Inspired by Ohio

THE MEAL

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After the last several state-inspired meals featured either sandwiches or soups, it was refreshing to make something entirely different!

PIEROGI

While pierogi are best-known as a Polish food, and were likely brought to Europe from Asia all the way back in the Middle Ages, pierogi have been a staple of the Cleveland, Ohio, area since the 1920s, when Eastern European immigrants moved to the area. There are hundreds of pierogi restaurants in the Cleveland area today, and it’s a huge tourism draw.

I know I’ve had pierogi before, but I think only once, in college. I had definitely never made them before—I’d never made any kind of dumpling from scratch before! I was really intimidated, but it turned out to be so much easier than I expected. The ingredients were simple, and the dumpling dough was so silky and nice to work with. I’ve never had great success shaping pie crusts and things, but this dough recipe was awesome.

There are many varieties and flavors, but mashed potatoes is pretty traditional, so I went with that. I made way too much mashed potatoes and had a lot left over—I thought a teaspoon of filling would be way too small, but it was plenty for these bite-size dumplings!

They turned out really delicious, but they were very starchy, and I found myself wanting some kind of protein for this meal. I probably wouldn’t make pierogi again just for myself either. While they were easy and used basic ingredients, they were very time-consuming, so making just a small plate for myself didn’t seem worth it. It would be a great, impressive meal for a crowd, though! I can definitely see how they caught on in Europe and the Midwest!

HOMEMADE TOMATO JUICE

Ohio named tomato juice its official state beverage in 1965, when Ohio was one of the leading producers of tomatoes in the United States. They’ve had a proud history of tomato-growing since the mid-1800s, when Alexander Livingston carefully bred tomatoes to make them more appealing and commercially viable. Aztecs and Incans had cultivated long before that, and they’d caught on in the Mediterranean, but before Alexander Livingston came along, American colonists found them so unpleasant that they were widely considered poisonous!

I’ve probably mentioned before that I don’t like cooked tomatoes. I could eat them raw all day, especially if they’re home-grown. But something about the taste and texture of cooked tomatoes makes me gag. I do like tomato sauce and tomato soup, and I’ve happily drank tomato juice before. But making it from scratch proved to be too much for me.

Don’t get me wrong, it was much easier than I thought. You just boil some chopped tomatoes to soften them, strain it, then boil the juice again, and you’re done! For some reason, I thought there would be more to it than that, but nope! Anyway, if you handed me a glass of tomato juice, I’d probably be fine drinking it. But making it myself made it hard for me to enjoy, seeing and smelling and tasting that it was just pure liquified cooked tomatoes.

But if you love cooked tomatoes and tomato juice, then making your own tomato juice is super easy!

BUCKEYES

Ohio is nicknamed “The Buckeye State” because of all the buckeye trees that grow in the Ohio River Valley. It’s said to be good luck to carry a buckeye in your pocket, and the Ohio State football fans are avid collectors.

These nuts have a special place in my heart because my sister and I once collected them when staying with our grandparents, and our grandpa drilled holes through them so that our grandma helped us make them into necklaces. It was a great childhood memory.

Anyway, these little candies were originally made to be sold to Ohio State “Buckeye” fans, and they were a big hit, understandably. On top of representing the state and football mascot, they’re cute, easily portable, and a delicious combo of peanut butter and chocolate! Now, Ohioans eat more than 6 million pounds of buckeyes each year!!

I loved everything about them. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations. The peanut butter base tasted like Reese’s peanut butter but much creamier and fluffier. Dipping the chocolate was trickier than I expected, but I did okay, I think. Overall, they were easy to make and turned out so cute! I’d love to make these for some kind of fall harvest party or something.

So how do you think I did? Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions for improvement, and be sure to tune in next time for my take on a meal inspired by Michigan! If that’s where you’re from, what do you think I should make to represent your state? Bonus points if you have reliable recipes or pro tips before I make the attempt! Thank you for reading!