[Robert]

Check out smurfe's pictures on page one.

Now why'd you make me go back there and look at the crawfish, knowing they're out of season! 

My 3.5 yr old and 1.5 year old  went nuts over them. We couldn't peel ours fast enough to keep them happy. Mama and me barely got to enjoy them. Next time around, I'm doing multiple batches, one mild for the boys and while the adults batch is cooking, we'll pre-peel the kids crabs so we can focus on ours.

[capozzoli]

I changed the title of the thread because I am just as fascinated with all the different local specialties all around the US.

Chicago style hot dogs.

Philly Cheese Steaks.

Ludafisk. Oh man what is that all about?

Calamari Steaks of coastal California. Man, I would love to have one of those again.

Wanna make a good Philly cheese steak?  Get the butcher to throw some chuck or sirloin on a deli slicer or something. Get it sliced thin.

Then heat up a pan or griddle med high heat. A little oil then throw in some diced onions and fry them golden brown Then the  slices of beef saute till starting to brown and crisp around the edges add salt and pepper. Turn the heat on low and divide the meat into portions for the rolls. Then put slices of American cheese on top of the meat (some use cheese wiz, blah). Sprinkle in a little water and cover. The steam will melt the cheese nicely. 

Then take some french bread or long sandwich rolls. We call them hoagie rolls. Brush them with a little oil and maybe some chopped garlic and toast under the broiler for a few seconds till a little crispy and brown.

Then put the roll on top of the meat and reach under it with a spatula. Flip it over and plate. Sprinkle with a little oregano. This is a Philly cheese steak sandwich.

I like a Cheese steak hoagie. That is the above topped with thin sliced onions, lettuce and tomatoes. 

Another really good variation is a pizza steak. With this one add some fried mudrooms (or other pizza topping) to the mix when you fry the meat. Then add tomato sauce and mix around after you turn the heat down. This time turn the meat onto the roll with out the cheese. Then put it on an oven pan and top with slices of mozzarella cheese. then put back under the broiler and lett the cheese melt an bubble like a pizza.

Oh yeah!

[euge]

Stop you're making me hungry and I just lost 4 pounds...

[bluesman]

The famous Philly Cheesesteak is one of my favorite foods and it goes great with a German Lager.
I make them pretty regularly using variations like beef, chicken, mushrooms, onions, peppers and  garlic. 
I am not a big fan of lettuce and tomato but I like a bit of ketchup on them.

I think the thread name change to "Ethnic and Regional Cooking" was a great idea. 
I think this will definitely generate even more interest.

[Robert]

Nice new name. I'd like to add brisket tacos to the regional thing. I've seen them popping up at almost every tex-mex joint around. To make mine, I trim the fat cap and cube into large cubes so the whole brisket will fit in a large pot. Cover with water, add garlic, an assortment of dried peppers (I'm a huge fan of ancho, guajilla and pasilla combo) salt, pepper and onions and let simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove meat, shred and place on large baking pan and place under broiler to brown a bit and crisp up some of the edges. I like to top with fresh pico de gallo on top of corn tortillas. I've been meaning to buy a bucket of lard to give this a bit of a carnitas spin to it, rather than using water, using the lard.

Another similar dish is barbacoa. Just got back from San Antonio and some of the best real barbacoa in a long time. The stuff up here in Dallas is just seasoned shredded beef, but it doesn't hold a torch to some real cow head.

[bobburchler]

If you don't already do so, make your own tortillas. There's no comparison between them and the manufactured ones. A little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, they only take a few minutes to make.

[narvin]

crab  boils are awesome, don't know if they are ethnic either. still good though.

That is a beautiful sight.  I love blue crabs.  I used to go crabbing throughout the summer when I was younger.  I really miss it.  Crabbing is alot of fun and very rewarding.  Do you use beer to steam them?

Steam them with flat beer, vinegar, and liberal amounts of Old Bay!

[andrew]

[/quote]
That is a beautiful sight.  I love blue crabs.  I used to go crabbing throughout the summer when I was younger.  I really miss it.  Crabbing is alot of fun and very rewarding.  Do you use beer to steam them?
[/quote]

No, that would have been alot of beer! We caught 12 dozen in 2 hours. We just boiled them in zatarain's crab boil.

Yeah, I went alot when I was young too. Crawfished in the spring and early summer and crabbed in the summer and early fall. Don't get to do that much any more now that I live in South FL and not in LA. My 2yr old enjoyed it too, but he caught more moss than anything with an occasional crab. Good thing he was a little afraid of'em though, those things can put the hurt to you.

[bluesman]

What's the difference if any between the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab and a Louisiana Blue Crab?

[andrew]

What's the difference if any between the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab and a Louisiana Blue Crab?

I don't really think there is a difference, except for the obvious of where they are caught. They look and taste the same.

[capozzoli]

I saw some real nice crab

They were giants, 6 pointers. $56 a dozen.  

I can remember getting a bushel of 6s for $40 6 or 8 years ago. WTF.

I make a great crab bisque its easy. Make an old bay crab stock with the crabs, celery and onion, tomatoes. Make a flour roux and blend it into the stock add some heavy cream, sherry and paprika. Only need two or three of the smaller crabs and a pound of jumbo lump. Something to do if you only have a few crabs.

You can add flounder at the very end instead of jumbo lump. Tastes almost the same once it cooks in the crab stock.

[beerocd]

I can remember getting a bushel of 6s for $40 6 or 8 years ago. WTF.

You're OLD. 

[tschmidlin]

The Vietnamese engineer who works for me says something that sounds like "fuh" and insists that you're a dummy for saying anything else and don't you try and test her.

It's pronounced "fuh" around here too.  These places are all over the place, Yelp comes back with 373 when I search for pho in Seattle ,there's 10 places within a few blocks of where I work.  Crazy.

Best name ever though - Pho King
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-king-federal-way
I've never been there but I'd suggest the Pho King beef, although the Pho King chicken is probably quite good too.

[euge]

Wall of offal and parts:









My local supermarket. It's close to the weekend when this stuff gets cooked. There's other stuff too. This section is larger than the main case of beef and pork. Certainly outweighs it!

[nicneufeld]

Hell's bells!  Those are some interesting miscellany.  I saw tripa, is it a Latin market? 

The local Chinese/SE Asian grocery has things I wouldn't be able to identify.  I actually find myself averting my eyes when walking past the freezer section.  I'd rather just not know.