Along the Mississippi: The Culinary Historians' Dinner

The Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor (CHAA) held their winter theme meal on November 24. The theme was foods from states along the Mississippi River. As we have done many times before, members contribute one or more dishes that follow the theme. We present our dishes and a bit of history or background about what we cooked and how we made our choices and then we eat! 

Here are pictures of a number of the very interesting selections of dishes that came from the whole length of the river from Minneapolis to New Orleans --

Wild rice with several types of mushrooms from the cookbook of the Sioux Chef.

The Native Americans of Minnesota gather wild rice from canoes in the north of the state.

Wild rice with hazel nuts -- another of the several wild rice
dishes on the menu.

Wild Rice and chicken salad.

Our contribution: sauerbraten. It was tasty but not very photogenic.
Where along the Mississippi does it originate? It's from the German
community of St. Louis, via the one great culinary contribution of
our native city, namely, the book The Joy of Cooking, which was
written in St. Louis by Irma Rombauer in 1931.

Iowa ham balls.

My friend Sherry with a Mississippi cookbook, one of several that she consulted. And my friend Randy,
editor of the CHAA newsletter, taking notes on what everyone said. He will correct me if I got any of this wrong!

Southern-style greenbeans.

Louisiana beef stew.

Jambalaya

Kentucky corn pudding.

Cajun cornbread with ham, cheese, scallions and jalapeno.

Bread pudding -- whiskey sauce was in a separate dish. 

Minnesota Best Bars: the classic, made with sweetened condensed milk!

Pecan Pie. The baker told us that pecans were used by native Americans
for thousands of years. French settlers in New Orleans began to make pecan pies
soon after arrival, but the most-used current recipe comes from the makers of
Karo Syrup, who published it in the 1920s.

Here is a list of most of the contributions in geographic order. Sherry said "It's a long river," and I think we showed that she was right!

From Minnesota:

• Favorite Tuna Hot Dish
• Hazelnut Wild Rice & Passion Fruit Foam Salad
• Wild Rice Pilaf with Wild Mushrooms, etc.
• Wild Rice and Chicken Salad
• Amaranth Bites from the Sioux Chef
• Very Good Bars

More from the Midwest:

• Karl Ratzsch’s Burgundy Red Cabbage from Wisconsin
• Ham Balls appetizer, Iowa
• Blue Cheese Spaghetti, Illinois
• Sauerbraten from The Joy of Cooking, St. Louis, Mo.

Going South:

• Rice Salad, Arkansas
• Corn Pudding, Kentucky
• Southern Style Green Beans
• Cajun Cornbread, Louisiana
• Jambalaya with Sausage, Shrimp, & Ham, Louisiana
• Louisiana Beef Stew
• Shrimp Dip with Crackers & Chips, Louisiana
• Roselawn Plantation Punch, Louisiana
• Bread Pudding with whiskey sauce, Louisiana
• Pecan Pie

This post and photos © 2019 by mae sander.