tomato sauce, vinegar, or any of the other traditional barbecue sauce bases.)
Grits
Collard greens
Fried green tomatoes
Fried catfish
Fried corn
Sweet Potato Pie
Okra
Bread Puddin'
Cornbread
Greens
Fried Chicken
Squash ( Sauteed, casserole)
Georgia
Fried Chicken
Okra
squash
butterbeans
black eyed peas
Brunswick Stew
Boiled peanuts
Turnip greens
collard greens
muscadine grapes/homemade wines
Grits
Peaches
largemouth bass
vidalia onions
Pecan Pie
Rice
Hot breads or biscuits spread thick with homemade preserves.
Ham
Pork
BBQ
Cornbread
There you have it! A very small list of traditional foods each state prides itself on.
If you are from these states - what would you add? If you are in another state, what are the foods of your state (plus make sure you share which state you live in!)
3 comments:
Ok...pass the Tums!
Here is Chicago, we've got you covered ... whatever your looking for ... pizza, hot dogs, (why is it that I can only think of pizza and hot dogs this morning?) ... ok, i'll be back later with more (need. coffee. bad.)
Here on the Grand Strand of South Carolina, we love a dish called Chicken Bog. Here the recipe I follow:
CHICKEN BOG
INGREDIENTS:
* 6 cups water
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
* 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 1 cup long-grain white rice
* 1/2 pound smoked sausage of your choice, sliced
* 2 tablespoons Italian-style seasonings
* 2 cubes chicken bouillon
PREPARATION:
* Place water, salt and onion in a large pot. Add chicken and bring all to a boil; cook until chicken is tender, about 1 hour.
* Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Remove skin and bones and chop remaining meat into bite size pieces.
Skim off fat from cooking liquid and measure 3 1/2 cups of this chicken broth into a 6-quart saucepan. Add rice, chicken pieces, sausage, herb seasoning and bouillon to this saucepan. Cook all together for 30 minutes; let come to a boil, then reduce heat to low, keeping pan covered the whole time. If mixture is too watery or juicy, cook over medium low heat, uncovered, until it reaches the desired consistency. Stir often while cooking.
I love fried pickles!!!
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