Regional foods, cultural foods.

[Menolly]

SBG, years ago country singer Kenny Rogers had a chain of rotisserie chicken restuarants. They closed years ago here in Florida; I have no idea if they are still thriving in other areas of the country or not.

Be that as it may, one of the side dishes they served was a squash casserole that I loved. I have never had anything like it anywhere else, and the recipes for squash casserole I have found and tried don't come close.

Am I going to strike gold in the possibility that you may have eaten at a Kenny Roger's Roasters in the past, and know what the squash casserole I am talking about is like? If so, would you have a recipe for it? It was not at all like the squash that is occasionally served at Boston Market, and I suspect it was made with a winter squash, such as butternut, rather than yellow crookneck summer squash. IIRC, it had a sweet bread crumble sprinkled over the top.

*desperately hoping that perhaps I have found a southern boy who knows of what I speak*

[Sunbaneglasses]

There was one about 50 miles away in Birmingham but I never dined there. Was it like sweet potato casserole? If so you could probably just wing a good version.

[Menolly]

The only sweet potato casseroles I've had are the ones at Thanksgiving with marshmallows on top. This was not like that. But, it may be a starting place.

Thanks SBG.

[stonemaybe]

OK I have no idea what a gyro is, but I'll try and tell the story of the kebab. (and I am going to have to try and find a link to a very funny sketch show sketch that was on telly last night by omid djalili, the kebab shop musical)

First of all, you HAVE to drink lots of these. You CANNOT eat kebab sober.



Then you find a kebab shop (not hard) and it'll have one of these



Next, if you're lucky (and depending on the experience of the kebab guy), he'll get a BIG knife and carve long slices off as it rotates (Is you get an inexperienced one he'll have an electric circle-saw thing to carve it). If you're not lucky, or your timing isn't right (ie if you've arrived just before the big after-pub rush), they'll open a hot plate thing and use pre-sliced 'meat'.
Anyway, the slices of 'meat' are stuffed into a pitta pocket til it's overflowing, you get the choice of salad (chopped lettuce) and either garlic or chilli sauce or both. Some places'll have chillis on offer as well.
The idea is to have so much stuff and so much sauce that the pitta dissolves as soon as you step out of the shop, and you have to try to get as much chilli sauce on your clothes as possible while staggering home. If you're lucky, 50% of what you've bought will be consumed, the rest will adorn your clothes or the footpath.

[Menolly]

Stoney, your second picture didn't work.

A gyro or souvlaki is a Greek sandwich, made in a pita that is left whole and wrapped around the fillings as shown in Damelon's picture.

The gyro uses pressed beef and/or lamb cooked on a rotisserie like this:



The souvlaki uses chunks of either grilled lamb or pork.

Both are put on a whole flat pita, covered with tomato, onion, and sometimes lettuce, and then covered with tzatziki sauce. The option of chili sauce is fascinating, if we mean the same thing as in a red highly seasoned sauce.

Then as said before, the whole pita is wrapped around the filling, so it looks like this:



So similar, yet different at the same time. I think you would enjoy a gyro or souvlaki if you should ever come across one.

[stonemaybe]

Stoney, your second picture didn't work.

A gyro or souvlaki is a Greek sandwich, made in a pita that is left whole and wrapped around the fillings as shown in Damelon's picture.

The gyro uses pressed beef and/or lamb cooked on a rotisserie like this:



The souvlaki uses chunks of either grilled lamb or pork.

Both are put on a whole flat pita, covered with tomato, onion, and sometimes lettuce, and then covered with tzatziki sauce. The option of chili sauce is fascinating, if we mean the same thing as in a red highly seasoned sauce.

Then as said before, the whole pita is wrapped around the filling, so it looks like this:



So similar, yet different at the same time. I think you would enjoy a gyro or souvlaki if you should ever come across one.

Hmm, my 2nd pic is working for me!

Yours does look nice, I have to admit, although a little too 'wholesome' perhaps! Chilli sauce is as you say - the kabab shop stuff is of the extremely spicey hot variety!

I wonder how much of the difference is due to the original Greek/Turk differences, and how much is due to their adapting their dish for the US/UK consumer?
(Kebab shops here are normally Turkish owned, though my fave is Iranian)

[Menolly]

Hmm, my 2nd pic is working for me!

Really? All I am getting is a little pink rectangular icon that says "gallery.hd.com"

Yours does look nice, I have to admit, although a little too 'wholesome' perhaps! Chilli sauce is as you say - the kabab shop stuff is of the extremely spicey hot variety!

I wonder how much of the difference is due to the original Greek/Turk differences, and how much is due to their adapting their dish for the US/UK consumer?
(Kebab shops here are normally Turkish owned, though my fave is Iranian)

It could be, or it could be the amount of food Americans expect from a restaurant. Is the pita cut exactly in half and then filled? Or would you say only a third or a quarter is cut off? I bet layering the ingredients on a flat pita allows more food to be put in it than in a pita that's been cut exactly in half.

[Avatar]

Kebabs are indeed turkish. Here, we call kebabs schwarma's. Only a thin slice is cut off the pita pocket...or preferably not cut off at all, it's merely torn open, then stuffed. You can stuff it with anything. I like lamb best myself, and light on the salad, with extra lamb.

The quality of the meat in those omnipresent British kebab shops is usually a little suspect though. Hence the 6-pint requirement...

--A

[stonemaybe]

Ladies and gentlemen, for your pleasure, I am proud to present....

Kebab Shop: The Musical!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MLBH9mcd0

[Menolly]

*sob*

Really wishing I wasn't on dial-up!!!

[Damelon]

That gyro in the second picture of Menolly's is made from store bought meat. Gyros are found in Greek fast food places here.

A good joint cuts the gyros by hand. I like to get there a little early in the rush hour, either noon or midnight, when the meat is a little crispier. This picture shows the right cut:


Though gyro joints would layer the meat first rather than lay it on top of the tomatoes and onions. Also, not included in this picture is the tzatiki sauce.

[Cameraman Jenn]

OH DEAR LORD! Stoney, that vid was HIGH-sterical. Clean bowels.... I about soiled myself when they sang that.

[stonemaybe]

OH DEAR LORD! Stoney, that vid was HIGH-sterical. Clean bowels.... I about soiled myself when they sang that.

Omid Djalili, got a new show on bbc on saturday nights, the first one was great, I think I may be a fan! I'll see if I can find his Osama Bin Laden playing pool sketch....

[Sunbaneglasses]

There is nothing as good (or bad for you) as a big southern breakfast. I love breakfast. Biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs, and the occasional pancake.

[stonemaybe]

There is nothing as good (or bad for you) as a big southern breakfast. I love breakfast. Biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs, and the occasional pancake.

What no black pudding? What type of breakfast doesn't have congealed cow blood in it?

[Menolly]

...OMGs...

That must truly be a cultural food!

[Sunbaneglasses]

Who came up with the baked beans for breakfast thing? Once upon a time did someone say "throw some beans on the plate, my friends think it is funny when I fart all day"?

[Menolly]

Who came up with the baked beans for breakfast thing? Once upon a time did someone say "throw some beans on the plate, my friends think it is funny when I fart all day"?

*giggle*

[stonemaybe]

...OMGs...

That must truly be a cultural food!

Oh you MUST know black pudding?

[Cameraman Jenn]

The Salvadorian's make a delicious black sausage which is primarily blood. It's very tasty with scrambled eggs and tomatos.