Wampanoag Succotash: A Culinary Journey Inspired by History and Heritage
Nov 24, 2024
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Wampanoag Succotash: A Culinary Journey Inspired by History and Heritage
If there are two things that I love most in life - aside from my wife of course! It's traveling and discovering new local favorite foods. One area that continues to be on my bucket list - is Branson. There's a simple wholesome joy about this "Vegas of the Midwest" that draws my interest. So of course, when the folks at Silver Dollar City sent me their recipe for Their famous Ozark Mountain Succotash Family Fued Skillet... well, I just had to share it with you guys.
When you’re planning a vacation, make sure you add pounds to the suitcase rather than your waist. Of course, it’s a good idea to travel light in both senses, but if you want to eat natural and organic foods on the road, you may need to pack a few extra items for food preparation. In addition, make sure that you are aware of healthy eating options in the places you plan to go. With some preparation, research and a sense of adventure, you can stay slim and healthy wherever you go.
Vacations and even traveling for business may seem like the perfect excuse for overindulging in your favorite snacks. After all, it's easy to order desert or that steak instead of a salad when you've got extra per diem left! However, making the right food choices and maintaining a nutritious diet will boost your energy throughout your trip and generally make you feel better as well as being more productive. Despite what you might think, it IS possible to eat healthy whenever you travel, so here's some of our favorite tips!
The other day I was wandering around my local grocery store trying to figure out what to buy for lunch. I was hungry and creative - a combo that tends to be expensive for me. As I wandered through the sauce aisle I realized that nearly every time I buy a bottled sauce I'm disappointed in the flavor, thickness, etc. So I thought to myself, "why can't I make a sauce that matches exactly what I love?" While this sauce ended up turning out great and was ultimately "wife approved", sometimes the journey of creation is exciting in itself. You can always learn from your mistakes, adjust the proportions and make things distinctly YOURS!
Hot honey is a trend that I've been wrestling with for a while since it's genesis seemingly was Nashville, Tennessee with Prince's famous Hot Honey Chicken starting in the 1930s but other tales suggest it goes back earlier to Brazil and some credit the trend to hipsters and millenials who think they discovered everything for the first time. Regardless of who actually discovered that chiles and honey go well together... this is a winning flavor combination that works well on a variety or proteins. So, to take "hot chicken" to the next level, I've prepared a recipe for Hot Honey Shrimp served on Tater Cakes.
Chicken Tenders are one of the most versatile menu items out there. The sheer number of options to coat a chicken tenderloin with and sauces to dip it in allow for incredible freedom. Plus, there's the debate of whether to fry it or bake it. For me, I prefer to bake my chicken tenders since while I do enjoy fried foods, baking is so much easier to clean, safer, and healthier. So, with dreams of sunshine and palm trees in my head, I prepared these baked Crispy Crunchy Coconut Chicken Tenders evoking the sweet and spicy Caribbean flavor that I love!
It should be quite clear by now that I am a huge fan of Brazilian steakhouses or Churrascaria as they are also known. There's something magical about a buffet of meat that comes to you. Since you and your friends can simply sit at the table for most of the meal and not worry about getting up to load your plate with more food, conversation seems to flow more freely and it's certainly a more relaxing form of celebratory eating than other options out there. I've been lucky to be treated so well by the folks at Fogo de Chao and so after my visit to their Vegas location last week I figured it was a good opportunity to share some of my expert knowledge on how to maximize your experience at a Brazilian Steakhouse!
March has begun and that means that it is unofficially Irish Heritage month - even if that's mostly celebrated by St Patrick's Day traditions such as green beer and leprechauns as well as more palatable ones such as a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Variations on the classic corned beef and cabbage recipes have been what I've eaten for St. Patrick's Day for the past 30+ years, so it's time to try something new and explore Irish culture a bit while doing so.
I get hungry like everyone sometimes and honestly I'm not myself when that happens. You Probably get the same way but that's when I like to grab a Snickers. Yeah, I know that sounds like a cheesy intro to another sponsored post, but it's the truth. Traveling can be tough with changes in time zones, unfamiliar locations, and lets face it you aren't at home with easy access to your fridge and microwave either for a quick snack. However, one thing I love about Snickers is that it has the perfect balance of sugar sweetness, chocolatey deliciousness, and protein from the peanuts (or almonds). It's really a great snack to stick in my backpack for those moments when you need something to pick you up a bit.
Cranberry sauce and cranberry jelly have been Thanksgiving staples for most Americans for more than 400 years. I get it, traditions are good but I wanted to create something unique, more flavorful and more authentic as an alternative. When it comes to culinary traditions found among historical records of the Wampanoag and other Northeastern Tribes, such as the Narragansett, berries were clearly a favorite. Not only do they taste great and are packed with nutrients but they are also plentiful and grow naturally - as long as you know when and where to look of course! So, in honor of Native American Heritage Day and just because I love traveling through my tastebuds, I've created this recipe for Wampanoag Inspired Maple, Blueberry, and Cranberry Sauce.
Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables since it is so incredibly versatile. From roasting and grilling to ricing and even mashing... cauliflower has a unique ability to act as a blank canvas for whatever you as the chef... artist... can dream up. For me, I love roasting my veggies on the grill. There's that perfect char that comes from grilling that just can't be replicated by an air fryer or convection oven. So, for today's recipe, I'm going to present one inspired by Gobi Curry but far far easier to prepare and dare I say... a lot less messy too!
There are a lot of great gift ideas you can get for the men in your life but there's one that is my new favorite. Meat By Mail! Allen Brothers sent us a box of bone-in ribeyes this week and while I was initially skeptical because they arrive frozen, I'm convinced now that this is probably one of the best gifts for guys who love to grill.
One of the things I love about cruising is the food. It's not always the "best ever" but each cruise line has some iconic dishes that fans absolutely crave and savor the memories for months and years after the cruise. In the case if Carnival, their Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is undisputedly one of the best deserts at sea. While virtually all cruise lines offer a variation of a "chocolate lava cake", Carnival's is just that much better and we've got the secret recipe below. However, the other thing I love about cruising is that you can always make things better and the crew loves to make guests happy. That is true on almost every cruise I've taken with Carnival and it is certainly true the night we took Carnival's Warm Chocolate Melting Cake to the next level by adding melted peanut butter!
Whether tailgating or homegating it's a difficult balance between creating something awesome and spending way too much time in the kitchen preparing and then cleaning up. As a man, creating ultimate recipes is something I revel in because it's an opportunity to take the gloves off and innovate with no boundaries. So today I'm going to introduce you to my latest creation - Smithfield Pulled Pork Totchos and hopefully inspire you to try something new next time you have the guys over to watch football.
So you've probably experimented with whiskey before when preparing BBQ but sometimes the occasion just calls for tequila and so that what we tried. This recipe is a fairly simple smoked brisket recipe with light hints of tequila that help pair it well with a nice full glass of high-quality agave spirits such as our favorite, Don Julio 1942.
Perhaps the biggest thing I miss about not being able to travel right now is the thrill of discovering new foods and regional interpretations of foods common across the United States. Earlier this year while I was in Lafayette, Louisiana I was introduced to a flavor combination that frankly, I'm now obsessed with. The simple combination of rice, scrambled eggs, and a dusting of Cajun spice took something that would otherwise be mundane but now it was unique, fun, and exciting.
In the realm of unusual culinary delights, beaver meat has made something of a splash. When prepared properly, beaver meat can be a safe to eat, healthy, game meat, that might be the perfect thing for your next game meat dinner. That's right! A number of men (and women) actually savor this unconventional red meat for its unique flavors and surprising health benefits. Despite raising many eyebrows, it's neither a modern fad nor an odd survivalist regime - people have been consuming beaver meat diligently for centuries across North America.
Yet, not everyone is familiar with this aquatic animal as foodstuff.
Despite the political back and forth, Americans and Mexicans have a lot in common when it comes to what we love to eat. Sure, we might prepare things a little differently by trading one ingredient for another but at our core we share a lot of similar traditions. One of these that I'm exploring today is carnitas - or pulled pork as it would be called in the Southeastern United States.
One of my all time favorite comfort foods is shepherd's pie. It's easy to make and relatively easy to clean up too, plus it's cheap and very filling. The folks at Birds Eye® though asked me to check out their new Mashed Cauliflower product and see how I liked it as an alternative to mashed potatoes. Years ago when my wife suggested this I laughed - and then learned that it is super tasty, in some instances even better texture and taste than mashed potatoes themselves. So, with that in mind I decided to switch up my shepherd's pie recipe and use Birds Eye® Veggie Made™ Mashed: Original Cauliflower instead.
One of my favorite items to order for Chinese takeout is Orange Chicken. Unfortunately, like anyone with dietary restrictions and those simply trying to eat more healthfully, that's usually not a good choice. However, with a bit of inspiration and some tweaking I've come up with a solution that is super quick and easy to make as well as relatively healthy for you. Plus, it's gluten free so my wife can enjoy it too!