Kentucky's Bourbon Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Kentucky’s Bourbon Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

Kentucky is famous for its Kentucky Derby Horse Race, blue grass music, and lush bourbon-based cuisine. Bourbon is a highly alcoholic drink made from corn that is similar to whisky and cognac. 

Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Blue Grass State by Maggie Green provides 20 recipes out of its 100 that use bourbon to flavor dishes from breakfast to dessert. 

Green begins with a breakfast recipe for buttermilk pancakes made with bourbon-vanilla butter that soaks into the pancakes on the grill for a bracing morning meal. 

For cocktail hour, Green suggests a bourbon-candied ginger onion dip to go with cocktails like bourbon slush, garden old fashioned, mint juleps, and village Manhattans. 

Mashed potatoes with bourbon seem improbable, yet there is a recipe for them in Green’s cookbook along with salad with oranges and slices of red onion with bourbon-sorghum vinaigrette. 

Bourbon shines in main dish offerings such as: 

-bourbon trail chili 

-beef short ribs with bourbon barrel ale (not bourbon, but ale made with a product of bourbon making) 

-pork chops Bourbonnais 

-smoked pork shoulder with chili rub and bourbon-peppercorn barbecue sauce 

Bars are often noted for their dessert offerings that make use of spirits. Any of the following bourbon-based desserts might find takers on a daily specials menu: 

-bourbon ball layer cake 

-bourbon pecan pie 

-bread pudding with bourbon sauce 

-chocolate – bourbon – almond stuffed figs 

-chocolate tart with bourbon praline topping -marbled bourbon pound cake 

The recipes in Tasty Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State by Maggie Green are rather short and have photos of finished products making the cookbook user-friendly and a splendid addition to a kitchen library. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Apple Economics in West Virginia by Ruth Paget

Apple Economics in West Virginia by Ruth Paget 

Mostly mountainous West Virginia has a plentiful apple supply thanks to the very real Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) who planted orchards around the state in the 1800s. 

The USDA (United States Drug Administration) lists one medium as containing 17% dietary fiber and 14% Vitamin C, making it a tasty and nutritious addition to your diet. When I cook with apples, I halve or eliminate sugar in recipes, because I think apples are already sweet. 

The recipes for apples in West Virginia Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker cover the entire gamut of recipes from appetizers to desserts that you can make with apples that will please people of all ages. Simmons and Whitaker begin their apple selections with grilled fruit kebabs with midori-coconut reduction. This is an exotic hors d’oeuvres for the backyard barbecue. Finicky teens might just like grilled apples with dips offered like honey, sour cream and jam, and yogurt and jam. 

If you make homemade applesauce and let it cook down several hours you, you will get a thick, brown apple “butter” that West Virginians spread on toast or biscuits and use as an ingredient in cakes, quick breads, bars, and pies. 

Apples are so plentiful in West Virginia that there are several virus-chasing drinks made with them such as: 

-West Virginia Apple Cider Punch 

(made with apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice, and sparkling white grape juice or champagne) 

-West Virginia Hot Apple Cider Punch 

(made with apple cider, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks) 

-Golden Delicious Wassail 

(made with apple cider, cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg and ginger to celebrate the harvest originally in medieval England) 

Other apple recipes in the cookbook evoke what was once a frontier state like apple cider syrup for pancakes, apple pancakes, and mulligatawny soup. More modern uses of the apple include:

-Molded Waldorf Salad 

-Pecan-Stuffed Pork Chops 

-Apple Chicken Stir-Fry 

West Virginia uses apple butter and apples the most in desserts that beg for a cup of strong coffee to go with them such as:  

-apple butter cake 

-applesauce cake 

-apple butter bars 

-West Virginia Butter Cookies 

-apple cookies 

-candied apples 

-caramel chocolate chip apples 

-apple butter pumpkin pie 

-apple crunch 

-apple cinnamon crisps 

-baked apples 

-apple peach bake 

What Simmons and Whitaker do not share in their great cookbook of mountain cuisine is that apples tend to be relatively inexpensive which make them a delicious and nutritious good deal. 

Apple lovers will find many good reasons to like West Virginia Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker. There are many delicious Appalachian recipes in this cookbook in addition to the apple ones that make this a nice addition to a kitchen library.

(Note: I still like to think that the big apple tree I climbed in behind my grandma Pennington’s home in Robbins Chapel, Virginia was planted by Johnny Appleseed.) 

There is a recipe in Gabriel Kreuther: The Spirit of Alsace by Gabriel Kreuther and Michael Ruhlman for apple beignets that is both apple economics and beer economics due to beer used in the beignet batter.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Yummy Ohio by Ruth Paget

Yummy Ohio by Ruth Paget 

As I read through Eat and Explore Ohio: Cookbook and Travel Guide by Christy Campbell, I remembered my teen outings with my buddy E. from Detroit when we would drive to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio on Lake Erie. Cedar Point had great roller coaster rides. 

We spent all day buying food like cotton candy, funnel cakes, candied apples, caramel apples, corn dogs, and slushsies to help bide time as we waited in line to scream down the roller coasters with our hands in the air. We were young and did not vomit the state fair food. 

After being out in the sun for eight hours, we returned home sunburnt with blond streaks forming in our hair. We sang all the way home to our favorite disco artists like Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Gloria Gaynor, and Gloria Estafan. We collapsed in bed once home in Detroit and thought Cedar Point was just wonderful. 

Ohio and Michigan have a famous college football rivalry, which I still ignore. I thought Car City Detroit was jealous of all the fairs and music festivals in Ohio and the nice houses. Eat and Explore Ohio lists some of these envy-inspiring festivals with a description of activities, some of which other fairs might want to incorporate in their offerings. A list of festivals I particularly liked follows: 

-Apple Fest 

This fair is organized by the New Paris Area Chamber of Commerce and features: 

-a classic car show 

-food 

-music 

-a flea market 

-Oktoberfest 

This 100+ years old event features: 

-races 

-children’s activities 

-wine 

-music 

-shopping 

-games 

-Circleville Pumpkin Show 

The Pumpkin Show draws 400,000 visitors and features: 

-parades 

-contests 

-games 

-crafts 

-vendors 

-Fulton County Fair 

The Fulton County Fair draws 280,000 visitors and features: 

-antique sales 

-fine arts sales 

 -Asian Festival 

The Asian Festival outside Columbus draws 100,000 visitors and features: 

-Asian food 

-entertainment 

-games 

-career fair 

-children’s activities 

-cultural exhibits 

-dragon boat races 

-a health pavilion 

-a market place 

-martial arts demonstrations 

Ohio also does a good job in turning its history into tourism sites such as the Zoar Village founded in 1817 by German Separatists. 75 families still live in the community and maintain German cuisine and cultural traditions. 

You have to drive the speed limit in Ohio when you tour, because the Amish still drive black, horse-drawn buggies alongside the freeway and other roads. 

Ohio offers many reasons to visit and Eat and Explore Ohio: Cookbook and Travel Guide by Christy Campbell provides information on many places to visit as well as healthy food ideas, but I will forever associate Ohio with funnel cake. 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Salmon Soup Recipe by Ruth Paget

Salmon Soup Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 6 to 8 

Ingredients: 

-2 quarts milk 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 

-1 tablespoon butter 

-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

-1 (14.75-ounce) can chipped salmon 

-oyster crackers (optional) 

Steps: 

1-Place milk, salt, pepper, butter, cayenne pepper, and chipped salmon in a pot. 

2-Bring soup to a boil and stir for 15 minutes over high heat. 

3-Serve with oyster crackers or crushed saltine crackers. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe by Ruth Paget

Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 6 to 8 

Ingredients: 

-2 cups buttermilk 

-1 egg 

-1 ½ cups white corn meal 

-3 tablespoons flour 

-1 teaspoon salt 

-1 teaspoon baking soda 

-2 tablespoons melted butter 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Mix buttermilk and egg together in a bowl. 

3-Place corn meal, flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients and blend well. Stir in melted butter. 

4-Pour batter in preheated cast iron skillet. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Crab Meat Chowder Recipe by Ruth Paget

Crab Meat Chowder Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

-1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup 

-3/4 cup milk -1 (10.5-ounce) can tomato soup 

-1 (6.5-ounce) can crab meat 

-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

-1 (6-ounce) can evaporated milk 

Steps: 

1-Blend mushroom soup and milk together. 

2-Stir in tomato soup, crab meat, and pepper. 

3-Slowly pour in evaporated milk and blend well. 

4-Cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Chocolate Syrup Recipe by Ruth Paget

Chocolate Syrup Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 1 cup 

Ingredients: 

-2 (1-ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate 

-1 cup corn syrup 

-2 tablespoons sugar 

-1 tablespoon butter 

-1 teaspoon vanilla 

Steps: 

1-Place chocolate in the top of a double boiler and melt. 

2-Add corn syrup, sugar, and butter to the chocolate and mix. Continue stirring until the sugar grains dissolve. 

3-Stir vanilla into the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. 

Serve this sauce warm or cold over ice cream, puddings, and cake. 

Source: Rose Pennington – circa 1950s 

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click for Ruth Paget's Books