Things we eat: October 2008 Archives

You might remember that I asked last week what are the two local staple ingredients in chicken-corn soup, besides, you know, chicken and corn?

Reader response to this one rocked - I think it was my best "quiz" ever! I'm a little embarassed by a couple of you, though. But I love you anyway!

The correct answer, of course, is hard-boiled eggs and rivels (more on what, exactly, a rivel is in a minute).

Dan was basically right. He said hard-boiled eggs and egg noodles.
Marie Elena can be forgiven. She's from up Harrisburg way. She said potatoes. C'mon now!
Ellen was right on the eggs AND the rivels, but she says her family always added celery, too.
Jo not only had the right answer, she provided a pretty complete recipe, which involves cooking celery and carrots with the chicken but straining them out after the chicken is removed from the pot. You then cook that nice chicken broth with the corn, the cooked chicken meat and the rivels a bit longer.

Now, here's a recipe I found for how to make rivels:

Take 2 cups flour, a dash of salt and two eggs. Mix together. Make little tiny chunks - strips, round balls, whatever. Drop 'em in the soup.

Easy enough, right? Any debate on that recipe? (If you want a version of the soup recipe, try this one.)

So now, not only have I not tried shoo-fly pie, but I've learned that there is a difference between a "wet-bottom" and a "dry-bottom" crust on such a pie.

Megan writes: "My grandmother made dry bottom Shoo-Fly pie when I was growing up, and I have to say, it's always been one of my favorite desserts. Do not attempt to sit down at the table with a slice without a big glass of milk!"

Mark (and are we surprised, here?) prefers the wet-bottomed kind. "Wet bottom is just that, soft cooked or uncooked crust that soaks up the filling, YUM YUM!!! I grew up on my great-grandmother's old Mennonite Shoo-Fly Pie and she made both kinds (she also lived to be 102!). So, I'll throw that one out there and let's see what you all think. Personally, I prefer wet-bottom, and of course, who can resist anything with King Syrup!!!!"

What I want to know is, in my previous post, which is my recipe for? I'd kind of like to know before I make it!

Well, first of all, here was my good-quality barbecue from the Scrabble tournament earlier this month (which, by the way, I took second in my division at!):

My previous posts on hamburg barbecue, at first, drew only the "correct" answer - which, is of course, "hamburg" and not hamburger... and certainly not Sloppy Joe. C'mon now.

But then, some other folks chimed in.

April doesn't know any better. She's from the Midwest. She wrote: "I have to say, it's Sloppy Joe. That's what us Missourian's call it!"

We'll forgive her. She isn't from these parts. (AND she lives in Lancaster, so she doesn't have to be a "Yorker"!)

Doug has no excuse; he lives here. But he says: "That's not a hamburg barbecue, that's a Sloppy Joe. Yum."

And Jo, who had the right answer, brings up a good point: "For those who are adamant about the sandwich being called hamburg barbecue, how come supermarkets call it ground beef? Why isn't the sandwich, therefore, called ground beef barbecue? Maybe it could be called ground beefecue."

There you go, folks. Beefecue. Maybe we can start a new Yorkism.

How about chicken-corn soup as a favorite York County dish?

I took this picture a few weekends ago, when I was playing at a local Scrabble tournament (yes, I'm that dorky.) Our lunch consisted of some good hamburg barbecue (more on that topic, which proved very popular with you guys, in another post!) but also some chicken-corn soup.

I admit it. I hate corn. But I gave it a try. It wasn't too bad. What I'm hearing, though, is that true local chicken-corn soup includes two ingredients OTHER than chicken and corn.

So that's this week's "food pop quiz." What else goes in chicken-corn soup if you're a Yorker??

Remember the days of school lunch menus? My favorite was always the rubbery steak and cheese sandwich. My daughter lives for pizza or chicken nuggets.

When reading her menu this weekend, I saw a phrase that has been around since my school days and long before... "relish tray."

Why, I wondered aloud to my family, do they call it a relish tray? It's raw veggie slices, occasionally with ranch dip! No relish there.

Found out, eventually, through some Internet research that a "relish" is another word for canapes, hors d'ouerves, appetizers, etc. So it's really an "appetizer tray," and in the south, where it's even more prominent, it can also include things like black olives, hard-cooked or pickled eggs, pepperoncini and other antipasto-type items.

So that brings me to my next question... why is the stuff you put on hot dogs called "relish," then? It's not an appetizer!

Ah, the deep things I ponder....

From the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group's most recent newsletter, here's a recipe for a true local favorite, Shoo-Fly Pie. My favorite part about this? It features Mark's favorite scrapple condiment, King Syrup!

1 c. flour
2/3 c. light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. King Syrup
1 egg, beaten
1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3/4 c. hot water
1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/4 c. hot water

Mix flour, brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. butter. Reserve 1/2 c. for top. Mix King Syrup, beaten egg, 3/4 c. hot water and add to dry mixture. Then, add baking soda and 1/4 c. hot water. Pour into unbaked 9" pie shell. Sprinkle with 12 c. reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Now, I've never had, much less made, shoo-fly pie. Has anyone else made it? Is this a "good" version of the recipe? (Megan, queen of cooking and baking, I need your input here!)

Anyway, let me know if you think I should use this recipe or another, and maybe I'll actually (gasp) make a pie!

I mentioned yesterday that I love reader Mark, who's checking in from overseas to keep up on York County life.

Well, Mark really did his homework for me. After asserting that scrapple might not be German, and setting off what I fondly refer to as the Great Scrapple Uprising of Aught Eight, Mark did some further digging and updated me with the results. His findings:

Doing a Wiki-search for Panhas and translating the info, I have some very interesting info for all of you that are interested! Panhas IS a German recipe from the Westfall/Rheinland regions, includes (regionally) pork, bacon and/or beef 'bits' and is cooked with salt, papper, spices and flour to a slurry. The slurry is cooled but not gelled and then, hold your nose, blood is added. This slurry is then introduced into a sausage skin. The result is called a variety of names here - Blutwurst (blood sausage), Hackfleisch (ground meat without the skin - kinda like puddin) or Leberwurst (literally liverwurst). It is eaten cold or cooked (like scrapple is cooked) and served with grilled onions, salt potatos (kinda like a potato salad) and or sauerkraut.

So in reality, he writes, the origins are German. He adds: "This is an old recipe, and not normally favored by today's generations. Blutwurst is readily available at butchers but the name Panhas has somewhat been phased out (at least in Austria and parts of Germany)."

For those of you who were upset, he writes: "I apologize for any unsettling chills I caused by saying scrapple was not German. In origin, it is and yes the immigrants modified it with what was available to make it what is is to us today. I hope this clears the air a little for you all."

Meanwhile, he still contends King Syrup is the appropriate topping for scrapple. Reader and coworker Doug mentioned after my last scrapple post that he is known to eat his plain... or sometimes with maple syrup.

Sister-in-law Adriane swears it needs no enhancements.

So while I think they'll all agree with you on the origins now, Mark, I think you're out of luck in finding a taker on the syrup!!

I didn't have one person (well, of the three who responded) get the "hamburg barbecue" quiz wrong. Of course, that's the correct answer - hamburg barbecue - if you're a Yorker.

Megan says her husband (Hi, Neil!) gets totally frustrated and says there's no such thing as "hamburg."

Joe says he guessed hamburg barbecue as well, and in addition, weighed in that though you might have a slightly different recipe for an official "sloppy Joe" than for "barbecue," they end up basically the same.

And Dan, who I cornered about this lovely food while we were treadmill-power-walking, says it's definitely "hamburg" barbecue - or maybe just "barbecue." Then, you add "pork" if it's pork barbecue or "chicken" if it's chicken barbecue. But barbecue alone is, of course, hamburg(er).

Surprisingly, my favorite Yorkism-er, Jo, didn't vote. Where are you, Jo?! (Oh, Hubby didn't vote either, but him, I can kick.)

Remember I mentioned the local flavor potluck at Kreutz Creek Presbyterian?

Well, here's another local event from the other end of the county.

Trinity's Roth's United Church of Christ, 6417 Church Road in Jackson Township, is holding a Pennsylvania Dutch Dinner starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for those 5 to 10 years old.

Dinner will include schnitz-un-knepp, pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, chicken pie, etc. An auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. Different desserts, breads, crafts and Sunday school pews will be auctioned.

Proceeds benefit the church's Bell Tower Restoration Fund.

I have to admit I've never had schnitz-un-knepp (and, as some of you know, I love pork but HATE sauerkraut), but I still think it sounds intriguing.

It's Monday, the start of another workweek.

If, like me, you're interested in having a somewhat healthy lunch some day this week, I've got a recommendation: Go to Ruby Tuesday and get the garden bar with the Ruby's mini burgers. You get two little burgers, fries and as much salad bar as you can eat.

I went last week with Mom, and we both got that.

Here's my salad:

If you really want to make it healthier, either have them hold the fries or just eat a few of them. They do make turkey-burger minis, though I went for the beef version, but you could sub those out if you wanted to be healthier, too.

*Note to my healthy-eating friends reading this: You'll notice I ate (gasp) green vegetables on my salad!*

I'm definitely on the hunt for more healthy lunch suggestions, so if you have some, comment!