prime time

I forgot to mention that yesterday started a new block-- 3 week set of class that just so happens to be Cuisines of the Americas! I say it just so happens because next Thursday is arguably North America's most historical meal and tonight in lecture we talked all about the pilgrims! Its such cool timing I couldn't help but smile.

Yesterday's and today's menu was:

New England Style Clam Chowder
Amish Corn and Chicken Soup
Apple Cider Vinaigrette on mixed greens
Old Fashioned Salt Cod Cakes with bacon, cole slaw, and remoulade sauce
Yankee Pot Roast, root vegetables, peas, and pearl onions
Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce
Johnnycakes with Mushrooms, White Cheddar, Roasted Acorn Squash, Corn, and Beans

I also couldn't have anticipated how exciting it would be to learn about American food (North and South America). I have always felt a strong connection to home and where I came from and so its really not a surprise that I love learning about American food, but I guess I'm surprised at how rich our food history is. There is historical meaning behind every single item on our menu today and that's what my chef keeps highlighting, the importance of the ingredients. My class is really like a history class through food. Here are some of the interesting facts:

• Salt Cod Cakes are a mixture of cod and potatoes, pan-fried and eaten warm. Salt Cod was popular among settlers because cod was abundant off the coasts of New England and salting it was a method of preserving it. Combining the fish with pureed potatoes extended the use of the fish thus creating a fish version of meat loaf.
  
• Yankee pot roast is a more refined version of New England Boiled Dinner... settlers would take animals' hides, fill them with water, put bits of meat and vegetables in the water, and add a glowing hot stone that would instantly boil the water creating a flavorful liquid--broth. The thickened roux based, gravy-like, fortified-with-wine sauce we now associate with pot roast is the French influence. Traditional American Pot Roast though, is just boiled meat. Root vegetables are also native to the Americas and many settlers ate wild root vegetables before they developed a taste for carrots (originally from Afghanistan), squash (Peru), and corn (Mexico).
  
• Johnnycakes were originally a Native American staple food called "Ash Cakes" because they would take ground corn meal and cook it in hot ashes. Settlers saw this and revised the recipe by frying the ground meal in pans. After a demonstration in class yesterday, it was confirmed these cakes are durable and can withstand frisbee like conditions. They were carried by soldiers like "Johnny" during the Revolutionary War because of their durability. As the cakes made their way south, they were eaten by field hands who would hold their shovels or hoes over a fire in the fields and cook the cakes on the ends. In the South they are still referred to by many as hoecakes.
  

I love class and I can't wait to go back tomorrow.