Northern Food Vs. Southern Food (cooker, diners, tomatoes, mild)

[Nomadicus]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

The Pot Liquor is great--the juice from cooking the turnip or collard greens.

Who has actually seen a collard? Raising my hand because my uncle grows them. They are huge--you pull the leaves off and soak them in buckets--in case there is sand or grit on them. Then we usually cook them in a pressure cooker. A derivation from the traditional method perhaps? My family loves to cook things in the pressure cooker. My Mother got hers in the 50's still going strong.

I even have a pressure fryer And I raise my hand to because I grow them too. Along with okra for frying (oops there's that word again) and sweet potatoes, crook neck squash, etc. Must confess to growing asparagus too. Guess we got to let the yanks win one or two ya know. Oh and the pot liquor makes that cornbread taste sooooo gooood.

[seattlerain]

As a native of Seattle with maternal grandparents from North Carolina, and who's mother learned to cook from her mother I grew up on a mixture of both Southern and Northern foods.

My preference would be whatever I'm in the mood for, I can do without sweet tea and okra...other than that, I like them both.

[superk]

It's hard to pick one over the other. While I love good BBQ and fried chicken and fried pork chops and greens and sweet potatoes and sweet tea, I miss other foods like chicken croquettes and whole belly clams and really good french onion soup.

[7G9C4J2]

I'm in a mixed marriage: my heritage is New England/Midwestern, and the spouse is a good ol' Southern boy. So when you ask me if I'd rather have Southern-style or Northern-style cooking, my response is "yes." They're both good, and like SeattleRain, I like 'em both. And so does my spouse.

So sometimes we'll have something like New England boiled dinner or home-made baked beans and brown bread or clam chowder or mac-n-cheese or pot roast or beef-barley soup, and other times we'll have fried chicken and ribs and smoked brisket and grits and greens and cornbread and biscuits. It's all good.

Of course, our poor offspring are terminally confused about whether they're Northerners or Southerners. But then, what else are parents for but to confuse their young'uns?

[skbs]

There are things I absolutely LOVE about both...

NORTH:
Top Five Best
1. Buffalo WINGS... sorry, Western NY Makes them best
2. REAL Pizza... not talking Pappa John's or Pizza Hut... Mom and Pop pizza joints- with great crust and flour all over the floor in the kitchen
3. Garbage Plates... after a late night out everyone NEEDS a garbage plate (rubbish plate, landfill plate...they are all the same)
4. Italian Food...sorry it is all better up here...not talking a chain either...Olive Garden is pre-packaged... I like it from SCRATCH
5. Baked good... BAGELS, breads and cakes... they are so much better up North

SOUTH
Top Five BEST
1. Chicken Fried Steak... especially with WHITE SAUSAGE GRAVY! oh I miss that
2. Mexican Food... can't even compare the Mexican down south to the Mexican Up here... hands down better down south
3. Donuts... I don't know what it is but I like the donuts better down south...bear claws... mmmmm... I haven't had a bear claw in YEARS
4. Fried Chicken...with mashed potatoes and WHITE GRAVY... WHITE... not brown... I miss the White Gravy
5. BISCUITS (especially with WHITE SAUSAGE GRAVY!)

(I really miss white sausage gravy)

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by MidwesternBookWorm

I'm in a mixed marriage: my heritage is New England/Midwestern, and the spouse is a good ol' Southern boy. So when you ask me if I'd rather have Southern-style or Northern-style cooking, my response is "yes." They're both good, and like SeattleRain, I like 'em both. And so does my spouse.

So sometimes we'll have something like New England boiled dinner or home-made baked beans and brown bread or clam chowder or mac-n-cheese or pot roast or beef-barley soup, and other times we'll have fried chicken and ribs and smoked brisket and grits and greens and cornbread and biscuits. It's all good.

Of course, our poor offspring are terminally confused about whether they're Northerners or Southerners. But then, what else are parents for but to confuse their young'uns?

Your kids will be 'well-rounded', just read that--meaning they will enjoy all kinds of food --not that they will be overweight.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Nomadicus

I even have a pressure fryer And I raise my hand to because I grow them too. Along with okra for frying (oops there's that word again) and sweet potatoes, crook neck squash, etc. Must confess to growing asparagus too. Guess we got to let the yanks win one or two ya know. Oh and the pot liquor makes that cornbread taste sooooo gooood.

LOL--squash and eggplant can be fried, as well as okra. So good, especially the eggplant.

I love the new peas and little potatoes. We didn't have a big garden but for several years my Daddy tried growing the peas and potatoes--maybe because it was early in the spring and we hadn't had fresh vegetables for a while but few things can compare. And the spring lettuce and green onions. So simple but so good.

My friend grows asparagus and many other things--a serious, she would deny this gardener. She has a wonderful vegetable/flower garden, though.

Asparagus is a wonderful vegetable--also a spring vegetable for this area?

Many plants grow well in GA/SE--but we can't grow oranges, grapefruits, lemons or avocados. I need them, too.

Just checked the butternut squash--coming along nicely. There is a squash pie recipe that I can't wait to make--lighter than pumpkin but similar. The figs are ripening. My Mother makes a nice fig/lemon?? and Jello ??? preserve.=--She puts strawberry jello in some and you would not know the difference.

[skbs]

OKRA!!!! I forgot FRIED OKRA! Oh Me O My! How could I have forgotten FRIED OKRA?! I LOVE FRIED OKRA!!!!! Now I want a plate of Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes (w/ some serious pepper), WHITE SAUSAGE GRAVY, Fried okra, and a thick rich buiscuit to sop it all up with... mmmmmm Oh My GRAVY.. YUM-O!

[HighlandsGal]

I am a Michigan gal orginally, but I like it all! The north to me means things like subs, wings, pizza, roasts, chilli, chowders, casseroles, etc. And the south, of course what everyone has mentioned. I especially like Carolina BBQ, cornbread, fried okra, buiscuits and gravy, etc.

Now I live in Denver and there is not much of a traditional Southern influence here, but there sure is a lot of Tex-Mex and "California style" cuisine to explore!

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by skbs

OKRA!!!! I forgot FRIED OKRA! Oh Me O My! How could I have forgotten FRIED OKRA?! I LOVE FRIED OKRA!!!!! Now I want a plate of Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes (w/ some serious pepper), WHITE SAUSAGE GRAVY, Fried okra, and a thick rich buiscuit to sop it all up with... mmmmmm Oh My GRAVY.. YUM-O!

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

When it gets colder--mid/late October--you can find really good sausage--freshly slaughtered I guess--nice and peppery. Then you need the freshly ground flour and corn meal, apple butter and sorghum syrup--I think that is from a part of the sugar cane that is not used to make sugar--not sure. It has a tang--something like molasses. One a cold morning--pancakes, waffles and sausage with the syrup and apple butter and a cup of hot chocolate are a wonderful breakfast.

I forget the name of the town in North Georgia but there is one, perhaps several with an apple warehouse. Every kind of local apple can be found there. That is a good day trip--apples, syrup, freshly ground flour and sausage. The leaves are usually very lovely, too. And the muscadines and scuppernongs, boiled peanuts and cider.