Nothing says "Hoosier" like Sugar Cream Pie.
It is, in fact, our Official State Pie.
Although, Fried Biscuiits and Apple Butter at The Nashville House are right up there. (Nashville, Indiana)
Mayes talked about her Deep South Cuisine and going "crabbing" with Willie, their cook, while she was growing up.
I, too, have sat beside the brackish water in Georgia and tied a chicken neck to a stout string and "crabbed".
Blue Crabs, attracted to the left-in-90-degree-heat-for-several-days rotted meat will grab onto it, and you need only to pull them to the shore and knock them off into your waiting bucket. They won't let go. No hook necessary. Alternately, you can bait a crab trap with the "high" meat and later get a bunch. They are a time-consuming but delicious meal.
Blue Crabs, however, are not Indiana denizens. You would be out of luck trying to get a fresh bucketful of Blue Crabs to boil and shell here.
But, if you are looking for some of the best rolled-in-cornmeal fried fresh catfish...you need look no further than the nearest farm pond. You used to be able to just shoot down 136 to Frank and Mary's in Pittsboro (who were famous for their catfish dinner) but they are now CLOSED, and I am pretty sure by now Frank and Mary are also gone.
My point being that HOME (whether it is your State or your family) has particular foods as well.
If you are from Maine you probably had a lot of fresh seafood and undoubtedly a "lobstah roll" or three in your life.
Get anywhere South of the Mason-Dixon and you know that REAL hominy grits are a staple side dish (...eaten with "buttah and salt...and meybbe cheese...but neveah shugah"...) Hoosier's also have an omnipresent side dish. It is a slice of white bread with butter.
A Trip to your Old Kentucky Home might include a big pot of Ham and Beans with Cornbread, Fried Okra and Sweet Tea.
In Indiana, food is almost a Sportin' Event...as attested by our collective girth and our State Fair Food...which is basically anything on a stick...breaded and deep fried...and most of it either covered with
Gravy
Cheese
Powdered Sugar.
You think I am joking?
Look no further than our deep fried Snickers Bar, Oreos or Twinkies!
There is State Food, and then there is HOME food.
Home Food is the stuff you grew up with on a daily basis.
The Comfort Food.
Growing up in Indiana our meals, particularly Sunday, were hearty...rib-sticking occasions. Chicken fried, boiled with dumplings or home-rolled egg noodles, baked with dressing, pork fixed every way you can think of to fix pig...even a dish called Souse which is basically Heads-cheese or what is known in PA as Scrapple. Beef was pretty much confined to hamburgers, meatloaf (always with mashed potatoes and green beans. I think there is a State Law) or (less frequently and usually tough) a steak on the grill. Sometimes a huge pot roast simmered all day until it was falling apart and root vegetables added. Most meals were composed of a meat, a potato dish and a green vegetable. Afterwards there was always cobbler, pie, or pudding.
My personal comfort dish was baked egg custard with nutmeg. Nothing was ever quite so bad that baked egg custard couldn't fix it.
These days, unless I want to be the SIZE of Indiana, the huge meals are confined to Sundays...and lighter fare fills the week.
I always look forward to Sundays and my plate full of HOME, though.
More anon...
