August 2004

 

Discover the Taste visited North Carolina, Minnesota/Wisconsin and California earlier this year. In celebration of the trip and our new column from Gerry Goldwyre which will start shortly, a review with a a distinctly American flavour..

A Grand Excursion

A long-planned celebration of the Mississippi River came to fruition from June 25-July 4 when dozens of towns along the river host a moveable feast of more than 300 festivals, parades, and train and boat rides.

The event reenacted an 1854 trip by 1,200 dignitaries that marked a historic rail connection to the Mississippi, from Chicago to Rock Island, Ill. They went by train and steamboat to the "frontier" in St. Paul, in hopes of spurring development. Today, cities along the route are celebrating riverfront redevelopment.

The new excursion started in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa and concluded nearly 400 miles upriver on July 5 in the Twin Cities. Thousands of people participated in the excursion, riding boats for an hour, a day or a week.

Red Eye Gravy

In North Carolina, we kept hearing about Red Eye Gravy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to taste it, but thanks to Nathalie Teichman for tracking down a recipe from “Good Ole Grits” by Bill Neal late of Crooks Hill Restaurant, Chapel Hill. Grits? Well, imagine a cross between porridge and polenta, an acquired taste for us! Biscuits – a little like scones.

Our Alamo driver (from Indiana) got so enthused talking about Red Eye Gravy she was determined to fix some for her and her daughter that weekend.

Red-eye gravy is a great southern specialty and the test of many a diner or truck stop. Its slight bite and bitter flavours accents the salt of country ham and carries the flavours across the plate. Grits are the great foil for both ham and gravy; make a little depression in the grits and spoon the gravy in. Red-eye gravy is also ladled over hot split biscuits.

Ingredients:

All the rendered far and drippings from Country Ham (salt cured ham)
1 cup hot coffee or water or a mixture of both (many told us it is best to use day old coffee)

Method:

Into the hot skillet in which the country ham has been fried, pour the coffee or water. Heat over medium heat, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Stir them about, but don't allow the gravy to boil. Pour it into a bowl or gravy boat and serve immediately over biscuits and grits.

Preparing the Country Ham:

2 centre-cut slices, dry-cured country ham, about 1/4 inch thick and weighing about 8 ounces each.

Trim away the outer edge or rind from the ham. Cut the ham into desired serving pieces. Put the slices in a cold cast-iron skillet and place ver medium heat.

Fry the ham gently until the fat is translucent and the lean part is a deep rust red, about 10 minutes on each side. Remove the ham from the skillet and keep warm until serving.  

A New Salad Ingredient

Our favourite American salads featured pea shoots. According to Nicky’s Nursery these are the top pair of leaves at the top of a pea stem that are very tender. Use raw in salads, steamed or stir fried. Just about any variety can be used for pea shoots, outdoors should be ready for harvesting in approx 30 days. It is worth experimenting with varieties and growing methods.

CATCHING AMERICAN FOODIE NEWS

The Star Tribune in Minneapolis has and excellent Taste section issued each Thursday.

www.egullet.org

We just have to mention this again. If you visit the forums section, you can ask for recommendations from locals from any area of the US (and Europe too). We followed up excellent suggestions which gave us a flavour of the region we were visiting.

We particularly liked Alma in Minneapolis which focuses on local produce cooked in fresh innovative ways - Bruschetta local foie gras and duck liver pate, bacon, apricots, sage-port wine jus;

Café Brenda in Minneapolis vegetarian and seafood dishes – fantastic chevre salad with fresh fruit;

Parallel 33 in San Diego which features cuisine from countries located on the 33rd parallel - we enjoyed some great Moroccan dishes.

Roppongi in La Jolla – a wonderful crab salad arrives in a tower shape, which the waiter quickly dismantles at the table. Two for one tapas 4 to 6 pm daily.

Roppongi

Restaurant Alma

Café Brenda

Parallel 33