American Food

W4

Appetizers

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

            Just look at our economy.

            $0.25/A receipt form Freddie Mac

Soups

Gumbo

            Just like America, all of 19th century immigrant food customs shoved into one             dish.

            $5.00/an Ancestory.com account

New England Clam Chowder

            The only way to get a New Englander to stop running their mouth!

            $5.00/A black eye from Fenway Park

Dinners

Spare Ribs

            One pound of the fatty muscle between a pig's ribs; slathered in sodium rich             grease. How did America become the fattest nation?

            $11.00/Hypertension

           

General Tso’s chicken

            The Chinese dish that no Chinese person has ever heard of.

            $8.00/We can serve you an authentic Chinese dish. You don't want to know what             Chinese people really eat.

Wild Alaskan Salmon

            This fish is caught in the same place, and at the same time Grizzly Bears are             fattening up for hibernation!

            $11.00/A badass mountain-man beard

Beverages

           

Light Beer

            Every Americans most important weight loss tool

            Free, we know this stuff is worthless.

Covered Oven

W3

If you ever wondered what it was like to attend Boarding school; feel free to ask me all about it. Yes, I attended Maur Hill Mount Academy, in Atchison Kansas, for both my sophomore and junior year of high school, and no, we did not wear blazers, penny loafers or plaid ties. We did however live at the school in a dorm, where we were only allowed to walk across town to the girl's dorm, or across the street to Wal-Mart.

            Much like prison cigarettes and food became currency. The favorite bartered item, after cigarettes, among borders was Tostinos pizza rolls. The only issue we ever had with the pizza rolls was, that we didn't have an oven in the dorm. We only had a microwave. Anyone who understands "pizza roll-ology" knows, that if they are cooked in a microwave they become soggy. They become soggy because a microwave works, by heating up the natural moisture within the food. This is why one would not be able to dry their clothes in a microwave. On the other hand, an oven simply heats the food. An oven cooks much slower, but the simple heat dries out the pizza rolls; creating a crispy pizza substance filled shell, instead of a soggy mess.

            My roommate, Ryan, found soggy pizza rolls to be completely unacceptable, so he searched for a way of creating that crispy, hot, and delicious pizza roll shell we all pined for. Well, Ryan found a way. I have no idea how he came up with this, but Ryan was a quite the pothead, so his mind was always working differently. His love of marijuana probably also explained his obsession with pizza rolls.

            Ryan taught me to first, turn the heater in our dorm room up to full blast. Next, He would place the pizza rolls on the heater, no more then twenty. Then, He would place a towel, preferably one you did not just use to shower, or something else high school boys like to do. Finally, leave the pizza rolls there for about ten minutes. I could not tell the difference between my heater, and a real oven.

My Only Home

W2           

            Growing up my family was always moving. In fact I have never lived in one place longer then three years. Home for me is not a house or even a city. Home is the food my mother cooks and our family traditions.

            One dish really defines my family, and it is the only dish that my mother has never changed, snake meat. Now, snake meat, is not meat from a snake; it is simply beef, flank steak to be precise. The name "snake meat" came to be because I was a very picky eater when I was a child (fortunately I have grown out of that). My parents tried everything thing to get me to eat anything besides bread and cereal. They became so desperate that they began changing the names of recipes I had already tried and decided I didn't like, and since the flank steak came from the butcher shop tied in a sting, my mother told me it was snake meat. The second time around I laved snake meat. For the rest of my life every Monday we had snake meat. Every time my teachers asked what my favorite food was, I said snake meat, and since we moved many times I ended up telling many teachers I liked snake meat, and many times my mother would have to explain to child services what snake meat really is.

            The first thing I asked my mother when I moved into my first apartment was, "How do I make snake meat?" I was amazed at how simple snake meat is to cook.

            - 1 lbs Flank Steak (Snake Meat)

            - 3 tsb Ketchup

            - 3 tsb Soy sauce

            - 1 tsb oil

            - 1/2 tsp garlic salt

            Mix the four ingredients together. Evenly coat the meat with them in a broiling             pan. Let sit for an hour, and broil at 500 degrees 3 minutes per side. The inside             should be dark pink and cool.

America's Dish

Week 1

When asked, what is America's signature dish? Many tend to draw a blank. They might say hamburgers, hot dogs, or apple pie. America thought is not like the rest of the world. Our nations borders were not drawn along at mountain ranges like they are in Europe. Our country isn't an island nation like Great Britain. The United States is vast nation and separated by topography. Our country is also one of the few countries in the world, with a significant population of every ethnic group in the world living within its borders. Food is not only a reflection of culture but also probably the greatest connection a person has to their culture.

            This is why Pizza is the signature dish of the United States of America. Pizza is a versatile dish that can be cooked and served many different ways. There is Brooklyn style, Chicago style, and the less popular St. Louis style. On the West coast people have the nerve to put chicken and bar-b-que sauce on pizza, and even the Hawaiians have come up with a signature pizza recipe. All these different styles reflect the different culture.

            Brooklyn style pizza is authentic. New York was the place many immigrants landed, and many of them never left, therefore there food reflects that. If you were to imagine the most basic and simple pizza it would probably be a Brooklyn style pizza. 

            Chicago style pizza is heavy and filling. If you were to spend one winter in Chicago you would understand why their pizza is so heavy. The heavy meaty toppings also reflect the tough image many associate with Chicago.

            On the West coast you will find pizza recipes you never even thought existed. Many of the recipes would go as far as offending many east coast Italians. But these wacky recipes that all these Californian surfers have come up with, reflect the liberal artistic creative culture California is so proud of.

            All these different styles of pizza are great in their own way, but there is one style to avoid. St. Louis style pizza, this is what happens when Germans try to make pizza. I am saying this, as someone who lived in St. Louis for two years and loves the Cardinals. St. Louis style pizza, consists of a communion wafer thin crust, light red sauce, and provel cheese. Provel cheese tastes like a mixture between Velveeta and the paste we all used to make paper mache in kindergarten.

            Besides all the different styles pizza also crosses all ethnic boundaries in the United States. It is almost every child's favorite food, and you will be hard pressed to find an American who hasn't eaten it. Italy can have spaghetti, because nothing is more American then pizza.

Fitting in Through Food

My name is Jimmy Roller, I was born in Ohio but I have moved many times. I have moved ten times and lived in six different states. I my experience, one of the easiest ways to connect with an area you have just moved to, is through food. A walk around a local grocery store can reveal more about a region or city then any chamber of commerce. Regional food can give insight into the history, culture and core values of particular region.

 My family recently just moved back to Youngstown Ohio. I walked through the grocery store, and I noticed an entire aisle devoted to olive oil. I had never seen so much olive oil. I looked at all the different types of oil from virgin toe extra virgin, clear bottles to dark bottles and Greek to Italian olives. I finally turned to an old Italian lady standing behind me and asked the difference between the different types of oil. This woman went on to explain what I assume was Einstein’s theory of relativity. Even thought many words coming out of this women's mouth passed over my head. I did however realize how rich Youngstown Ohio is in Italian culture.

Before Moving to Youngstown I lived just outside Kansas City Missouri. In Kansas City instead of having an entire aisle devoted to olive oil, there was an entire aisle devoted to bar-b-que sauce. I learned in school that Kansas City was the central hub of the beef industry in the nineteenth century. It makes sense that the city built by beef is in love with the most red meat oriented style of cooking in the world.

I also lived in Mississippi, bayou country. The bayou is most famous for Cajun food. Crawfish and Catfish are the most common meats used both very cheap. Once my parents were having work done on their house. One of the workers asked if he could catch the crawfish in the creek on our property. My family had no problem with this so we of course allowed him to fish our creek. After he was done he told us how embarrassing it was to ask if he could fish our creek, because when he was young crawfish was "poor food," and it was shameful to admit that you ate crawfish. That stigma has mostly disappeared from the Deep South, but Cajun dishes do serve a reminder of how difficult life once was in the south.

I would not have taking the time to understand food cultures of the different regions I have lived; It would have been even more difficult trying to fit in as the new kid. Food is an easy way to connect with others because it is such an essential part of our lives. Eating is something everyone does, yet we all do it very differently.