<p>When the NY Times published their interesting map of a signature culinary specialty for each state for the holidays, I noticed that Colorado had pecan pie bites with turkey gravy. I’m not entirely opposed to the concept, but it was certainly news to me. Apparently Minnesotans found even more to dislike in their state dish: Grape Salad. As one respondent from the state wrote to the Times’ Public Editor: "Dear New York Times, What the hell is “grape salad”, signed, All of Minnesota.
A pretty funny column (and the linked NPR one is good too) if you’re looking for something light. <a href=“A Recipe for Wrath (Grapes Optional) in Minnesota - The New York Times”>A Recipe for Wrath (Grapes Optional) in Minnesota - The New York Times;
<p>Well, I have to admit, I’ve never had or seen skewers of pineapple and Vienna sausage or lychee with sour cream in the many decades living here and thin they sound very unpalatable! Her description of lau lau is also totally off. Makes me wonder about the rest of the article, bailout it’s a noble effort. ;)</p>
<p>Native Minnesotan here, and I can tell you Grape Salad never graced the tables of my family or H’s family. Never, ever heard of it. Sheesh, our winter fruits consisted of apples and canned mandarin oranges and pineapple–which of course, were appropriately placed into jello and topped with Cool Whip ;)</p>
<p>@HImom: funny, my mother served skewers of pineapple with Vienna sausage at a Hawaii-themed party my parents had shortly after they came back from Honolulu in the mid-sixties (they’d been to Japan, because my mother wrote a book about pearls and had gone to see the pearl divers, so they stopped in Honolulu for a week on the way back). I loved them, but I was about ten, so knew nothing. No sour cream, though.</p>
<p>I’m sure H would enjoy them, but he’d probably be the only one who would touch them of our extended family. ;)</p>
<p>H is one of the few in our extended family that enjoys Vienna sausages.</p>
<p>Many of us like lychee, but preferably fresh rather than canned and not with sour cream!</p>
<p>They don’t even grow grapes in Minnesota to my knowledge. They should have given the wild rice to them and done a venison dish for Wisconsin since gun deer hunting season is always the week of Thanksgiving. But, New York journalists do not know much about anything outside their city.</p>