Finding the bizarre in the normal

Chicken’s feet in Guangzhou, China. Lamb kidneys in La Paz, Bolivia. Wild rice in Minnesota?
Andrew Zimmern travels the world searching for food that is common cuisine to some, but is considered exotic to travelers to the area, which he highlights on his show “Bizarre Foods” on the travel channel.
But an episode last week was a bit more shocking: the bizarre foods of Minnesota. Wild game, fish, hot dishes, wild rice, lutefisk: Minnesotans seem to have quite the list of bizarre foods, according to Zimmern, who has lived in Minnesota for 15 years. But the cuisine commonly found in Minnesota shows that “the Midwesterners really value their heritage,” Zimmern said during the show.
Zimmern began with the process of making lutefisk, which he called “the quintessential Scandinavian bizarre food,” although the food is more popular in Minnesota than it is in Scandinavia, he said.
He then traveled to the Minnesota State Fair, where the specialty of food on a stick is prevalent. Then it was off to the White Earth reservation to learn how to harvest wild rice. His final stop was the Arrowhead of the state, where he tasted such items as sauerkraut pie at Betty’s Pies and chicken gizzards with ranch dressing in Grand Marais.
“A small town in northeastern Minnesota is about as good as it gets when it comes to tasting the slice of American that doesn’t exist in a lot of other places,” he concluded.

lutefisk pudding
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and flaked lutefisk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup rice
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. butter

Cook rice in water with the salt until done. Beat eggs and add milk. Pour over the rice, lutefisk and butter. Put in buttered baking dish and bake until done. Put knife in center, done when knife comes out clean.

lutefisk with white sauce
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds thawed lutefisk
ground allspice
salt
white pepper
melted butter, if desired
Ingredients for white sauce
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 cup milk

Arrange thawed lutefisk on roasting rack. Cover with waxed paper. Microwave on high setting 5-7 minutes, until fish flakes easily.
Rearrange fish after half the cooking time.
Sprinkle with allspice, salt and pepper to taste.
For the white sauce: Melt the butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth. Stir in milk, bring to boil and cook for 1 minute.
Serve lutefisk with white sauce.

tuna and wild rice hot dish
Ingredients:
1 can (6-1/2 ounces) of tuna
1 can (5 ounces) chow mein noodles
1/2 cup grated colby or cheddar cheese
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water

In a two quart casserole mix the wild rice, soup, water and tuna with part of the noodles. Sprinkle the remainder of the noodles on top, along with the grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

"Every Advent we entered the purgatory of lutefisk, a repulsive gelatinous fishlike dish that tasted of soap and gave off an odor that would gag a goat. We did this in honor of Norwegian ancestors, much as if survivors of a famine might celebrate their deliverance by feasting on elm bark. I always felt the cold creeps as Advent approached, knowing that this dread delicacy would be put before me and
I’d be told, ‘Just have a little.’ Eating a little was like vomiting a little, just as bad as a lot."
Garrison Keiller, Author, “Lake WobegonDays”