Week 13 - Utah

Howdy from the Beehive State! Week 13 of the National Grub Year found us in Utah.  It's another state I've never visited, and my only knowledge of it is dominated by a certain religious group that calls home to Salt Lake City. As such, I didn't know what we were getting into when I started looking into the recipes the state was known for.  It was a little foreboding that most of what I saw centered around "funeral potatoes"...


Funeral Potatoes

32 oz. shredded potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, dices
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups corn flake cereal, crushed

First, I heated 2 tablespoons of butter and cooked the onion and garlic until fragrant and translucent, about 8 minutes.

Next, I actually shredded potatoes to make my own hash browns, and then mixed those in with the cooked onions, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper, and 1 and 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese.
 

I spread this mixture into a casserole dish, and then topped it with the remaining butter, corn flakes, and cheese.

I baked this all at 350 for one hour.

Dutch Oven Sausage, Cabbage, and Carrots

2 pounds bratwurst
1 large onion, cut into eights
1 medium head of cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup water
1 pound carrots, sliced

The Dutch oven was actually named the official cookware of Utah (yes, that’s a thing in real life).  It’s association with pioneer life is so strong that there are Dutch Oven cook-offs throughout the state.  This was a simple recipe I found from one of those cook-off competitions.

First, I cooked the brats and onion on medium heat until they were lightly browned.

Next, I added the cabbage and water and cooked for 10 minutes  I then added the carrots, covered the dutch oven, and cooked for 30 minutes.

Jello Salad

1 package lemon Jello
1 package lime Jello
1 4 ounce can pineapple chunks with juice
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup coarsley chopped pecans

Yes, folks, leave it to the Mormons to call this a salad.

First, I heated up the pineapple juice.

Next, I added the Jello mixes to this (note, this is the bowl that you will be making the Jello Salad in).

I let this cool in the fridge while I combined all of the other ingredients together in another bowl.

Once the Jello was sticky, I took it out of the fridge and began mixing both bowls together.  Luckily, I had some help...

Once it was all mixed together, I put it back in the fridge to set.

The result...

...was...surprising. The cabbage and sausage dish in the Dutch Oven was fine, just not a stand-out this week.  I did love the ease of cooking in the Dutch Oven, very similar to cooking in a crockpot.  I’m going to need to find more recipes to try with this method.

The Jello Salad, on the other hand, was shocking in that it actually kinda worked together. I had helpings of this throughout the week for dessert, as it was a much lighter option than ice cream or cake or pie. 

My favorite dish this week was the funeral potatoes.  Artery clogging as it was (a lifetime of this would bring about your own funeral) it was delicious and was perfect for a cool, overcast day.  This one will go into the rotation for pot-luck dinners and family get-togethers.

Overall it was a successful trip to Utah, and I came out of it with two recipes to try again (really...Jello Salad...it's a thing that's kinda good!)

Week 12 - Alabama

Greetings from the Yellowhammer State!  A little over a month ago, we stopped by Alabama as part of the National Grub Year. My parents moved to the Heart of Dixie while I was in college, and lived in a little town called Daphne that is right across the bay from Mobile.  They've since left 'Bama, bu my brother and his girlfriend still live there. It was always a place I liked visiting (even though the 10 hour drive from NC could be brutal). The people were friendly and the Gulf Coast was beautiful.  But the thing I remember most about my trips down there is the food. 


Baked Chicken with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

Four chicken leg quarters
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper


First, I started with the "white barbecue sauce."  To do this, I mixed the mayo, vinegar, brown sugar, lemon juice, horseradish, and pepper.

I put it in a large mason jar and let it set in the fridge overnight.


For the chicken, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and baked it at 450 for about 10 minutes.

Tomato Pie

5 tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup basil
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayo
Pepper

I made this sans-pie crust, although the original recipe did call for one.  First, I preheated the oven to 350.  Then, I sliced the tomatoes and laid the slices out on a paper towel and sprinkled the salt over them.  After 10 minutes, I pat-dried the tomatoes and put them in the bottom of a greased pie dish. I topped them with the basil and green onion.

I combined the garlic, cheeses, mayo, and pepper together and spread this mix out on top of the tomatoes.

I baked this for 30 minutes and then let it rest for 10 before serving.



Sweet Potato Fluff

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup pecans
1/3 butter

This was a lot like a sweet potato casserole, only a lot more whipped. First, I boiled and mashed the potatoes.

Next, I mixed the mashed sweet potatoes with the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, vanilla, and flaked coconut. I put this mix into a casserole dish.  I then mixed the brown sugar, flour, pecans, and 1/3 cup of butter and sprinkled this on top of the potato mixture.

Finally, I baked this at 350 for 30 minutes.

The result...

 

...was pretty awesome.  I've made this style of Alabama barbecue sauce before and I've grown to love it.  It's more like a djion/ranch style sauce than a traditional barbecue, but that in no way lessens how great it tastes.  I was also surprised at how well the tomato pie  came out.   The fluff was probably the weakest of the recipes that I tried.  I think that if I was to try that recipe again, I would probably cut back on the sugar, as it was just a little bit too sweet and we couldn't enjoy more than a few bites.

Overall, a solid stop on this culinary trip around the country!