If Indiana is right in the heart of the Midwest, then I must be living on the west coast. Better start learning the language. "Gag me with a spoon"? And why go crazy because someone uses more salt that you want? Don't you think you could, let's see. hmmm, maybe use less?? Recipes are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Recipes will often vary, even when followed to the letter depending on a number of variables. I seldom follow a recipe to the letter since I might not happen to have the free range grapes, cage free milk or organic Vanilla Wafers that Marco Pierre White's recipe might call for. I often will add spice I like and tone down or eliminate what I don't like. Amish/Mennonite, etc cooking has a lot of crossover with what some people term "Midwest" cooking. If you consider Indiana "midwest" then I exempt this from consideration. However the midwest of the United States are generally or at least were, big farming areas and Amish/Mennonite, etc were also big farmers. Meat, potatoes, bread, coffee, milk, dessert was your typical farm fare. The midwest didn't use much in the way of rice however certain areas, including the upper midwest would have wild rice available and that could be included in the later menus. Native Americans of course used wild rice much more heavily than many others until others found out how great it is. Actually you'll find a lot of crossover in German, even Russian and certain other ethnic types of foods when they're living in a colder climate and doing a lot of hard work, but then again considering the number of Scandinavians. Germans, etc who populated the area, it shouldn't be a surprise. But the food changed to adapt to what's around. You won't go to Norway, Sweden, Germany, Russia, etc and find the same things. Just as "cajun" or "creole" won't be found in France, and probably not much in the French areas of Canada. As Annie said, hearty meals were needed for the heavy workload on a typical farm. You'd rise early and work late and burn a lot of calories. Actually what many people term "comfort foods" is quite common among both the A/M/etc and midwest farmers. You won't find finger sandwiches, consumme or sushi on these menus. You will find hearty soup, stew, roast, meatloaf, pasta and much much more. You'll also find a lot of pies, cakes, cookies and rolls. You'll find great breads, rolls, etc. Around here, mac & cheese is essentially baby food. A blue box and a package of Corn King hotdogs fed many a toddler by a new mother. Never could stomach mac & cheese. No meat, why bother. Watching Cookin' Cheap is different. Two gay guys doing their "cooking" and then dressing in drag to show a gadget of some sort. A pickle slicer, nut cracker or whatever. The "Cook Sisters". Initially it was to show people you could cook cheap. They'd figure out the cost of something and figure per portion. Although if they had a leftover from something before, they didn't include it in the price and would come out with 58¢ per person "meals". One thought he knew how to cook and the other admitted he knew nothing but would try anything. They both fancied themselves far better standup comedians that I would. Watch it sometime, it's, well, different. I wouldn't say it's funny very often, but entertaining usually. Actually hotdish for the food, (and go ahead and debate "food" if you're a Miracle Whip snob) and "hot dish" describes the ladies cooking or the temperature of the plate. Scalloped potatoes and ham is a type of hotdish. Marilyn's Party Potatoes, sometimes called "funeral potatoes" is a hotdish, etc. People stick out their tongues and stick their noses in the air over foods. Yes, some will be a can of cream soup with a can of something and a package of onion soup mix. But then again, people buy "blue box", TV dinners and produce from Walmart for cryin out loud! LOL Contrary to what a couple of you believe, not one of the terms hotdishes, A/M/etc or midwest cooking mean all from a can or a pouch. It can and often is made from scratch. The shortcuts are more publicized since it's a timesaver and many people who hit the net want to save time. I would defy most anyone to have tasted and claim they didn't like the scalloped potatoes and ham that was served at my aunt's funeral, or for that matter the roast beef and mashed potatoes served at my cousin's funeral or any of my mother's holiday meals, all made from scratch. I'll take that any day over foo-foo food! Or for that matter the Tex-Mex you get at Taco Bell, or the seafood from Long John Silver, or should I continue... Back to topic, a couple other shows I enjoyed watching included the Galloping drunk, er, Gourmet though never really learned much from his shows. When Andrew Zimmern was a local cook he was interesting to see on the local channels before he decided to concentrate on bugs and exotic roadkill.

My absolute favorite lately has been The New Basics Cookbook--notes I wrote in the margins say OMG!! and Awesome! which is not what I usually write. I love those group cookbooks from churches, schools, and special groups. I love some of the little cookbooks I've bought at the grocery store checkout. I often refer to the web or my files of recipes that I've collected from newspapers and magazines. +The Betty Crocker Cookbook binder that my mom gave me as a wedding shower gift. +Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cook Book--a gift from my parents for my 8th birthday. I still refer to it! I'm trying to use my appliances more so have discovered these great books: +The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook +Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cookbook +The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook (johnliu you had me laughing so hard!! Thanks!!)

I also love Jacques Pepin and have no trouble with his accent. I love that he pronounces French terms correctly, although once he said that "lardon" would be called "pancetta" in English. Maybe "pancetta" is now an English word! I have very similar methods of cooking to his (although I never use apricot anything), and I like that his cooking is simple and easy. I do dislike hearing his name mispronounced, as my paternal grandmother's maiden name was Jacques, and so many people (including the announcer on his show) pronounce it as if it were spelled with an "O" instead of an "A". People can pronounce Jacqueline correctly, which has the same pronunciation for the first syllable as Jacques. Jacques rhymes with chaque, which is pronounced "shack", or at least that's the way it is pronounced by my French relatives. There may be regional variations that I am unaware of, but I have had people try to correct my French when I pronounced my family's name the way my family pronounces it. My other grandmother was German-Alsatian, but her style of cooking was very similar to Jacques Pepin, even though she identified as German and only spoke German as a child. She might have more in common with Hubert Keller, however.

Yes. We have 2 TVs but they are back to back, LR and kitchen, so we have to watch the same show if we are together or in different rooms. The audio demands it as we have an open floor plan. It's OK if one of us isn't interested in the show, he works sudoku puzzles or reads or I read on my iPad. If I'm cooking, I get to control the show but I also control it in the LR. We DVR almost everything so we never watch commercials. We like most of the same shows fortunately.