Pennsylvania - The Keystone State

Pennsylvania is near and dear to my heart.  Both my parents were born in PA.  My father in South Philly and my mother in Duncansville.  They met at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia while my mother was in nursing school and my dad was in medical school.  My parents spent 2 years in Ohio (where I was born) but lived in PA until 1969 when they moved to NJ.

My sister  Jill

Sydney was home for 2 weeks from college and we were able to get in 4 state dinners.  It just so happened the kids and I flew back East after Christmas to visit family and it lined up perfectly to do Pennsylvania with my family, who now live in Virginia.  Since PA food is so diverse and delicious we decided to make the whole day a states meal.

My niece Mia

For lunch we made Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and Lebanon Bologna sandwichs.  Philadelphia is famous for there cheese steaks and soft pretzels.  Once you have had them you will never be satisfied with imitations, they have to be from Philly.  My mother grew up in western PA and introduced us to lebanon bologna and fried bologna.  I grew up believing that everyone ate lebanon bologna, it turns out they don't.  I can't find it in the NW and when I do, it is really expensive,  We rounded out the meal with hard pretzels and YuengLing Black and Tan.




For dinner we made Italian Wedding Soup which I thought my mother invented but it turns out it is a traditional food in Pittsburgh.  I also made a 2 shoofly pies which were my brother-in-laws favorite.



John grew up in Lancaster, PA.  We rounded the meal out with a salad (I can't remember what kind) and some squid with peas.













Squid with peas probably isn't a PA traditional food but it is a traditional food for the Pierucci family.  My father makes me squid with peas every time I come home.  I eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner.  Pennsylvania may be my favorite state dinner so far.  It is the first one we have done at someone else's house.