SC - On a Tangential, OT Note - Was: Potato salad+pasta salad- the mild Oregon version - OOP

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Rayne and Richard wrote:
> 
> I love it.  My Potato resembles your pretty much (minus bell peppers).  My boss
> at my old job would call it "Potato Goulash" since it had so much stuff in it.
> His wife's potato salad was just mayo, eggs, and potatoes - salt and pepper to
> taste.

Awright... I've been watching this whole Amurrican food thread develop
with great interest, and I've had this question on my mind for a while,
so I thought I'd ask a bunch of Amurricans, since, as everyone knows,
New York City is not actually part of the U.S.A. Well, not really. Maybe.

Would anyone like to explain their take on the use of the word "goulash"
in re American cooking as a reference to any of several types of dishes
_other_ than the Hungarian/Austrian/German family of dishes known by
that name, all generally meat stews/soups flavored with paprika? For
example, one of the interesting foodways a friend of mine follows
includes making "goulash" with elbow macaroni, ground beef and onion in
a somewhat heavy stock-and/or-tomato-based sauce. Not unlike Hamburger
Helper, I suppose, but made with real food. I'm informed by the lady,
who grew up near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, that this is pretty
commonly eaten in the area. (She also has a fairly heretical version of
Beef Stroganoff which is really a beef stew with sour cream, rather than
the classic quick-sauteed Franco-Russian version, which she also informs
me is fairly common in PA.)

Lady Phlip tells me of a dish similar to the alleged PA goulash found in
Ohio, John-Something-Whose-Name-Escapes-Me. I know there are lots of
Americans of German descent in parts of both PA and Ohio, and I know
that German versions of goulash are considered pretty non-canonical by
Hungarians, tending to contain odd things at times, including sausages
and potatoes. In general, though, goulash as conceived in Europe is a
far more simple, and also more sophisticated (terms not mutually
exclusive, I assure you), than American dishes by that name. 

If I didn't know better, I'd think it a habit of Americans to use the
term "goulash" as synonymous with "hash", a mixture of chopped-up stuff.
What's the deal, folks? Any insights?

Thanks for your time!

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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