Foods That Are Native to New England

[scordelia]

I believe that it was Woodman's in Gloucester, Mass. So says just about everyone round these parts, including my grandfather (no longer with us), who fished cod out of Gloucester for forty years from a berth down the street. (Oops -- I see that Holly already said this. Sorry....)

Woodman's is in Essex, and they do claim to have invented the fried clam, but the best thing on the menu is the fried lobster!

I have eaten fried clams all over New England, and the best ones are at the Thirsty Whale in Bar Harbor, ME.

[Jason Perlow]

How about Autocrat Coffee Syrup?

That thought occurred to me as well, but I wasn't really sure it was just a NE thing.

I was never much of a 'user', but those advertisements were ubiquitous (like Bosco) in my more formative years. My parents were of the volition that coffee was just not for kids so the only times I had it was at the homes of my friends with more liberal thinking parents. I did like a good 'coffee milk' at those haunts, though. There was a bird version of Mr. Peanut in the adds, wasn't there?

←

"Coffee Milk" and Autocrat (and the other 1 or 2 brands that are just like it) are totally New England. Official beverage of Rhode Island, in fact.

http://www.autocrat.com

[Jason Perlow]

And what about the Steamed Cheeseburger?

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30455

[ludja]

I think baked stuffed lobster is probably a native new england dish. When it's split and filled with buttery crumbs and chunks of seafood, either crab, scallops, shrimp, or just more lobster....

It's about time for me to have one soon.

:)

←

Yes--baked, stuffed lobster or shrimp. In Central CT anyway, this is getting more difficult to get in restaurants Growing up we made this at home and I still make the shrimps (harder to get lobster out here).

The recipe we have used for years was procurred from a local restaurant. No competing seafood in the stuffing... it is incredibly simple and delicious and is one of my favorite recipes for lobster or shrimp.

Stuffing: Dry bread crumbs, chopped medium walnuts, lemon juice, melted butter and tomalley and mashed coral (for lobster), parsley if you like and salt and pepper. Pour a little more melted butter over stuffing before baking.

[pam claughton]

I think baked stuffed lobster is probably a native new england dish. When it's split and filled with buttery crumbs and chunks of seafood, either crab, scallops, shrimp, or just more lobster....

It's about time for me to have one soon.

:)

←

Yes--baked, stuffed lobster or shrimp. In Central CT anyway, this is getting more difficult to get in restaurants Growing up we made this at home and I still make the shrimps (harder to get lobster out here).

The recipe we have used for years was procurred from a local restaurant. No competing seafood in the stuffing... it is incredibly simple and delicious and is one of my favorite recipes for lobster or shrimp.

Stuffing: Dry bread crumbs, chopped medium walnuts, lemon juice, melted butter and tomalley and mashed coral (for lobster), parsley if you like and salt and pepper. Pour a little more melted butter over stuffing before baking.

←

This stuffing is so good with walnuts. Your version sounds wonderful.

[WHS]

How can we forget Tuna Wiggle?

[Chris Amirault]

Clam Fritters.

←

They're called clam cakes in Lil Rhody, to be served with chowder. (New England clam, of course, not that appalling red slop known as Manhattan clam. Yeesh.) Chewy bits of quahog in a deep fried flour batter. Like hushpuppies, they serve primarily to transport fried crust into your mouth; the clam bits are an excuse.

[hjshorter]

Family from Dedham MA, moved to Hopkinton in the 50's. Most of our family favorites have been mentioned, but here's my list:

Anadama bread

applejack cookies (my recipe is from the Sturbridge Village cookbook)

boiled dinner

cranberry bread

harvard beets

baked beans with salt pork

brown bread (I actually have a mold for this)

corn chowder

clam chowder

oyster stew

cod cakes

and from my childhood - dinner at Ken's in Framingham

[Chris Amirault]

applejack cookies (my recipe is from the Sturbridge Village cookbook)

←

Heather, is that the little green booklet? My mom has been baking cookies from that for decades. The molasses cookies in that booklet are to die for....

[ludja]

Another New England cookie (Marblehead, MA): Joe Froggers

Stories say there was a guy named Joe who lived next to a frog pond in Marblehead and made great, chewy molasses cookies. He modified the recipe one day after receiving a jug a rum and included it in the recipe when he made some for the people who gave him the rum. The recipe then became popular around town and its use spread. (I've heard this story before, but also just ran across it in King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

[ErinB]

I have a vague memory of a show on the Food Network that said the cheeseburger originated in New Haven, CT. Can anyone verify that?

[Holly Moore]

Louis Lunch just off the Yale campus in New Haven is credited by some to have invented the Hamburger back in 1895 when they first opened. The use a unique cooking process - a vertical broiler.

A great hamburger.

[hjshorter]

applejack cookies (my recipe is from the Sturbridge Village cookbook)

←

Heather, is that the little green booklet? My mom has been baking cookies from that for decades. The molasses cookies in that booklet are to die for....

←

The very same. I've tried their molasses cookies and prefer the recipe for Molasses Crinkles from the Fannie Farmer cookbook (1965 printing, it's not in later editions). It's an incredible cookie and takes me right back to my childhood.

That's another New England thing - relying on Fannie Farmer instead of Joy of Cooking.

[Chantilly Bob]

Clam Fritters.

←

They're called clam cakes in Lil Rhody, to be served with chowder. (New England clam, of course, not that appalling red slop known as Manhattan clam. Yeesh.) Chewy bits of quahog in a deep fried flour batter. Like hushpuppies, they serve primarily to transport fried crust into your mouth; the clam bits are an excuse.

←

Conch fritters down in Florida are very similar. Same rubbery texture, same bits of protein to provide that oh-so-thin veneer of respectability. YUM!

[Chantilly Bob]

Here's a few more RI favorites no one has mentioned yet:

Snail salad -- definitely an acquired taste. I just realized that like conch fritters resemble clamcakes, conch salad is very close to snail salad -- both require lots of chewing.

Grapenut custard pudding -- one of my all-time favorite desserts. Just what the name implies: custard with a layer of grape-nuts baked on the bottom.

Frozen lemonade -- the best thirst quencher on the planet. Del's is the best known purveyor, but there are plenty of others. Beaten out by coffee milk for title of RI's offical state drink.

Pizza strips -- these can be found at Italian bakeries and convenience store all over the state. The name is sort of a reach. Pizza strips usually consist of dough with a thin coating of reddish-orange grease on top. The better versions will have some actual tomato sauce. Almost always eaten cold. When I was a kid you could get a pizza strip for around 7 cents.

Stanleyburgers -- One of Central Falls' two culinary claims to fame, the other being that it's chef Wiley Dufresne's hometown.

Saugys -- beloved local hot dog variety, made by A. Saugy & Co.

[Jason Perlow]

Louis Lunch just off the Yale campus in New Haven is credited by some to have invented the Hamburger back in 1895 when they first opened.  The use a unique cooking process - a vertical broiler.

A great hamburger.

←

We have a thread on it here as well, I took some photos a while back:

Louis Lunch -- A Tasty Oddity (with pictures)

[HungryChris]

Fried Bluefish cheeks!

To those of you who have had them, you know how unforgetably good they are. I can't believe Bluefish cheeks haven't become the Kobe Beef of the sea rather than the lobster bait they've been relegated to so far.

Cheers,

HC

Edited May 2, 2005 by HungryChris (log)

[slbunge]

Fried Bluefish cheeks!

To those of you who have had them, you know  how unforgetably good they are. I can't believe Bluefish cheeks haven't become the Kobe Beef of the sea rather than the lobster bait they've been relegated to so far.

Cheers,

HC

←

Please recommend a location to get these. Is it sort of a fish-shack thing or something at 'nice' restaurants. I have not seen them but I'm fascinated.

I love the strong flavor of bluefish and love fried halibut cheeks. So, combine the two and I'd likely be hooked (sorry, bad pun).

[Fred]

continuing the Blue Fish theme. I love smoked Blue Fish, great stuff.

[HungryChris]

Please recommend a location to get these.  Is it sort of a fish-shack thing or something at 'nice' restaurants.  I have not seen them but I'm fascinated. 

I love the strong flavor of bluefish and love fried halibut cheeks.  So, combine the two and I'd likely be hooked (sorry, bad pun).

←

Seahorse restaurant in Noank, CT used to have a Bluefish cheek dinner that was just great, but AFAIK they no longer do. I worked one summer at the fish market that supplied the cheeks to the seahorse so I got to see how they are removed.

Because it takes 5 or 6 good sized fish to amount to more than an appitizer what you really need is a place that processes a lot of them. Most fish markets in this area simply don't sell that much. I get them on a hit or miss basis from friends who do a lot of fishing and at annual bluefish nights at the Elks, but even then it's a secret handshake to get into the kitchen thing. Wish I could be more help.

Cheers,

HC

[johnnyd]

Stopped by Harbor Fish and there were lots of Bluefish. Seems they are from Virginia area. I asked about cheeks because of this thread and my pal there said there was no call for it now, if ever, to his knowledge. Maybe this summer when the run hard in Casco Bay I'll bring it up again.

[HungryChris]

Stopped by Harbor Fish and there were lots of Bluefish.  Seems they are from Virginia area.  I asked about cheeks because of this thread and my pal there said there was no call for it now, if ever, to his knowledge.  Maybe this summer when the run hard in Casco Bay I'll bring it up again.

←

johnnyd,

I hope you do get a chance to try them, cause they are killer and with a properly developed market, I think could easily command over $10 a pound. There are folks like myself that would gladly pay that now for a dependable, good quality supply.

Cheers,

HC

Edited May 6, 2005 by HungryChris (log)

[LindaK]

Fried Bluefish cheeks!

Fresh bluefish is wonderful! Please provide more info...

I've done some fishing off Cape Cod and in season have caught plenty of bluefish--and apparently I've tossed this delicacy. Bluefish on its own is sadly not a standard on restaurant menus so I've been happy to get people to eat it at all.

[johnnyd]

Fried Bluefish cheeks!

Fresh bluefish is wonderful! Please provide more info...

I've done some fishing off Cape Cod and in season have caught plenty of bluefish--and apparently I've tossed this delicacy. Bluefish on its own is sadly not a standard on restaurant menus so I've been happy to get people to eat it at all.

←

The deal with Bluefish is that the decay rate is faster than anything else. Thats why you see it for $3.99/lb or even less. The best Bluefish is the one you caught yourself.

To get enough cheeks for a specials run, you need a shitload, say 5lbs for 20 dishes at an 8oz yield each. Now how many Bluefish will it take to get those cheeks? Do that math!

If you market it like a once-a-year type deal ("The Bluefish are running! "The Bluefish are running!), the buzz might make it worthwhile... you could charge a fortune for two weeks... Hey it's a Native New England thing!

[HungryChris]

Fresh bluefish is wonderful! Please provide more info...

I've done some fishing off Cape Cod and in season have caught plenty of bluefish--and apparently I've tossed this delicacy.  Bluefish on its own is sadly not a standard on restaurant menus so I've been happy to get people to eat it at all.

←

I was once one of those who was not fond of Bluefish because folks would give my dad a fresh one and it would stay wrapped in aluminium foil in the freezer for months. When my mom did get to cook it it was .....well.... cooked bait is all that comes to mind. I caught one myself in Stonington Harbor (CT) one April night and was so hungry by the time I got home, it ended up under the broiler. I was just plain blown away with how good it tasted and I got my mind right after that!

As I recall, the cheeks are harvested with a sharp paring knife. Use your index finger to locate the cheek muscle under the eye and cut in a circular pattern around the muscle about three quarters of the way around. Then the whole muscle is removed from the cheek of the fish and peeled from the skin that was covering it (this makes kind of a tearing paper sound). What you end up with is a kind of conical sea scollop looking piece of flesh which when dregded in seasoned flour and deep fried until it floats will change your life!

Cheers,

HC

Edited May 7, 2005 by HungryChris (log)