New Hampshire – Boiled Dinner
If you haven’t heard of it before, a boiled dinner is simply that, dinner where you boil each ingredient until they’re all cooked to perfection. Corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes…you name it and you can make it part of the boiled dinner…and for leftovers you can have red flannel hash!
Iowa – Loose Meat Sandwiches
Unlike a regular hamburger, loose meat sandwiches are where the beef is cooked (sometimes unseasoned) without being formed into a patty, then served in a bun with other typical burger fixings. Also known as a “tavern” these sammies are more than well known in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest.
Kansas – Ribs
There’s no questioning it; Kansas is known for its ribs. While people might talk about the loose-meat sandwiches or the grebble or bierocks, it’s the barbecued ribs that has people so hooked and keeps ‘em coming back for more!
Louisiana – Gumbo
Literally the state dish of Louisiana, gumbo is a true meeting of the worlds. Influenced not only by French, Spanish, Choctaw and West African cooking practices, gumbo is a stew generally comprised of a flavorful broth, shellfish and/or sausage, celery, bell pepper and onion, and some sort of thickener. Served over rice, this is a dish so packed full of flavor it had to be the state dish!
Maine – Lobster Rolls
Since Maine is known for having some of the best lobster around, it should come as no surprise that the lobster roll is one of the most “Maine” dishes there is. Technically speaking, a “lobster roll” is when the lobster is still warm in the sandwich, where as a “lobster salad roll” is when it’s cold. We’ll take one of each!