Missouri's Crossroads Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Missouri’s Crossroads Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

Missouri’s position in the center of the United States next to the Mississippi River has made it a crossroads of commerce and exploration of the American West, commemorated by the towering Gateway Arch in St. Louis. 

The Pony Express was started in Missouri and connected the state via pony relays with the Pacific. Cosmopolitan traders worked in St. Louis and their cuisine seems to influence Missouri to this day with many very good dishes to prepare ahead and serve immediately to satisfy hunger with the exception of meat dishes that take a little longer to cook. 

The following recipes in Best of the Best from Missouri edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley might interest readers who would like to prepare some deli and bakery items at home in addition to main dishes: 

-saganaki – Greek Kasseri or Kefalotiti cheese ignited with brandy and doused with lemon juice when the flames die make this a sour and savory appetizer. I ate saganaki all the time as teen in Detroit, Michigan’s Greektown. It was a popular appetizer and blackened the ceilings over customers’ tables. Everyone in the restaurant yelled, “Opa!” when the saganaki came out. 

-Missouri pâté – made with butter, mushrooms, shallots, bourbon, liverwurst, cream cheese, and dill -smoked fish pâté – made with salmon or trout, scallions, cream cheese, and mayonnaise 

-Armenian white bread 

-Jewish challah bread – egg bread made with poppy seeds -pimiento cheese bread 

-wild rice soup made with milk and cheddar cheese 

-Clamato aspic salad – lemon jello made with oyster and tomato flavored Clamato juice, chopped artichoke hearts, green pepper, and avocado 

-pasta with vodka sauce and sun-dried tomatoes -rice and noodle casserole made with chestnuts and mushrooms 

-horseradish mousse made with cottage cheese and onion 

-Clinton County pork chops with sour cream sauce 

-pork medallions with mustard cream sauce – I ate these in Germany to win instant acceptance at weinstubs like Trollinger in Stuttgart, Germany 

-mustard mousse made with heavy cream – very welcome on dish on hot summer days Travelers might also like to sample the multicultural fare described in Best of the Best from Missouri edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

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

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Georgia's Peachy Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Georgia’s Peachy Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

Georgia’s state nickname is the Peachtree State. Its juicy, yellow peaches that taste like mangoes tempt you to live on them year-round with a few other Georgia specialty items mixed in like pecans, peanuts, and sweet Vidalia onions. 

I have tried many of the following recipes during extended stays in Atlanta over the years and think these recipes from Georgia Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker may interest readers:  

-peach guacamole 

-banana – pecan pancakes 

-peach muffins 

-sweet Vidalia soup 

-peach bread 

-peach-apricot green salad with feta cheese 

-carrot, broccoli, chopped pecan salad with mayonnaise 

-peach coleslaw 

-peach pasta salad -peach jello with cream cheese, marshmallows, and chopped pecans 

-sweet Vidalia onion soup -fried green tomatoes 

-North Georgia apple pork chops 

-Bourbon pork kebabs 

-peach wings -peach fried pies 

-peach cobbler 

-peach crisp 

Diners interested in following the Georgia Diet can find much to love in the Georgia Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker. 

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

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Mississippi Church Suppers Aplenty by Ruth Paget

Mississippi Church Suppers Aplenty by Ruth Paget 

The beauty of the recipes in Mississippi Church Suppers cookbook published by Great American Publishers is that many of them can be easily doubled to feed more people for buffet lunches or picnics.

The church suppers described are recorded by the members of various Baptist churches. The recipes are interspersed with church descriptions, Bible verses, and reminders of why it is good to go to church. The recipes are easy to follow with delicious results. 

Some of the dishes I thought looked appealing for hot weather in coastal communities include: 

-chicken Rotel dip – made with cooked and cubed chicken breast, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cream cheese, spicy Rotel tomatoes, and sliced mushrooms. You heat this dip till the cheese melts. 

-Polynesian dip – made with pineapple, cream cheese, red bell pepper, onions, and chopped pecans served in a fresh pineapple half. The Panama Canal leading to Polynesia is not that far away by ship for Mississippi, making Polynesian food easy to obtain in Mississippi. 

-crab dip – made with cream, cheese, crabmeat, lemon, tomatoes, and bell peppers 

-pineapple cheese ball – made with pineapple, cream cheese, and bell peppers. The cheese ball is chilled and rolled in chopped in pecans before serving.

-roasted cauliflower and white cheddar cheese soup 

-creamy crawfish bisque 

-creamy seafood bisque with shrimp and crab 

-seafood gumbo – made with crawfish tails, crabmeat, and filé powder to thicken the soup 

-apple, carrot, and raisin salad with Miracle Whip 

-Cajun shrimp pasta salad – made with cooked shrimp, rotini pasta, red bell peppers, green onions, mayonnaise, and sour cream 

-squash delight casserole

-turkey lasagna – made with turkey breast and sausage 

-Swiss bliss steak – made with green bell peppers, chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, and cubes of steak that you bake for 2 hours. Easy dinner. 

People interested in easy, comfort food dishes might enjoy reading Mississippi Church Suppers published by Great American Publishers. 

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

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Alabama's Hot Summer Food by Ruth Paget

Alabama’s Hot Summer Food by Ruth Paget 

A meal of fried chicken, corn on the cob, cornbread, stewed collard greens with ham hock pieces, and iced tea is always welcome in Alabama, but cooks in summer there tend to do barbecue and cold foods to deal with the sweltering heat. 

As the world grows hotter, some of Alabama’s traditional ways of dealing with extreme heat and humidity might be appealing to chefs in other parts of the country and world. 

I thought the following recipes in Alabama Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker give a good picture of Alabama’s cool cuisine for beating summer heat: 

-Crawfish cornbread – the sweet, cooked tails of the “crayfish” are chopped and added to the batter in this recipe. Jalapeño peppers, cream style corn, and cheddar cheese also go in this dish. This recipe qualifies as a simple man’s hidden luxury. 

-Crawfish hushpuppies – “crayfish” hushpuppies made with chopped crawfish tails, onion, and buttermilk that are deep-fried balls of crunchy delight 

-peach preserves – made simply with chopped peaches, sugar, and water by boiling and storing in hot jars. These are perfect on pancakes, French toast, waffles, and ice cream 

-Creole eggs – a sauce made with onion, Andouille sausage, and Ro-tel tomatoes is poured over raw eggs in ramekins and baked. 

 -marinated slaw – this is just the thing to go with BBQ. It is made with shredded cabbage and chopped green bell pepper, onion, and celery with a vinegar and oil dressing. It is refrigerated overnight and served cold with BBQ. 

-cranberry salad – set in cherry Jell-O with cranberries, celery, pecans, and chopped oranges 

-orange gelatin salad – made with orange Jell-O, orange juice, cheddar cheese, crushed pineapple, mayonnaise, and evaporated milk 

-grape salad – made with green and purple seedless grapes, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and chopped pecans 

-stewed collard greens with ham hocks – stew made with ham hocks and collard greens 

-muffeletta sandwiches – Louisiana’s heat beater is a favorite in Alabama, too. It is made with a black and green olive salad, pickled Italian vegetables, ham slices, salami, Swiss cheese, and provolone cheese on deli rolls. 

People who are looking for heat beater recipes can find many in the Alabama Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker. 

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

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South Carolina's Sunshine Food by Ruth Paget

South Carolina’s Sunshine Food by Ruth Paget 

I always liked going to South Carolina as a child, because I could go swimming every day. My sister lived outside the resort town of Myrtle Beach in a small town called Murrells Inlet. 

Après my daily nage, I would check the crab trap that hung off the dock to see if we would get some fresh crab for lunch to go in salad from the garden. If I was unlucky and did not get a crab, I still did not worry about lunch, because my sister had a freezer full of bass, grouper, red snapper, and shrimp. She also had cupboards full of canned crab. 

K. fried fish and made fritters from the shrimp and crab. I would run over to Pittypat’s Porch Restaurant next door and get a bag full onion-flavored, deep-fried batter balls called hushpuppies. K.’s garden provided us with salad and green beans. 

I was a happy kid who loved swimming and eating. I thought South Carolina was the greatest place for a vacation without even counting amusement park trips to Myrtle Beach. 

Now that I am an adult, I think South Carolina’s culinary heritage has dishes that the entire United States might be interested in trying, especially in summer when you do not want to heat up the house for too long. South Carolina is famous for delicious food that is not too hard to prepare. 

I thought the following dishes from South Carolina Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker capture the spirit of the state:  

-grilled figs topped with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. Figs grow well in South Carolina’s hot, humid climate. 

-seafood cheese ball made with cream cheese, crabmeat, and seasoning. It is chilled and rolled in chopped pecans to coat the ball. Pecans also grow well in this region. 

-coastal shrimp fritters – The batter for these is like a lumpy pancake mix that is made with shrimp, chopped red pepper, and chopped onion before pan frying them into fritters. 

-South Carolina crab dip – so easy to make with vegetable seasoning mix, sour cream, and crabmeat and then chilled. 

-Warm Tomato Pie Dip – a baked dip made with diced tomatoes, chopped and cooked bacon, ricotta cheese, Palmetto cheese, and basil. 

 -Plantation rice muffins – cooked rice is used in place of flour in these recipes. Rice used to be grown in South Carolina before other areas could do it more profitably like Louisiana. 

-Peach bread made with peaches and almonds 

-easy Lowcountry soup made with cooked shrimp or crab, chopped red bell peppers, chopped onions, and cream of mushroom soup. Lowcountry refers to southern South Carolina where the land is below sea level like the Netherlands. 

-Inlet shrimp salad – made with steamed shrimp, celery, and onion in mayonnaise. Served chilled. 

-Peach and shrimp salad – Fried shrimp combined with arugula, avocado, peaches, and onion. 

Peaches abound in South Carolina and show up in many recipes. I ate tons of ripe ones as a child and did have proverbial peach juice run down my arms. No worries! I just went back swimming to clean up. 

To evoke summer memories like these, readers might be interested in purchasing South Carolina Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker.

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

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Crashing the Engineers' Breakfast Club in Seaside (CA) by Ruth Paget

Crashing the Engineers’ Breakfast Club in Seaside (CA) by Ruth Paget 

Every time I go to the Breakfast Club in Seaside (California), I see someone in an engineering school sweatshirt. Even when it is hot outside, these people do not wear T-Shirts. 

I ignore them and enjoy looking over the breakfast items on the menu. I like the eggs Benedict options and the omelet choices on the menu. 

My favorite is a real locals choice: the Chile Verde, Pork, and Jack Omelet topped with Avocado and Sour Cream. It costs $20.75 and is built for an engineer. I cut mine in half and take one half home to warm up for dinner. 

Two meals for $10.375 is a good deal for pork stewed with spicy green peppers (lots of Vitamin C here) and melted Monterey Jack cheese. This salty dish is especially good in summer heat. 

The movers and shakers of Seaside and Monterey County eat at the Breakfast Club with the engineers. 

I have an idea for raising $1,000 a day for this great restaurant that I would like to share with the owners and happy customers: 

To raise the $1,000 sell 50 chile verde omelets each day to 10 corporate clients who buy 5 omelets or sell chile verde omelets to 5 corporate clients who buy 10 omelets.

(50 omelets x $20 = $1,000) 

This is not an original idea. This is Cuban micro-capitalism. Little bakeries in Cuba are supposed to raise this kind of money this way on a daily basis thanks to locals and tourists.

Cuba’s problem is that they have very little money to spend and they no longer receive cash subsidies from Russia. Micro-capitalism has not been a huge success there. 

The U.S. has more money and a tradition of buying lunch out. Micro-capitalism might work here. 

$20 is expensive, but the same method works with $10 items as well to give you a daily cash flow of $500.  

Good daily cash flow pays rent and employees. 

Micro-capitalism might work in Monterey County and is a topic worthy of discussion at the Breakfast Club agora I think.  Other restaurants might be interested in this method as well.

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

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Sichuanese Food in Marina, California by Ruth Paget

Sichuanese Food in Marina, California by Ruth Paget

The Chinese say that food is medicine. They also think their medicine should be delicious, which is why I like Chinese food. 

My favorite Chinese food comes from the central-western province of Sichuan in China. Sichuanese food iis known to be very spicy due to the presence of many spicy red chili peppers used to stir-fry it. 

Both of the Chinese restaurants in my neighborhood of Marina (California) serve one of my favorite Sichuanese dishes – Kung Pao Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken honors an honest public servant who served in the not-so-reputable Qing Dynasty about two hundred years ago. 

Kung Pao Chicken is usually a reasonably priced item on restaurant menus and boosts your immune system with stir-fried vegetables and tonic spices and aromatics. The spice combination that flavors the pounded flat pieces of chicken breast includes:

-garlic 

-fresh ginger 

-light and dark soy sauces 

-rice vinegar 

-sugar 

-several spicy hot red chili peppers 

At Marina’s Lee’s Garden Restaurant, they serve Kung Pao Chicken made with green pepper squares, onions, carrots, and zucchini cubes for fresh flavor. Lee’s Garden puts 9 red hot chili peppers into its Kung Pao Chicken for kicky flavor. I like it this way, but also like the milder Kung Pao Chicken made with 3 to 4 red hot chili peppers that Marina’s Ho-Wah Restaurant does as well. 

Ho-Wah uses celery, zucchini, carrots, and onions for freshen its Kung Pao chicken. Ho-Wah is easy to spot with red lanterns dangling from its roof. It is famous for serving Marina’s mayor and has made the newspapers for serving Chinese vegetarian food. 

Both restaurants offer extensive meal options, but during pandemic times I like to think the Vitamin C in the vegetables and spicy peppers and the iron in the chicken help boost the immune system. 

For more information on Sichuanese food, see Fuscia Dunlop’s book The Food of Sichuan. 

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

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