Spiedies: Central New York's Amazing Contribution to Cuisine

Buffalo has their wings. Philadelphia has their cheese steaks. Boston has their cream pies. Regional food dishes are commonplace and normally quite tasty. Believe it or not, Upstate New York is the origin to several different culinary wonders. Arguably the most beloved and delicious of these dishes are 'spiedies'.

Even though any type of meat can be used, spiedies are generally made of chicken, beef or pork that has been cut into cubes and marinated in a special sauce, usually overnight or longer. They are then placed on a meat skewer and grilled.

First served publicly in the late 1930s, spiedies are very popular throughout Central New York. In fact, Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally is held annually in Binghamton, NY and boosts more than 100,000 attendees.

Check out our video below to see what the fuss is all about!

Marinated Chicken Spiedies with Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 large chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 4 Italian rolls
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

Marinade Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Garlic Sauce Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 egg white*
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

Garlic Sauce

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, it should take 1 to 2 minutes. This recipe will make about 1½ cups of sauce, refrigerate leftover sauce.

Spiedies

1. In a small bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, toss to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
2. When ready to cook turn on your grill to medium high heat. Clean and oil the grill.
3. Cut the rolls lengthwise and brush the inside of the roll generously with butter.
4. Thread the chicken on 4 skewers, making sure to divide the meat equally among the skewers.
5. Grill the chicken on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked and starts to brown. Place the rolls on the grill and let them grill for about 2 minutes or until the bread starts to brown.
6. In each roll lay a grilled skewer inside. Gripping the roll at the bottom, carefully slide skewer off, leaving meat in the bread. Drizzle generously with the garlic sauce.

Recipe courtesy of: Jo Cooks

Banana Pudding Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 box of Nilla Wafers
• 1 3.4 ounce box of instant banana pudding
• 1 16 ounce carton heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Sprinkles as desired

Directions

1. Pour heavy whipping cream into mixing bowl and mix, starting on low speed, then as it gets thicker, increase the speed until it is almost the consistency of whipped cream.
2. Add in the instant pudding and the powdered sugar. Continue to mix on high speed until fully combined and the mousse is the consistency of a thick whipped cream.
3. Add the banana mousse to a piping bag and pipe onto the Nilla Wafers. Sandwich the Nilla Wafers together to create a cookie sandwich with the banana mousse as the filling.
4. Serve immediately, or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe courtesy of: House of Yumm