Frog Eye Pudding And Turkey.

The one holiday that unites all Americans is Thanksgiving. No matter what your religion is or your nationality you will sit down tomorrow, like your neighbors coworkers, friends and even enemies and be thankful for all you have and all you have to eat. Surprisingly though the thoughts and main dish are the same. It seems sides and desserts vary from state to state , surprisingly and perhaps not surprisingly so.

Kevin Quealy and David Leonhardt tallied up what America eats in an article in today's Food Section in the New York Times. This is an offshoot of an article written last week that highlighted certain dishes from each of our fifty states and Puerto Rico,It deals with the most searched recipes by state.Of course , the most popular is turkey but the researchers looked at searches for other dishes by state and how often they were researched. It proved an interesting glimpse into America's culinary window. For example Californians tend to look up persimmon bread recipes more times than another group.It's probably made for dessert, resembling apricot or cherry breads.Some dishes beggar belief. There is a Snickers salad , popular in Minnesota and Nebraska.It is what the name suggests, chopped up Snickers bars mixed with chopped apples and whipped cream. Variations include subbing in
 bananas and/or pineapple for the apples and sometimes there's a pudding thrown in.Some other states such as Idaho and Nevada make frog eye pudding, yet another I can't believe this is an actual dessert. It is a wild mix of Acini  de Pepe pasta mixed with pineapple , marshmallow and coconut with a decoration of orange slices.

A few reflect the ethnic make up of the state. New Yorkers and New Jerseyians go mad for stuffed artichokes, a must have in an Italian household.The heavily Hispanic  Florida features coquito, the tasty rum and coconut holiday drink along with their own pumpkin dessert  flan di Calabaza. Connecticut 's favorite dishes reflect their aura of WASPiness and almost a cliché., with popovers creamed onions and butternut squash casserole.You would think Alaska then would have caribou casserole or Eskimo           ice cream, a mix of seal oil, whale blubber and berries but they're actually pretty traditional.Most people there want a Waldorf salad or cranberry relish. Hawaii too has a pretty usual palate save for jook or congee, a soupy rice porridge usually eaten for breakfast. However it is made into a comfort food with the addition of turkey, straying from its' Asian roots.

Some dishes may vary from state to state. It's  still considered Thanksgiving as long as you have turkey or tofurkey, family and gratefulness .In the end that's all that matters.