WV cuisine (schools, restaurant, to eat)

[snorpus]

No offense taken... buttermilk (for reasons I cannot fathom) is not high on most people's list.

A co-worker years ago said he saw someone do it (in a diner in WV), but otherwise, I've never found anyone who had even heard of drinking buttermilk that way.

I also make deviled eggs with horseradish, but that's another story...

[Threerun]

Gee, I always thought the best WV cuisine was Threerun's home made smoked venison kielbasa!


Or was it Threerun's homemade venison and ramp summer sausage?


In any event- the official drink of the Mountain state is undoubtedly Mountain Dew

[harborlady]

My quaker granny from parkersburg was a cook for most of her life at a religious retreat house. I remember some of the things she used to cook but unfortunately her talents skipped my generation. I tried to learn but I guess she was so used to cooking for a crowd of 40, slowing down wasn't in her vocabulary anymore. She'd be grabbing a pinch of this and a handful of that, and I'd be spun around nervously clinging to my measuring cups. hahahaa. Unfortunately, most of her recipes were in her head, which alzhiemers took before she thought to write them down. A few of her coworkers wrote a cookbook to benefit the retreat house, and managed to recreate a few of her dishes in rememberance.

She used to make a great onion loaf bread, sunflower cookies, and what kind of talent does it take to get a 14 yr old to eat cabbage casserole? I actually had seconds!

More than anything else, I did notice her uncanny ability to cook with love, a trait i greatly admired. That kind of magic can't be taught, I think.

Aside from what was indigenous to WV (venision, ramp etc) I'm getting the idea that home cooked food was german/english/irish in culture. I wasn't sure where her cooking came from- where she grew up, what her mom made, where she traveled to, or what the retreat house guests were requesting.

[harborlady]

OH... ramp

Bop bop a rebop, RAMP barb PIE

how does that sound?

[AliceT]

I had never heard of a slaw dog until I moved to WV. And when I got a job in a WV deli, they couldn't believe I didn't know how to make one.

More news to me - they made grilled cheese sandwiches with mayo instead of butter. I mean, a grilled cheese with no butter? They thought I was from another planet talking about making a grilled cheese with butter. Go figure.

We offered fries, of course, but the real tater attraction were the wedges, served with hot sauce or mustard.

Biscuits and gravy are big in WV's backwoods mountain hollers. Doesn't matter what time of day it is - it's always time for biscuits and gravy.

And cornbread. My word! That was something else I had no experience making. And I think I have more than given it a fair shake but I just don't like cornbread.

Not to worry West Virginians, I'm leaving.Someone that can't make a slaw dog or cornbread just doesn't seem to belong. I know. know.

[Lone Star Rebel]

All this food talk is making me hungry, lol.

OK, i wasn't going to do it but... I will throw in a quick recipe that I learned back in the mid 70's in WV. This comes from a little sweet old lady who lived across the street from the place where I rented a room back in my college days. She was born and raised (and probably died) in Clarksburg so I have no idea if this is a WV thing or not but, here goes...

Stuffed Steak Rolls

2 lbs. thin steak. (I use fajita steak here in Texas)
1 box stuffing mix, your flavor choice. (she made her own)
2 cups of beef gravy or brown gravy.
1 24 oz. bottle of Italian Dressing. (again, she made her own)

You want to try & get your steak about a 1/4" thick or a little thicker, not much more than that. You marinate the steak the night before in the italian dressing. Follow the instructions on the box of stuffing mix (or make your own) and put the stuffing aside for now.

Using your favorite meet tenderizer or method, tenderize the meat to your liking and lay it out on a cutting board. Try to cut each steak about the size of your average saucer. If you bought them about that size already... perfect.

Scoop out about 2 (icecream scoop size) scoops of stuffing and place it in the center of each steak. Now, roll the steak over the stuffing like you would do cabbage rolls and pin them together with toothpicks so the stuffing stays in the meat roll. This should make between 6 to 8 stuffed rolls about the size of your fist.

Place the steak rolls in a baking dish and add the gravy (pouring it over the top of each steak roll) until you have used up all the steak rolls & gravy. Place them in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for a minimum of 60 minutes and no more than 90 minutes (depending on the thickness of the steak). Keep an eye on them so the tops don't start to burn.

Whip up some mashed potatoes, some corn on the cob or baked beans and... you got you one quck delicious meal fit for a King. Everyone I have ever made this meal for asks for the recipe and they can't get enough of it.

OK, there's my 2 cents!

[David Kennedy]

One of the incredible things about this area is the ethnic diversity of foods...almost anything that can be imagined is here...The remnants of the scotch/irish...the german, all of the 1780's...the Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Negro and Italian of the early 1900's The mix of all that as the cultures assimilated...

and now, during our day, the introduction of the Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and a host of others...In a short few years these new tribes will mix together and merge their identities with our existing populace...and we will be better off for all of it.

[harborlady]

reb that sure does sound good, and simple enough for me to manage. Do you think this would work in a crock pot too? I have an italian version recipe for braciole that I think I could adapt to those ingredients. It uses flank or skirt steak, but I'm not sure how much liquid would be too much. Crock pots retain moisture better, and make their own gravy by default. I think an experiment is in order! thanks for sharing.

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

One of the incredible things about this area is the ethnic diversity of foods...almost anything that can be imagined is here...The remnants of the scotch/irish...the german, all of the 1780's...the Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Negro and Italian of the early 1900's The mix of all that as the cultures assimilated...

and now, during our day, the introduction of the Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and a host of others...In a short few years these new tribes will mix together and merge their identities with our existing populace...and we will be better off for all of it.

Yes, it would explain why I haven't seen a solid common theme other than american mutt pie (my personal favorite )

DK did you see the blog in USgeneral cities about american slang? I think you'd chuckle over soda vs coke vs pop

[snorpus]

It's pop, right?

Soda is clear, generally flavorless, used in some cocktail recipes.