Week 14 - Oklahoma

O-K, L-A, H-O, M-A...OKLAHOOOOOOOOOMAAAAA, ye-ah!

Greetings from the Sooner State! This post about the culinary trip around the nation that I'm currently undertaking is going to be a little different, simply because this particular stop was very different than all of the others that we've been on so far.

Oklahoma is one of two states (the other being Louisiana) to have an official "State Meal."  In 1988, the legislature proclaimed that the following group of foods as the official meal, as they reflected the historic and present day culture of agriculture of the Sooners.  And holy cow was it a meal.

It consisted of fried okra, cornbread, BBQ pork, squash, biscuits, sausage gravy, grits, corn, strawberries (which are also the state fruit), chicken fried steak, black-eyed peas, and pecan pie.

I made all of this...

The okra (which I grilled instead of fried), squash, and BBQ pork (chops) all went on the grill...

At the same time, the chicken-fried steak (made with crushed up corn flakes) went into the electric skillet...

The black eyed peas were cooked in bacon grease in a Dutch oven, while I browned the sausage for the gravy...

The grits (3 cups water to 1 cup stone ground grits) cooked at the same time as the corn boiled and the biscuits baked.

The pecan pie went into the oven while all of this was going on...

And the result...

 

...was a pretty amazing feast that we ate on for several days.  It was the first time I had made chicken fried steak, and for me that was the star of the show.  But with so many options, I think everyone had their own favorites as well.

I loved the challenge of this meal because it was all about timing and using the limited space of my kitchen as effectively as possible.  Using the grill was a great way to spread things out, and it actually didn't take that much longer than a normal meal because of it.  I was a sweaty mess at the end (but that can be said of my state at the end of most activities), but it was all worth it.  This was one of my favorite meals to cook by far, and I highly encourage y'all to try it yourself!