Heartland Favorites

     It would appear that the folks at Food Network Magazine have been reading my web site.  In the most recent edition there is an article entitled, "Made in the Midwest" that echoes the theme I have been posting on the cuisine of the Heartland.  There's even going to be a new program on the Food Network premiering September 14th called Heartland Table.

     The show will be hosted by Amy Theilen, author of The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes.  She is quoted in the magazine article, saying, "Most Midwesterners share a no-nonsense approach to their food:  It's rustic, gutsy, simple and generous."  Her contention is that Midwestern food is a lot more interesting than steaks and pot roasts.  It is also creative and resourceful. 

     Take for example the bierock.  Also known as a runza, fleischkuche or kraut pirok, it is a meat filled pocket pastry baked in various shapes, determined as much by geography as by ethnicity.  It can look like a half moon, rectangle, a round bun, a triangle or a square.  And it can be filled with beef or pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and various seasonings.

     Originating in Russia in the 1800s the recipe made its way to Germany and eventually to the United States primarily by German Russian Mennonite immigrants.  The yeast dough bread pocket was baked and then carried by field workers to be eaten during their noontime lunch break.  Sometimes to avoid confusion the bierock would be initialed so each worker would know which one was theirs.

     Today the bierock can be found in the Americas from Argentina to Saskatchewan and in the Heartland in the Dakotas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska.