Midwest Goodbye dinner features chef's take on seven-layer salad and green bean casserole
Whether or not you know there's an actual term for it, you've certainly done what's known as the Midwest Goodbye. It's our lengthy process of leaving a get-together in this part of the country that starts with a knee slap and a "Welp!" and continues with extended conversations at the door, on the porch and in the driveway.
Some say there are nine stages. Some go up to 12 by adding the "Oh, you know who died?" discussion as a separate phase.
Now that we've reviewed the concept, here's a dining take:
Fresh on the heels of its popular Midwest Goodbye winter lager — so popular that six-packs briefly sold out — Wolf's Ridge Brewing is offering an entire Midwest Goodbye menu this week at its Downtown dining room, 215 N. 4th St.
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It includes dishes Executive Chef Kris Ludwig knows well from his Indiana childhood. It's the food many of us know from church suppers, office potlucks, football tailgates and family holidays.
"I know all about Midwest holiday fare," he says.
The four-course, $50 prix fixe menu can include a flight of five Wolf's Ridge beers: Hot Brass black lager, Crooked River farmhouse ale, the Midwest Goodbye lager, Home for the Holidays spiced winter ale and Daybreak coffee vanilla cream ale. The last one pairs perfectly with dessert.
Ludwig's dinner starts off with a scaled-down, individually sized, pecan-crusted cheeseball, because, as the chef says, "You always have to have that cheeseball."
The appetizer and other courses don't stray too far, flavorwise, from their inspirations. It has what you have to have in cheeseballs: sharp cheddar, cream cheese, scallions and a pecan coating. The house-made crackers, though, are made from a flour of dried, spent grains from Wolf's Ridge's beer-brewing.
The pandemic experience has pushed people toward comfort foods and pushed many chefs away from over-the-top preparations, Ludwig said. "Nothing was changed in that dish," Ludwig says of the Seven-Layer Salad, served in a rocks glass so you can see its ingredients: iceberg lettuce, peas, celery, red onion, a sweet mayonnaise dressing, cheese and bacon.
The bacon is the elevated item here. It comes from Nueske's Meats, a Wisconsin company whose bacon starts at $10 a pound.
The Midwest Goodbye main course is meat and potatoes, stuffing and green bean casserole. Everything on the plate goes far beyond church supper but stays recognizable. The pork tenderloin is cooked sous vide with butter and thyme so it stays soft and flavorful. The stuffing uses beer bread and brioche, Nuremberg sausage, house-made chicken and vegetable stock, butter and pork fat.
The cream of mushroom soup for the green bean casserole is house-made as well, as are the fried onions. The green beans are fresh but purposely overcooked, Ludwig says. "We take it halfway between al dente and mush."
Some Midwesterners call them Seven-Layer Bars, some call them Magic Bars. The sweet treat of graham cracker crumbs, chocolate, white chocolate, chopped nuts and coconut held together by butter and sweetened condensed milk is dessert, served with an eggnog ice cream and a caramel made with Midwest Goodbye lager.
Ludwig says "it's a little gutsier" than the original.
The Midwest Goodbye dinner runs through Saturday at Wolf's Ridge Brewery. The restaurant recommends reservations through its website but says walk-ins are welcome.
More: Here are some of the Columbus restaurants serving up holiday gift cards
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Midwest Goodbye dinner at Wolf's Ridge features regional classics
