AMERICAN CUISINE

Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about

NEBRASKA

A significant population of Germans from Russia settled in Nebraska, leading to one of the state's most iconic dishes, the Runza sandwich. Large numbers of Czech immigrants, particularly to southeastern Nebraska, influenced the culture and cuisine of the area. Wilber, Nebraska is the self-designated "Czech Capital of the U.S.A." and celebrates an annual "Czech Days" festival at which Czech food, such as kolaches, roast duck, and pork and dumplings, is served. In 2015, Nebraska resettled the largest number of refugees per capita in the United States and Lincoln, Nebraska has been a significant resettlement location for refugees since the 1980s, particularly Vietnamese-Americans.A large Vietnamese-American population in Lincoln has created Vietnamese markets—which sell ingredients, such as fresh persimmon, not typically found in Midwestern grocery store chains—and Vietnamese restaurants which sell cuisine such as pho and Bánh mì.

Nebraska is also known as the "Cornhusker State" in reference to the abundance of corn grown in the state. Corn is a common fixture of late-summer and autumnal meals in Nebraska in dishes such as corn souffle, corn chowder, cornbread, and corn on the cob. Early pioneers relied heavily on corn and cornmeal in everything from breads, (cornbread, corn mush rolls); to soups, (corn soup, Indian meal mush); and desserts, (green corn pudding, popcorn pudding, sweet corn cake)

Sweet Corn Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the Mexican corn flour and water and beat until well mixed.

Using a food processor, process thawed corn, but leave chunky. Stir into the butter mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8x8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9x13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the way with water.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F (175 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pan.

And as always have a chilled day from the viking.