Thursday, July 31, 2008

Cincinnati Chili (Midwestern-basically the Cincinnati area and environs)


The second best part of my job (after the inspiring young minds and therefore changing their lives) is attending meetings, conferences, and symposia all across the country.  As a avid traveler and food lover, the first thing I do after I trash the hotel like a rock star, is ask the hotel staff to lead me to the local goodies.  There have been a few really desperate times that I've had to eat at a Chili's (gasp), Fridays (blech), and the most disdainful Cheesecake Factory (end it now!).   I once had to dine during karoke night at a Rock Bottom Brewery (no more "Greatest Love" renditions, please).

On a recent business related adventure, I had the opportunity to visit the Queen City--Cincinnati.  The second I told my husband that I would be going to the  city on the majestic Ohio River, he reminded me that the night before we met, he and his college roommate actually had a Cincinnati Chili party.  His chili fete involved endless cans of chili, male bonding and maybe my beloved pondering when he would find the one, or not.  Well, lo and behold, nine months, one week and one day after my husband's chili festival, we were married.  So, I like to believe that Cincinnati chili is good luck.

So, in addition to preparing to visit the National Underground Railroad/Freedom Center Museum, I knew I just had to try the chili that brought me and my beloved together.  He insisted that I eat at a Skyline Chili restaurant, BUT I purchase Gold Star chili in the can to enjoy back home in Oklahoma.  My husband is a brilliant man, but his chili suggestions (and his love, support and kindness) are among his greatest  contributions to my life.  

Cincinnati chili is what the folks on "Top Chef" call a "fully composed dish."  There are many ways you can order you Cincinnati chili, but when in Rome you should go all out.  The classic five-way Cincinnati chili involves taking a heaping plate of spaghetti, topping it off with Cincinnati chili, red kidney beans, chopped onion and the finest shredded mild cheddar cheese imaginable.  You may think, "It's so simple.  How could it be that good?"  Well the secret lies in the flavor of the chili.  Unlike the spicy, red chilis that are found in the Southwest, the Cincinnati chili has a sweeter, cinnamon flavor.  When the chili blends with the starchiness of the spaghetti and the creaminess of the cheese it meets the tanginess of the onions and the savoriness of the bean, you have the perfect meal.  Skyline serves up their chili with a lovely bowl of oyster crackers that bring you back to being a kid.  Skyline also serves up chili on wonderful wiener hot dogs and soft buns.  It's an absolute treat.

Luckily, the Cincinnati airport sells spice packets from Gold Star chili so you can make it at home.  In order to ensure that my lovely darling and I live a long life, I try to make a healthy version of whatever indulgence we love.  So, I swapped the ground beef in the chili for some lean ground turkey (make sure it's the lean kind; dark meat turkey can pack the fat).  I added a nice can of lycopene-packed tomatoes, and I substituted the cheese for a part-skim style cheese. I can't guarantee that this chili can bring you as much good fortune as it brought me, but you never know.

Happy Eating!  

Italian Beef (Midwest--really, Chicago)


Although good fortune has led me to live in a number of cities, states (emotional and physical), and regions, at heart I'm a Chicagoan.  There was nothing more fun than growing up in a city resplendent with ethnic foods and neighborhoods.  When I went off to college in Missouri and saw that the campus map included an area called Greektown, I thought, "Oh great, I can have a gyro and souvlaki there."  Boy was I disappointed when all I saw were huge creepy mansions and an even creepier guy peeing on a front lawn.  So, needless to say, I am more than happy to blog about a Chicago original--the Italian beef.

Allegedly created by Al's Italian Beef, the premier beef sandwich purveyor in Chicago's Italian Taylor Street neighborhood, the Italian beef is a soggy, savory and soul-satisfying sandwich. The beef is prepared by first roasting it in a salty, garlicky broth, then it's cooled down and sliced thinly.  The beef is roasted to a medium-rare creating a slightly pink color.  The sandwich bread is a chewy, almost tough, bread that sops up all the juices without completely obliterating the bread.  Did I mention this sandwich is a little on the messy side?  Italian beef is sometimes topped with peppers, giardiniera or cheese, but the real treat is that your sandwich can be dipped in the jus, in case the endless layers of beef aren't enough to satisfy your fix.  You may say, this sounds like a sandwich at Arby's or Lion's Choice. I simply say to you: "No freaking way."  Italian beef is such a local delicacy that it's really difficult to find outside  of Chicago and its suburbs.  I've been disappointed many times when a restaurant boasts and Italian beef and all I get is a hot roast beef sandwich.

The second best part of going to Al's or Scala's or any other beef place is watching people eat it.  Most of the time, beef sandwiches are enjoyed on short rows of counters as there is often more people than seats waiting to enjoy one.  Now, I'm a sucker for a neatly dressed table with proper cloth, chargers, soup spoons, fish forks, butter knives, miniature shrimp tridents, and so on and so forth.  BUT, there is something satisfying about enjoying a hot, dripping sandwich while standing up, and that is the best part of the Italian beef sandwich.

If the home cook were to try to make this you would need a lot of time and patience.  You would have to prep your sirloin or top or bottom round in a slow cooking broth, pop it in the fridge, get out your industrial slicer, slice the beef, put it back in the broth, find some hearty bread, build a counter in your kitchen tall enough to eat the sandwich and enjoy.  Okay, you don't need the counter, but you can definitely make it a bit healthier if you stick to a moderate portion of beef slices and serve it with a whole wheat bun and roasted peppers.  You may want to skip the cheese and the giant plate of fries that tends to accompany the sandwich!

Happy Eating!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Coffee Milk (Northeast)


When I was a graduate student in Providence, Rhode Island, I was struck by the provencal nature of my new home.  With a population of about one million people, Rhode Island often felt like a big small town.  Rhode Islanders spoke their own language, which was English peppered with references to the New England Patriots and Dunkin Donuts.  Me: "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where Firestone is?"   Rhode Islander: "Oh yay, Fiar-stone is two blooocks from where da Dunkin Donuts used to be, next to the new Dunkin Donuts with the Toom Brady post-a in da window."  As an outsider, I quickly learned the entire state is comprised of Dunkin Donuts, so I hadn't a fighting chance of finding ANYTHING when I first moved there.  But, slowly, after four years in Providence, I adapted to the quirks of the Ocean State.  

Rhode Island quirkiness was resplendent in the local treats that people (like my roommate), would exclaim, "That's wicked weird," if you said you had no idea what the hell they were talking about.  Rhode Islanders are proud of its hometown offerings such as hot wieners, awful, awfuls and the topic of this post--coffee milk.

Before Starbucks trained our palates to enjoy coffee ruined, I mean flavored, with sugary syrups and the like, Rhode Islanders enjoyed a make-your-teeth-ache drink called coffee milk. Invented in the 1930s to accompany older favorites like chocolate milk and classic milkshakes, coffee milk was a creative way of using old coffee grounds, milk and lots and lots of sugar.  If you can't tell, I'm not a huge fan of coffee milk as the drink doesn't contain coffee, but syrup, lots and lots of syrup.  Yet, the extreme sweetness of the coffee milk can help to cut the extreme saltiness of a plate of french fries or hot, buttery popcorn.  All good things in moderation...If you are ever in Rhode Island, or another part of Southern New England, try an Autocrat brand coffee milk, then play count the Dunkin Donuts stores.

Happy Drinking!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Indian Tacos (Southwest)









If you go to any major event in Southwestern states like Oklahoma and Arizona (state fairs, carnivals, rodeos, and monster truck rallies), you will inevitably find a truck or two or ten that sells Indian tacos.  You can also find a version of this dish on the Cheesecake Factory menu.  DO NOT go to a Cheesecake Factory to enjoy Indian tacos.  Get off the couch, go outside and indulge in the finest food a truck can produce.

The most interesting part of this type of taco is in fact its 'shell.'  Instead of the traditional tortilla, this taco is enveloped in fry bread, which is often credited to the Navajo.  With the rise of the pan-American Indian Movement and the growth of pow-wows to help preserve native culture in the 1960s, fry bread became associated with all Native people.  In the film "Smoke Signals," based on the work of Spokane-Coeur d'Alene Indian  Sherman Alexie, the character Thomas celebrates the sacredness of fry bread in a wonderfully funny take on the Bible's fish-and-loaves story.  Thomas also wears a kitschy "Fry Bread Power" t-shirt to assert his 'tough Indian' persona.  So what makes this bread so good?  Fry bread is analogous to Indian naan or circus elephant ears, but maintains its own character.  The bread dough is a basic recipe of flour, milk, eggs, sugar, yeast or baking powder and salt.  Yet, the preparation of the dough through a quick kneading and the almost flash fry method of preparing it creates a puffy, yet substantial round of bread.  The frying oil (or lard--yum) infuses the bread with a rich flavor and a delicate crisp crust.  Incidentally the picture to the far left depicts a Native American soldier making fry bread in Iraq.  While serving in Operation Iraqi freedom, American Indian soldiers arranged a pow-wow.  I love this picture because it reminds us all the various colors of our armed faces and the way that we import our food cultures with us to connect to our heritage...Alright, back to the tacos...

So, now that you got the tutorial on fry bread, on to the taco.  The gigantic size of the fry bread creates a plate for a wonderfully layered dish of seasoned meat, usually ground beef, cheddar cheese, onions, tomatoes and savory kidney beans. and a few sliced jalapenos to add some heat.  If it's not a hundred degrees outside while you are enjoying your Indian taco, you may safely add some sour cream to help cool your mouth down and match the richness of the taco.  

Now, Indian tacos are not the heart healthiest meal, and I recommend sharing them with your best mate while you tour the fairgrounds looking for the FFA exhibition of gigantic vegetables or the judge's stage of the local chili cook off.  If you were to make fry bread at home, you could try to use a healthier oil.  As for the taco, I suggest using ground turkey instead of beef, fiber-packed black beans and some plain yogurt instead of sour cream to reduce the fat and calories in this indulgent dish.

Happy Eating!


Monday, July 28, 2008

Welcome to the Regional Food Round Up!



From Awful, Awfuls to 5-Way Chili: 

Welcome to the Regional Food Round Up!

The best part of traveling is getting to experience the local foods and flavors of a new place.  This blog is an homage to the tasty treats and restaurants that make these United States spicy, interesting and worthy of a blog dedicated to the topic.  So, as I make my way through these United States, I'll make sure to bring you along!

Yours,

The Regional Food Rounder-Upper