what is cudighi you ask? why it's a U.P. delicacy. The meat is similar to italian sausage but it has a unique flavor that I have yet to find in anything else.
The U.P. has a rather strange mix of ethnic backgrounds, there are Fins...a lot of Fins, a few Swedes and Norwegians, a good portion of Cornish miners made it there home and also a large Italian population. This had lead to some rather interesting regional foods, most people in the great lakes region associate Pasties with the U.P and I'll get to those some day, but Cudighi is even more regional, it's offered at eatery's in the northern part of the U.P. only, I think it might even be more local then that and is found around the Marquette, Ishpeming and Negaunee area, i.e. north central U.P.
I bet you are wondering "how does she get that out in NoDak? well quite simply I buy it when we go home or my Ma ships it to me, but never fear if one of you has a hankering to try it you can order it from www.mamarusso.com they make the best cudighi around.
Making it is easy, just thaw the meat and smoosh it into patties the shape of the buns you have, you must, [i]must[/i] have pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese but beyond that toppings are a matter of personal choice. We like saute'd mushrooms, I add black olives and a lot of folks do saute'd onion and even green peppers, basically any pizza topping goes well. Some people(heathens) eat it with mustard, relish, etc, like you would a brat/italian sausage and I guess that would be ok but not for me.
So there you have it, what we had for lunch and a look into U.P. dining and culture :)
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