Heartland Hot Dish

Dearborn Dinners

In this episode of Heartland Hot Dish, Jamie, Kieron, Daniel and Max sit down to a Dearborn dinner table overflowing with flavor. Known for its rich Arab American culinary traditions, Dearborn transforms the evening meal into a true feast — full of dishes meant to be shared, savored, and celebrated.

Dearborn Delights with Jamie LeBoeuf

In this flavorful episode of Heartland Hot Dish, we head to Dearborn, Michigan — home to one of the largest and most vibrant Arab American communities in the country. With Jamie LeBoeuf as our guide and Daniel, Max and Kieron, we explore the foods, markets, and traditions that make Dearborn a true culinary treasure.

Fun with Fermentation

In this warm and earthy episode of Heartland Hot Dish, Claire Smith of Teffola returns to the kitchen to show us the beauty of baking with teff. This tiny, nutrient-packed ancient grain has deep roots in Ethiopian food traditions — and Claire is helping it find a new home in Midwestern ovens. Daniel, Max and Claire talk about: * Bread baking with teff: The unique flavors, textures, and challenges of working with teff flour, plus tips for blending it with other grains with sourdough starters * Kefir and more : Discuss the love and process of maintaining Kefir, creme fraiche and yoghurt and clotted cream. * Elderflower cordial: Making a fan favourite

Beef Stroganoff: From Russia with (LOVE ) Noodles

In this hearty episode of Heartland Hot Dish, we trace the journey of beef stroganoff — a dish with aristocratic Russian roots that found a second life in American kitchens and Midwest church cookbooks. What began as tender beef in a rich sour cream sauce has morphed through the decades into everything from family-friendly weeknight dinners to beloved potluck staples. Toady Marcy, Daniel and Max dig into: * Origins & history: How a 19th-century Russian nobleman’s chef first created the dish with potatoes not noodles, and how it traveled across Europe and into American cookbooks. * The Midwestern makeover: Why beef stroganoff, often ladled over egg noodles, became a comfort food favourite in the Midwest, complete with shortcuts like canned mushroom soup and Marcys mums recipe and her love of sour cream. * Cultural snapshots: Stories of family tables, casseroles, and recipe cards that made stroganoff a symbol of practicality and nostalgia. Warm, creamy, and deeply satisfying, beef stroganoff is more than just a dish — it’s a taste of migration, adaptation, and memory on the plate.

Getting Jiggly with Salad

Getting Jiggly with Salad takes a nostalgic (and slightly wobbly) dive into the quirky Midwestern tradition of Jell-O salads. Once a staple at church potlucks, holiday tables, and backyard barbecues, these technicolor creations blur the line between sweet and savory, dessert and side dish. In this episode of Heartland Hot Dish, Daniel, Marcy and Max explore: * The history: How gelatin salads went from high-society delicacies to everyday Americana thanks to convenience foods and Midwestern ingenuity. * The varieties: From lime Jell-O with cottage cheese to layered fruit “salads” and whipped cream clouds, we share the classics (and some eyebrow-raising combos). * The cultural role: Why Jell-O salads hold such strong nostalgic power for Midwestern families — and how they’ve become both cherished tradition and punchline. * Modern twists: How contemporary cooks are reimagining gelatin desserts, honoring the past while updating them for today’s palates. Playful, colorful, episode celebrates a dish that refuses to sit neatly in any category — much like the Midwest itself.