Celebrating Baltimore

 Baltimore has always been a city full of food and recipes.It's one of our oldest cties and one that comes with a tradition of seafood and ale.It's also known for other amazing foods and chefs.

Seafood , especially crabs have long been a staple .It became part of the diet of the Susquanhannock tribes that first inhabited the area. Blue crab became popular from its' earliest days,Tourists flock to the city today have them fried and served with apple cider vinegar. Crab cakes are another Baltimore classic.Most restaurants and seafood shacks serve them. They're easy to make at home. You'll need good quality lump crab meat mixed with mayo and chopped celery.It's  then combined with eggs , Old Bay seasoning Worcester sauce and parsley.,Patties areformed and then fried in vegetable oil until golden. Old Bay itself is a Baltimore tradition. Yes, you can use it in crab cakes but it';s also goodf sprinkled on lobster or shrimp. You can even  use it as a dry rub for chicken.Sauerkraut is another strangely Maryland must try.Thanks to the German immigrants coming to the city, this German must have is popular with several dishes. have it with the city's  favorite beer, National Bohmian or  Natty Boh as it's locally called available exclusively in Maryland.

Thrasher's fries are another treat Baltimoreans love. These originally came from Georgia and became a staple of first Ocean Cty , the seaside town and then Baltimore. Pit beef is another must eat when visiting this historic city. (it's where Francis Scott Key wrote our national anthem during the British attack of 1814). This is a kaiser roll loaded with thinly sliced char broiled roast beef.Most eat it with a slice of raw onion or tiger sauce - a mix of mayonnaise and horseradish. Oysters are another fun snack food or main course too.Many a restaurant will serve either pit beef or oysters to satisfy all tastes. What about signature desserts? Snowballs are consumed on a hot day. This is not like Hawaiian shaved ice but finely packed shaved ice packed into a cup and then doused with syrups. There is the sky blue made with eggs, vanilla and sugar along with a Tiger's blood , a combo of watermelon, coconut and strawberry. A marshmallow creme is poured over the ice for a creamy sweet flavor. The ice comes in a wide variety of flavors such a smint or grape.

Baltimore is a food lover's dream. It has classic crab cakes to Snowballs.It's worth a trip to see this famous port. It's historic , but also delicious.

Thoughts go out to the families affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Stay strong.