Food, Glorious Food

I promised a column of "Ohio Recipes" and this is it. First, an introduction (or more accurately, a list of excuses) is due before we go on. It seems so many of those funny "Ohio" foods I grew up with don't have Ohio-only roots.

For example, the Hillbilly Cheeseburger (a thick slice of fried bologna, with a slab o' cheddar cheese) is as native to Texas as it is to Ohio. My grandma's Ham Loaf apparently came from Kentucky (well, that's fair; she did too). Of course, I didn't come up empty-handed. In fact, I learned a whole lot about food preparation in Ohio, and found some dandy websites for more information. Most of the links (below) offer recipes, and I encourage you to nose about to see what you can find. For the most part, these sites offer ideas for using Ohio-grown and processed foods. From apples and maple syrup to soybeans and squirrel meat, you'll find something to make dinner distinctly Ohio.

Finally, you'll find the sweetest of Ohio concoctions, the recipe for Buckeyes, at the bottom of the page. If anyone reading this knows for a fact that Buckeyes did NOT originate in Ohio, please don't tell me; I don't want to know.

SAFETY FIRST--Ohio Food safety notices and recalls
A listing of current (and previous) food product recall announcements is online at http://www.odh.state.oh.us/Alerts/Food/f... The Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Agriculture jointly provide this information.

Ohio.com Food Pages
Featuring Akron-Beacon Journal columnist Jane Snow. There are an active recipe exchange section and a terrific archive of articles, but my favorite part is section called "Desperation Dinners." Find it all at http://www.ohio.com/food/

Wild Women and their Fresh Catches of the Day
Here's a site full of squirrel and venison recipes, plus solid advice on preparing Ohio-caught fish. It's easy to make fun of squirrel stew, but don't knock it till you've tried it! Ditto for deer. The best chili I ever had was a venison recipe. I went back for a second bowl, but the pot was empty. Not coincidentally, it took home the blue ribbon in the chili cookoff that day, too. Visit http://www.ohiooutdoors-woman.org/recipe...

Three words: Maple Baked Brie
The Ohio Maple growers would like us to pour their syrup over everything, and darn it, they make a good case for it. Besides the Brie (oh, man...) I also like the recipe for Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash, not just because it's good, but also because it's so-ooooooo easy. How easy? 15-minutes and 4 ingredients easy. Find that, the Brie, and baskets full o' gift items at http://www.ohiomaple.com/recipes/default... If you need more incentive to visit, here: If you submit a maple recipe, and they post it on their website, they'll send you free maple syrup. That's what I call sweetening the pot.

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