Northern Food Vs. Southern Food (restaurant, French, chicken breast, sugar)

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

LOL. Around here sometimes people will put a cooker on the back of their pickup and create a roadside stand selling boiled peanuts.

I don't want to live in Minnesota if there are never any green peanuts for boiling.

I have heard others from states like Minnesota, Wisconsin--any 'non Southern' states say that they were 'afraid to try boiled peanuts'. I have eaten them for so long that I can't imagine not knowing what they taste like--mostly salt--if you like salt then chances are good you will like boiled peanuts.

[NicoleJ]

I don't like the softness of them.

[arod0331]

"Northern food"?

I don't think I've ever heard of any food being classified as such. What exactly do you consider "northern food"

[Katsmeeyow]

I just had a big ole bag of boiled peanuts I bought from a place in Sasser GA called Mark's Melon Patch. Those were some HUGE peanuts my friends, and I am really thinkin on going back!

I make cornbread dressing - secret is lots of good cornbread and loads of onions, enough chicken stock to keep it from being dry!

Ok, HOW do the holes get into swiss cheese? Or do I really want to know?

[fierce_flawless]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

And with that--Sweet Tea? I have to have lemon and don't use sugar in mine--but it is still good. <snip>

I'm always looked at like a crazy person for ordering/drinking ice tea withOUT sugar. Breaking some huge Southern tradition I guess... but it's way more refreshing to me that way.

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Your stuffing sounds wonderful.

Does anyone else have 'Dressing' rather than stuffing? This seems to be 'Southern'--the stuffing mixture is cooked in a pan rather than in the bird. It is made with a lot of cornbread as well as the stale rolls and bread. <snip>

We have dressing like you describe, but my mom's is always nasty and dry. Shhhh, don't tell her I said that!!!

Originally Posted by arod0331

"Northern food"?

I don't think I've ever heard of any food being classified as such. What exactly do you consider "northern food"

Well some of the things mentioned so far:

bagels, "good" pizza, pot roast, chowders, french onion soup, hoagies, and so on.

As for me: I'm definitely one who prefers Southern food, and yes, I grew up with a lot of fried everything. My mother has an insane metabolism and never gained an ounce eating this way. I wasn't so lucky. My main 3 types of food in my household were Tex-Mex, Southern, and Japanese (we lived in Japan, my mom learned a lot while we were there)... so one night we'd have enchiladas, the next chicken fried steak with cream gravy (tons of pepper), mashed potatoes and biscuits, and something green, and the next we'd have something Japanese.

I rarely fry anymore but I still crave it!

My partner is not Southern. I now understand (after reading this thread) her obsession with pot roast and her going on and on about "good" pizza (and she works for a pizza chain)! She is the only person I've ever met that does NOT like chicken fried steak (of those I know that eat meat, I mean)...and she also hates grits and hominy, but she loves my biscuits and we've turned her on to fried pickles and chicken & dumplings and some more Cajun style foods. She'll come around eventually.

So, my faves:

UNsweet iced tea with fresh mint from the garden
chicken fried steak with cream gravy
homemade buttermilk biscuits, sometimes with honey
fried PICKLES
fried okra
fried zucchini
red beans and rice
dirty rice made w/sausage
grits and eggs
corned beef hash with an egg
baked sweet potato with real butter
pecan pie
blackberry cobbler
biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast
fried green tomatoes (man, haven't had those in forever!)
black-eyed peas (but I like them garnished with olive oil and pico de gallo)
green beans with bacon
hominy
chicken & dumplings
pralines
chocolate fried pies
buttermilk pie
banana pudding
homemade mac & cheese

Man, I wish I didn't have to forgo so many of these so much of the time!! ::sigh:::

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by fierce_flawless

I'm always looked at like a crazy person for ordering/drinking ice tea withOUT sugar. Breaking some huge Southern tradition I guess... but it's way more refreshing to me that way.

Usually the only southerners who drink unsweet tea are diabetic.

[fierce_flawless]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Usually the only southerners who drink unsweet tea are diabetic.

LOL yeah it seems that way if I judge by those around me! I got in the habit in high school because my mom started drinking it that way. I would ask for a drink of hers and at first I hated it then I got used to it. I remember before that drinking it sweet.... very sweet actually, every day after school.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Usually the only southerners who drink unsweet tea are diabetic.

They are diabetic because they used to drink too much sweet tea!

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

They are diabetic because they used to drink too much sweet tea!

I am a diabetic because it runs in my family--my grandmother had diabetes and it often skips a generation. My mother is the first child --not sure about the genetic statistics but so far I am the only grandchild to develop the disease. Knock on wood.

I did consume a lot of sugar as a child and as an adult. That might be a factor. Actually after college I rarely used sugar in tea or coffee. Still got plenty in other foods.

The sugar is in the carbs, fruits and vegetables. The pancreas has to process everything perhaps I overworked mine--lived a stressful lifestyle and still working on that.
Still not an expert on Diabetes Type 2 but grateful that mine is presently under control with metformin/oral med.

The herbal teas taste good to me without any sweetener still and Splenda helps with other things.

[TakeAhike]

For some reason, my Southern family rarely served chicken fried steak.

Lots of roast beef with gravy on Sunday but I wouldn't say that my Mother 'fried everything'. Some things--the Presto fryer had just been invented and she had one. The french fries were wonderful but we didn't have them that often--once in a while with fried fish and hushpuppies on a Friday night.

She was/is a good cook and firmly believed that vegetables were important. I liked the vegetables and didn't have food issues.

Sausage and biscuits --that was good.