Kentucky claims South, but we natives would all concede it's both South and Midwest.
epi - I found the food in KY where I visited to be awful- too much mayo, too much macaroni and disgusting mushy barbeque that was sweet and flavorless. Careful, now. :) I know roughly in the state where you ate your KY meals, so I think I can appreciate pretty well your reaction. I grew up on KY food, and it spans a pretty broad spectrum, if one takes the time to really explore it. What you describe is certainly how one segment of the population prepares food. You can sample that type of KY food at "Golden Corral," if you need a refresher. :)
But, another larger slice that is dying out is quite a step above, delicious, flavorful, and special in its own right. There's a good bit of french influence, but it's mostly food that descended from African American cooks, some slaves sure, but some simply employees like those cherished folks I knew as a kid,Jesse and Elizabeth Foree, who worked for my grandparents.
Remind me to send you a copy of "The Farmington Cookbook."
Having lived with a New England born and bred woman for 45 years, and lived in NE for 40 now, I will conceded that KY food is super rich, loaded with butter, pork fat, always some sugar (for the same reason as salt is added), and I have a hard time eating much of it when I go back. But, it is anything but bland and tasteless, at least at the upper end of the spectrum where I was dining. :) |
