50 States Sandwich Challenge: Wisconsin

No surprises here as the state of self-proclaimed cheeseheads sandwich is the famed grilled cheese.  But did you know cheeseheads actually started as a Dutch insult kaaskop, literally meaning head cheese?  Well, that's what happened when Illinoisans started calling Wisconsinites particularly fans of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers.  I, for one, am shocked, because all I've ever known Illinois and Wisconsin to be is full of nice people.  Like, almost too nice, "why are you taking me around town in a bar crawl if we just met are you going to murder me?", nice. (True story.) But as the country's top cheese producer it makes sense that Wisconsin holds the grilled cheese torch here.  Sadly, the sandwich was not invented in Wisconsin or even America.  The idea of grilling bread and cheese has been around since the Roman Empire (which makes this our oldest sandwich).  In France, the Croque Monsieur was first on menus in 1910.  The grilled cheese as we know it today, however, was not produced until the invention of sliced bread in 1927 by Otto Frederick Rohwedder, and people were really pumped about it.  During the Great Depression, people began eating open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches as a cost-effective meal.  Over the years, the sandwich has evolved beyond just grilled bread and melted cheese but for the sake of nostalgia and respect for the original, I'll be keeping to just melted cheese for this one.  Should I have gone with Swiss cheese (actually invented in Wisconsin), yes, but yellow American is what I had in my fridge so that's what I used.  

 Ingredients:

White Bread

Cheese of choice

Butter

1. Butter two pieces of bread and a skillet on medium-low heat.  Place cheese on bread and then cook on a skillet until cheese is melted.

2. I have to be honest, I've made some complex things, but grilled cheese always gives me trouble and I think it's because it's just so boring.  Love the flavor of melted cheese and butter though.  

50 States Sandwich Challenge: West Virginia

 Biscuits may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of West Virginia.  After all, West Virginia was created as a protest against Southern Confederate rule.  We may have seen the biscuit sandwich already in Oregon, but it is West Virginia's Tudor's Biscuit World who claims to have invented the sandwich.  In this beautiful Morgantown hangover cure, sausage, egg, and cheese replace the fried chicken found in Oregon.  Interestingly, just like Oregon's Pine State Biscuits, Tudor's has their inspirational start from North Carolina (North Carolina could not be reached for comment).  For years, William and Mae Tudor would stop at a mom-and-pop shop near Mt. Airy, NC, on their way home to Greensboro from their West Virginia vacation.  After holding this tradition for nearly 20 years, William and Mae decided to get into the biscuit game themselves in 1975 when they approached Greensboro Pizza joint "Pizzaville" and suggested they may double their sales if they had a breakfast option.  When their idea took off, the Tudors decided to go off on their own rather than making "Pizzaville" money.  With the emergence of Bojangles in North Carolina in 1977, the Tudors moved to Charleston, West Virginia in 1980 to bring their biscuit recipe to the breakfast-deprived citizens of the Appalachia.  From there, Tudor's franchises took off with over 60 locations throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and (checks notes) Florida, all donning the famous yellow wrapping around their warm flaky biscuits.  

I recreated this entirely from pictures of these, and no I do not make homemade biscuits I have a full-time job. But also this is basically fast food.

Ingredients:

1 tube of the Grands biscuits 

1 package of frozen sausage patties

8 eggs

8 slices of American yellow cheese.

1. Make the tube of biscuits as instructed, 16 minutes in the oven, 350. 

2. Heat a skillet on medium heat, and cook your pre-cooked frozen sausage patty, around 6 minutes.

3. Fry one egg, and place cheese on top when done. 

4. Place sausage on the bottom biscuit half and then your egg and cheese on top.  Close biscuit with the top half. 

5.  This tasted a lot better than it should have. 

50 States Sandwich Challenge: Washington

 If you have never heard of a Banh mi, you are really missing out.  What is this strange-sounding sandwich, you ask? It is the product of French colonization in Vietnam, a war of American involvement you may have heard about, and the resulting wave of immigration to the Pacific Northwest.  A true global fusion of native Vietnamese cuisine combined with French condiments and bread turned into American excess.  The word banh mi means "bread," started showing up in Vietnamese literature as early as the 1830s, but really took off when the French introduced the baguette in the 1860s, the start of their imperialism in Vietnam.  Initially, the banh mi was more of a breakfast dish, typically ham and mayo spread on a baguette with pickled vegetables native to Vietnam such as cilantro, carrots, daikon.  It was not until after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, that the banh mi started to gain popularity in the United States, as Vietnamese refugees brought the popular street food with them to Northern California and eventually Washington state.  Le Van Ba and his sons are credited with popularizing the banh mi through their food trucks, Lee's Sandwiches, during the 1980s.  Inspired by other blue-collar American street food sandwiches such as the po'boy of New Orleans, Cuban sandwich of South Florida, and cheesesteak of Philadelphia, the banh mi absolutely belongs in the conversation at the top of the American sandwich cuisine.  Today, you will find the banh mi, a bit more filling, with generous meat portions stuffed with a wide assortment of pickled vegetables with popularity soaring.  As of 2017, banh mi is included in about 2% of all US restaurant sandwich menus, a fivefold increase from 2013.  Seriously, if you've never had one, go find one. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shredded carrots

3/4 cup thinly sliced Kirby cucumbers

1/2 cup shredded daikon radish

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup mayo

4 tablespoons chopped scallions

3 tablespoons siracha

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 cloves of chopped garlic

1 pound ground pork

2 tablespoons fish sauce (do not sleep on fish sauce it is a staple)

1/2 cup fresh basil

1 teaspoon sugar

Juice of 1/2 lime

Zest of 1 lime

One baguette

Fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced for serving 

1. To make the pickled vegetables: Toss together the carrots, cucumbers, daikon, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.  Do it overnight for maximum effort. 

2, In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, 1 tablespoon scallions, and 2 tablespoons of siracha.  Cover and set aside. 

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add remainder of scallions and garlic. Cook, stirring for one minute.  Add pork and cook breaking up with a fork until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes.  Stir in 1 tablespoon of sriracha and fish sauce, pepper, salt, and sugar.  Remove from heat and stir in the basil, lime zest, and lime juice.  Let cool 5 minutes, then add mayo mixture from step 2. 

4, Fill bread with pork mixture.  Press jalapeno into the pork.  Spoon pickled vegetables onto the sandwich.  

50 States Sandwich Challenge: Virginia

 Ah, Virginia.  The self-proclaimed place "for lovers" and my 2nd favorite state I've lived in (out of 2). I was a resident of the state of Virginia from 2012 until 2018 and not once did anyone ever suggest to me that I needed to try the ham.  Sure, you can find Virginia ham anywhere, but still, a little suspicious right off the bat. In fact, my first experience with authentic Virginia ham came after I moved back to New Jersey, when my friend, Herman, brought some to my place from Virginia.  Frankly, this sandwich is a little boring, as it's just Virginia ham on white bread, with a hilarious dash of adventure only the descendants of English colonists could muster, mayo spread on the white bread.  But back in the 1600s life was a lot harder and ham became a staple of colonial cuisine as cured meat lasts long and travels well.  The ham industry set down its roots in the town of Smithfield, Virginia; where hams remained one of the colony's most profitable export to the Old World, even after American independence.  Queen Victoria reportedly had a standing order for six Virginia hams a week and there's no doubt that the salty slices of meat are a delicious lunch option. Today, the Virginia ham business is still thriving as it remains one of the more popular lunch meats (and holiday meals) in the country.  Personally, I think you gotta live a little bit more, but a ham sandwich will always be a classic and hold a special little piece in my heart. 

Ingredients:

1lb Virginia ham 

White bread

Mayo

1. Spread mayo on both sides of your bread and then stack the heated ham onto your bread. 

2. Literally, that's it.  

50 States Sandwich Challenge: Vermont

How do you convince an incredibly health-conscious population like Vermont to eat a sandwich? By putting apple slices in it, of course.  That was the idea behind Jason Maroney's sandwich creation of the 90s in Sweetwater's, a popular Burlington bar.  Since its inception, the sandwich has been adopted and modified in countless recipes throughout New England.  In this version, ham is heated with Vermont's signature cheddar cheese, and the Vermonter's original ingredient, apple slices.  All on top of two slices of cinnamon raisin bread.  The flavors were fresh.  The flavors were sweet.  Is it healthy? You tell me.  

Ingredients:

1 loaf raisin bread

1lb sliced ham

1 8oz brick of sharp white Vermont cheddar cheese

2 apples

1. Toast your raisin bread. While your bread is toasting, heat the ham in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Place 3 slices of cheese on a slice of bread, then pile ham on top, with 2-3 apple slices.  

3. Heat your constructed sandwich on a buttered skillet over medium-low heat and let sit until the cheese melts a little. 

50 State Sandwich Challenge: Tennessee

 I've been looking forward to this one from the very beginning.  Hot chicken is one of my favorite meals let alone sandwiches and its become a national staple (with KFC making a terrible imitation) with the emergence of Nashville as a premiere American destination.  The world may have only recently learned about hot chicken, but this dish has been served in Nashville's African American communities for generations.  The current dish as its served today was introduced in the 1930s when Thorton Prince III came home late to an angry girlfriend who accused him of womanizing.  The next morning, as revenge, his girlfriend made him fried chicken for breakfast with extra pepper.  Thorton liked it so much that he decided to make his own recipe with his brothers and by 1935 opened his first BBQ Chicken Shake cafe.  He opened Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in 1945, which is still open today, operated by Thorton's great-niece, Andre Prince Jefferies.  There are dozens of hot chicken spots in Nashville, but if you're ever there I would highly recommend Prince's.  

Ingredients:

I used chicken thighs because they are the best 

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup pickle brine 

2 tablespoons hot sauce

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 tea spoon paprika

1/2 tea spoon garlic powder

1/2 tea spoon salt and pepper

1 cup vegetable oil 

White bread

1. Toss chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon of salt, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 

2. Whisk buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together in a mixing bowl. Pour marinade over the chicken, cover and let marinate for 2-4 hours. 

3. Mix the flour together with salt (I put extra cayenne here) in a shallow dish.  Toss chicken in flour until thoroughly coated. Return chicken to marinade, coating all sides; remove chicken from marinade allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Coat the chicken once again in flour mixture. Place on a rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Allow to sit out about 15 minutes to allow coating to dry out a bit.

4. Place butter in a large pot. Add cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until fats melt. Remove from heat; keep sauce warm.

5. Fill cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Carefully place chicken into hot oil, skin side down. Maintain an oil temperature of 325 degrees F, adjusting heat as need. Fry until instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

6. Transfer chicken to a rack to drain. Brush with the sauce on both sides.

7. Serve chicken pieces on white bread and brush with more sauce.  Serve with pickles. 

50 States Sandwich Challenge: South Dakota

Of all of the sandwiches on this list, this one might be the most "American" of them all.  Hot roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy slathered on top, it is, of course, the Hot Beef Sandwich.  Not much is known about the origin of this dinner on white bread concoction, but what people do know is that South Dakotans love it.  The most notable location to get one of these sandwich monstrosities is a roadside attraction called Wall Drug in the town of Wall, South Dakota, adjacent to Badlands National Park.  It's a sprawling tourist attraction that draws almost 2 million annual visitors (incredible) and consists of a collection of cowboy-themed stores, an art gallery, and an 80-foot brontosaurus sculpture.  The place literally screams tourist trap at you from the hundreds of billboards placed on I-90 from Minnesota to Montana, touting free water cups to weary travelers presumably trying to get to Mount Rushmore, or back to Chicago and civilization.  The best place to get a Hot Beef? According to locals, it's Phillips Avenue Diner in Sioux Falls.  Will I ever be there? Who knows! But this sandwich was pretty good, for the simple ingredients and mess that it can (potentially, if you eat like an animal) make.  

Ingredients (Wall Drug Version)

A chuck roast, mine was 2.5 pounds 

1 Cup beef broth

Instant mashed potatoes

Brown gravy packet

White bread

1. Season your roast with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powders because you are cultured.  Place in a crockpot with 1 cup of beef broth and cook on low for 6 hours.

2. After 6 hours let your roast rest, while waiting cook your instant mashed potatoes and instant brown gravy in separate saucepans. 

3. Take the roast and put it on a slice of white bread, spoon some mashed potatoes and gravy over it.  Now decision time, you can keep it open-faced or stick another slice of white bread on top and eat it like a sandwich.  Its your life! 

50 States Sandwich Challenge: Rhode Island

It's going to be really hard not to make inappropriate jokes throughout this blog but here goes nothing.  The hot wiener is firmly planted in Rhode Island's culinary psyche.  Now you might be thinking, why not just call this a hot dog? Well, that's because hot dogs are typically very processed, whereas hot wieners are made with beef, pork, veal, spices, and one preservative, AND always have a natural casing.  The buns must come from Homestead Baking Company of East Providence, which makes sweeter buns than your typical hot dog roll.  And there's always homemade mustard, meat sauce, and fresh white onions sprinkled on top.  Now that that's out of the way let's get into how this got to Providence.  Greek immigrants began coming to New York in the early 1900s settling mostly in Coney Island but within one generation began to leave Brooklyn for the sunny shores of Providence, Rhode Island.  Why? I have no idea.  Not to insult Rhode Island in their own blog but they are the Delaware of New England (Connecticut is the Maryland of New England and neither statement is a compliment from me).  And while there's plenty to love about New England, you aren't exactly getting closer to a Mediterranean climate by moving more north of New York, but I digress.  As the story goes, Augustus Pappas and his son Ernie opened the Original New York System on Smith Street in Providence in 1927.  Since then hundreds of wienie joints have opened across the city but no matter where you go to get one getting them "all the way" is always the same: steamed bun, wienie, mustard, meat sauce, onion, celery salt. Served the same way for over 90 years, you can't beat it.  

Ingredients:

Pack of wienies

One onion

1lb ground beef

Mustard

Hot Dog buns 

1. In a large skillet heat butter over medium heat.  Add onion; cook and stir 3-4 minutes.  Stir in Worcestershire sauce, paprika, chili powder, ground mustard, ground cinnamon, allspice. Add beef; cook 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles.  Stir in water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.

2. In a grill pan, cook hot dogs over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned turning occasionally.  Serve in buns with meat sauce and yellow mustard.