Culture: Two nations divided...

[Jordan]

Filet um, dip um in beer batter, and fry um up.LOL I think yankee in norms' case would be a reference to his new england area upbringing. Damn Yankee's is a great movie especially the part where what lola wants lola gets! Of course you would need to enjoy old musicals.

[rdb]

tashabear, now we're talkin' good food. I'm in the Carolinas now, but you can't take the Boston out of the boy.

Apple Pie for breakfast woohoo!

Ray, you haven't lived until you've been to a Clambake/Lobster feast on the Dunes of Cape Cod. Steamers with Lobster cooked over hot stones, and buried in the sand.

Now Yankees are kind of regimented, in that we eat certain things regularly. First, and foremost is Saturday night's Beans and Hotdogs (Sidenote: we call it supper, not dinner). B&M beans and Brownbread. There's not a lot of us eating the brownbread nowadays, but it's a sign you're from Massachusetts, for sure.

Then, there's "Prince Spaghetti Day". Pasta night is Wednesday. Sometimes, it was "American Chop Suey"

Sunday, is traditionally the boiled Dinner like tashabear relates....don't forget the boiled baby onions in butter and the whole cranberries sauce, and of course, three baked pies to choose for dessert; Apple, Blueberry, and Mince

But here' where the arguing starts....Barbecue. Down here, they simply call it "Cue". Throughout the South there are various Regional concotions of sauce that people will go to war over defending. You got your Memphis style, Vinegar base, Mustard base, etc. Here in NC there are three versions that can erupt into civil war over.

Now that's all fine and good for the folks down here, but when I break out my Yankee Tomato based sweet barbecue ribs, there's not a lot of them that doesn't just shut up, and keep eating. Not many people realize that Massachusetts was truly an Aqua/Agri culture, with many farmers, and fisherman. Barbecue chicken right from the roost smothered in sauce, and cooked over hardwood slowly in our cinder block firepits...hmmmm

I'm hungry now

[UKRay]

Ray, you haven't lived until you've been to a Clambake/Lobster feast on the Dunes of Cape Cod. Steamers with Lobster cooked over hot stones, and buried in the sand.

RDB, That sounds truly amazing... I'm on my way; but not 'till I've finished the pile of work that is sitting on my groaning desk. It should only take about 6 months...

I'm interested to know what 'B&M beans' might be - is that a brand or a variety? We tend to get good 'ole Heinz or Cross & Blackwell over here.

Tell me more about Brownbread - is it what it sounds like, i.e. brown bread or is this yet another regional delicacy I have to add to my list?

A 'three pie' supper sounds to die for... in fact I would probably settle for just the pies!

Funny you should mention sauces - We tend just to have brown sauce and red sauce over here. Brown is a piquant fruit sauce and red is the ketchup you are accustomed to. There are a number of specialist delicatessens that stock sauces in bottles but I can't say I am too impressed.

Do you all make your own sauces for barbecues? Anyone feel like sharing a good 'cue' recipe with a poor sauce-deprived Brit?

Forgive me for asking what is obvious to you, but when you have a barbecue how does it go? What is the form? What is it cooked on? How is it served? What comes with it? Who cooks? Is this more a beer or wine occasion? It is very hard to ask more without knowing what the questions ought to be... We don't really have a barbecue culture in the UK - although I know it is starting to happen. I think it has something to do with the weather over here...

I need to ask about ranch dressing. We don't have this in the UK but I noticed on my various trips to your fair land that good ranch dressing is always available wherever you eat - east to west - except perhaps in McDonalds, and even they have a variation of it. What is it with ranch? I have worked in the UK with a number of guys from the US and they have all expressed absolute amazement when they weren't given the stuff with their salad.

Talking of salads, we are getting a lot better in the UK these days but you may not recognise the Caesar Salad over here... we won't go into details, just don't get too excited if you see one on a menu. Trust me, it won't be the same as you are used to and it certainly won't be as big...

Jordan, I'm assuming from your cooking and serving suggestion you come from the south....

[rdb]

This is B&M ( Glass jar beans and the brown bread are really the only important things:

http://www.bgfoods.com/bm/bm_products.asp

Brown Bread smothered in butter..gee what y'all are missing....wicked pissah

I'm staying out of the "Cue fued...trust me, it'll happen

[Hilly]

Talking of Jeeves and Wooster, I have just watched a brand new, hour long BBC TV program with Stephen Fry touring the top right hand corner of America (New England and all that entails) and talking to people about what makes their part of the US different from the rest. The answers were fascinating and intriguing. He is heading for the 'deep south' next week - I won't be missing that one!

Thanks for the info on grits, TwinOaks. I'm not sure I'm much wiser as we tend to just see sweetcorn over here and that comes in tins. I'm really looking forward to visiting the south next year and sampling all your delicacies. I'm told chitterlings are something to look out for...

Don't bother trying grits. It's like eating grainy wallpaper paste.

[tashabear]

Tell me more about Brownbread - is it what it sounds like, i.e. brown bread or is this yet another regional delicacy I have to add to my list?

The brown bread that served with beans is a steamed bread, and you can actually buy it in a can! If you want to try making your own, though, here's a recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vie...WN-BREAD-104112

Ham and bean suppers are a traditional New England fundraiser, typically put on by fire departments, historical societies, and churches. Ham, baked beans, potato salad and dessert -- yum! My dad was a volunteer firefighter, and my family worked on these suppers for years; Dad's specialty was making the beans. Once there was a story on the news about a Boston restaurant called Durgin Park, and it was a source of wonderment for the reporter that they made 100 pounds of baked beans at a time. Dad just scoffed -- he'd make 500 pounds of beans at a time for the supper.

Of course, now he can't make a small enough amount of beans for a family dinner...

As for ranch dressing? It's just cool and creamy and tasty.

[Jordan]

If Southern California counts as the south (which I think is considered blasphemy by true southerners ). Living in Utah now, no real food traditions, (besides jello something called mormon potatoes and some abomination called fry sauce), that I can tell other than everyone eats at restaurants. Largemouth bass has always been my favorite fish to catch and eat.

[whinewine]

There's also a North Carolina delicacy, boiled peanuts. Strange, interesting...pretty blah, but strange, interesting... they're sold along the roadsides in NC.

As far as wash tubs, in western PA, lots of people pronounce them "WARSH tubs" ... fer usin' when youn'z (pronounced with one syllable: younz, NOT 2 syllables:you unz) gotta warsh the clothes, and youn'z better warsh up after youn'z guyz redd up yer rooms (pronounced with a long 'o', as in 'boom! goes the thunder', unlike many midwesterners who say it with a short 'o'- like the sound a car makes revving its engine: vrum, vrum.- as in 'fall down & go boom'.).

Eastern PA (& other places, probably,) say 'youse'.

"Youse" ain't gramatically correct.

Edited October 15, 2008 by whinewine

[UKRay]

If Southern California counts as the south (which I think is considered blasphemy by true southerners ). Living in Utah now, no real food traditions, (besides jello something called mormon potatoes and some abomination called fry sauce), that I can tell other than everyone eats at restaurants. Largemouth bass has always been my favorite fish to catch and eat.

I was only teasin' ya Jordan! I checked out your location on Google Earth - that lake just down the road from you looks like a great (big) spot to go fishing! I'll save the fishing stuff for a more suitable occasion but as a keen fisherman, obviously I'd like to know more.

Two big surprises today - bread in a tin and beans in a jar. I have not seen either of those things before. I was also amazed to find 14 different varieties of baked beans from the same company. Astounding! - and you guys regularly eat lots of beans with brown bread eh? I think I saw a film about that called Blazing Saddles...

No, no, no, Hilly, don't spoil it for me. I've wanted to try grits since I saw my first western film... it may be like wallpaper paste but I've got to find out for myself. I might like it!

Boiled peanuts don't imediately grab me as party food, Whinewine, but I'm keen to give 'em a try if you recommend 'em . Do they come salted or plain? Sadly that language thing cut in about here: "...after youn'z guyz redd up yer rooms..." Sorry, you lost me - "redd up yer rooms"? wassat?

A bit of British culture you might find amusing is that cricket is the only game in existence (as far as I have been able to find out) that has meal breaks written into the rules. It is worth noting that a good village cricket tea is a joy to behold and a delight to eat. Plates stacked high with cucumber, egg and cress and tomato sandwiches. Huge steaming pots of tea, homemade cakes and the occasional fruit scone with jam and cream as a treat. The sound of studded cricket boots on the wooden floor of a cricket pavilion and the murmer of gentle conversation and polite applause is something that will stay with you for ever...

Rugby on the other hand is a little less genteel. After the match all the players share a huge bath full of dirty water and sometimes several teams will use the same water (I know, it is hard to believe) :soapbox: . All kinds of pranks are played with soap and hot water (you really don't want to know, okay?) and, having sung loudly and shared all the mud they brought in from the field evenly between them, the players head for the bar.

Many clubs provide a pie and beans or pasty and beans style meal that oozes carbohydrate in a vain attempt to pre-empt and absorb the intake of beer that invariably follows. Drinking games abound including several that require participants to sing loudly and drink a pint of beer very quickly and then put the empty glass upside down on their head. After several of these games the players hand/eye/leg co-ordination often goes badly wrong... 'nuff said.

Field hockey is a game that makes me shudder. It is like rugby but everyone is armed with a hooked stick and metal studded boots. Very dangerous and not to be played by gentlefolk. LOL

Actually, British games all deserve more mention than they get just because they are so quirky. Sure, cricket can be boring but it gives you a chance to read the paper, snooze in the sun (you should always use a proper deckchair for this), do a crossword puzzle - anything but watch the game. IMHO, the best way to appreciate cricket is on the radio whilst you are fishing - the commentators are hilarious!

Now, about that barbecue sauce...

Edited October 15, 2008 by UKRay

[whinewine]

Ray: 'redd up' is a regional coloquialism for 'clean up'; 'warsh' is wash, 'youn'z' & the gramatically incorrect 'youse' are on a par with 'y'all'.

Boiled peanuts are mushy & I can't remember for the life of me whether or not the peanuts are boiled in the shell & you eat them, shell & all which by this time is as mushy as the peanut itself (I do think so)- it's been years since I ate them & I only ate them twice (which was really enough). The liquid by this time is also mushy & thick.