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of the late 1600s who found their way to Charleston, South Carolina, and somehow over the years this recipe made its way to Missouri. Q: What items in a food basket speak instantly to you of this region? A: Anything barbecue, such as barbecue sauces, grill tools, spices, rubs and hardwood charcoal. This would say Midwest to me because people really like to grill and smoke foods here. Q: For someone visiting the region for the first time, what dishes would you tell them not to miss? A: You need to get to Cincinnati for chili and homemade coffee cake, Indiana for Hoosier cream pie, around the Great Lakes I’d suggest fresh fish like lake perch or walleyed pike (just sautéed) or smoked whitefish, Wisconsin for artisan cheeses, Kansas and Nebraska for steak. Not to be missed are the bake sales throughout small Kansas towns.
“Midwest cooking is all about abundance and bounty and eating from the garden. It’s the real taste of homemade.” Q: Off the top of your head, what is the best food taste for each Midwest season? A: In the fall, it’s apples, for the winter I’d say pot roast, spring would be asparagus and wild morel mushrooms, and finally, summer fresh fruits made into homemade ice cream, such as peachesand-cream or strawberry ice cream. Q: You note that “food tells a story.” What’s a particularly juicy Midwestern food story? A: We didn’t really get good steaks until the late 1800s and that’s thanks to Midwesterners. The Texans had their longhorns, but their meat was stringy. The English brought over Herefords, but they only had meaty front quarters. One day a Texas longhorn had a clandestine affair with a
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