Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Comfort Food on the Prairie

Foodbuzz, the fabulous foodie organization I'm partnered with, just sponsored an event wherein 24 food bloggers from 24 cities have dinner (and post about it) in the same 24 hours. Bloggers affiliated with Foodbuzz were invited to submit proposals outlining their ideas for uniquely themed dinners, and happily, ours was accepted.

A CT reader contacted me recently to say that he often has out-of-town visitors who want to sample meals that scream "central Illinois!" and asking me for ideas on where to take them. Shortly thereafter, the Foodbuzz invitation went out, and I knew what would make our dinner unique: it would showcase typical Midwestern fare.

It's interesting to think about what defines Midwestern cuisine, because the Midwest is a large and varied region. In our immediate area, one restaurant leapt to mind, as I explain in the following video. Guy Fieri, eat your heart out.

These are the C-U food bloggers who joined Keith and me for dinner yesterday:

• Aaron, of Razzie's Food for Thought
• Lauren, of Genki Tummy, and her husband Mike
• Lori, of Hey, Hey, Good Lookin'
• Melody, of Fruit Tart, and her husband Glen
• Susan, of Why Mom Why . . . and What's for Dinner?
• Tien, of Cooking with Tien

We arrived at The Apple Dumplin' in the early evening, prepared to chow down. Our table for 10 was ready and waiting, and we perused the Saturday-evening specials: popcorn shrimp, beef and noodles, ribeye steak, and fried chicken. On other days you might find meat loaf, ham and beans, liver and onions, or chicken and noodles on the menu.Between the 10 of us, we sampled the entire menu. I ordered the chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy (you could have a baked regular or sweet potato instead) and chose the salad bar as my vegetable (two cooked vegetables were also available as sides). In addition, all meals come with a homemade roll or a biscuit.

The breading on the chicken was beautiful and crispy, and the meat inside exceptionally moist and juicy. The potatoes had a good texture and were smothered with a cream gravy. Portions were large; I took about half of my dinner home, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed cold chicken for breakfast this morning.The popcorn shrimp was tasty, too. I had wondered if it would be mostly breading and very little shrimp, but that wasn't the case: the shrimp were a decent size, and the breading didn't overpower them at all. You could tell that the oil the cooks had used for the fried foods was very fresh, as the flavors were clean and light.The large portion of saucy beef and handmade noodles almost totally hid the surprise underneath: yes, Virginia, there are mashed potatoes under there. How many calories are in that plate of beef and noodles? If you have to ask, you can't afford them.Finally, we ordered the dessert the restaurant is named for—the apple dumpling. This little bombe consists of a baked apple enveloped by pie crust and oozing with buttery cinnamon-sugar sauce. Vanilla ice cream is optional but highly recommended. The staff at the AD keep count of how many apple dumplings they've served over the years, and, as you can see in the photo at the top of this post, that number is up over 300,000.I asked Kathie Flaningam, the restaurant's manager and long-time employee (she's been with the AD for 18 years, and her mother and daughter currently work there as well) what makes the food at The Apple Dumplin' so popular with the restaurant's regulars.

The AD makes the kinds of meals that many Midwesterners grew up on. And that's really the defining characteristic of comfort food, isn't it? It's food we ate in the company of our families and friends, and it makes us feel satisfied, secure, and at home.

Hold on—we're not quite finished yet! The owners of the Apple Dumplin' were kind enough to share one of their recipes with us. The recipe is for breaded tomatoes, one of the AD's most popular vegetable side dishes.

The Apple Dumplin's Breaded Tomatoes
1 #10 can whole peeled tomatoes, hand mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound butter
Dash ground black pepper
16 slices bread, cubed

In a large pot, combine the tomatoes, sugar, butter, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the cubed bread. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes and serve hot.

Realizing that these quantities might be a bit large for the home cook, I worked out the amounts and came up with what I think would be the right proportions if you want to cut it down: 2 28-ounce cans of tomatoes, about 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 pound butter, and 8 slices of bread.

Many thanks to the folks at The Apple Dumplin' for sharing the recipe and for making us feel so welcome at the restaurant where they proudly serve this and other much-loved dishes six days a week, as they have since 1988.

The Apple Dumplin'
2014 North Highcross Road (about a half-mile north of University Avenue on Highcross)
Urbana, IL 61802
217-344-0076
Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tuesday through Saturday (7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and a buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday

And there you have it: a taste of the Midwest, Champaign-Urbana style. Thanks again to Foodbuzz for selecting our proposal and for sponsoring the 24, 24, 24 event, and thanks to the other C-U food bloggers for making it such a fun little party.

Be sure to visit the "24, 24, 24" page on the Foodbuzz site to see how the other 23 bloggers in the other 23 cities did it.