A year-end peek at WV’s favorite recipes and holiday eats

With the holiday cooking (and eating!) season winding down, I thought it might be fun to do a little tasty research to turn up some of the most-searched recipes, favorite holidays meals and top wintertime drinks in the Mountain State.

West Virginians say roasted potatoes is their favorite holiday dish. These were made by The Food Guy!

That led me to a recent study by Escoffier, the top-ranked culinary school in the country, which recently examined Google search date and YouTube video counts to determine the most sought-after recipes in every state.

Glazed meatloaf with green beans

As for West Virginia, it looks like we’re mad about meatloaf, which is the most-searched recipe in the state and the second-most popular in the country. The top recipe in terms of Google searches nationwide was banana bread, while the most-watched recipe videos in the U.S. (racking up a whopping 93 million views!) were ones showing how to make lasagna.

Nationally, the top 10 most-searched recipes in order were banana bread, meatloaf, chili, pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, French toast, lasagna, alfredo sauce, a margarita and an Old Fashioned cocktail, which was once again the top drink recipe searched in West Virginia this past year.

So that makes meatloaf and an Old Fashioned the most-searched food and drink in the Mountain State, but I don’t think I’ll be pairing those together any time soon. Or will I?

WV’s favorite Christmas dinner and drink are …

Mining through more Google data, I also found the following morsels showing where West Virginia’s tastebuds lie when it comes to the holidays …

Favorite Christmas Dinner – Roast Potatoes: Fish is the most popular Christmas dinner nationwide, topping searches in seven coastal states, while ham comes in second due to its popularity in the South. Prime rib is the go-to in California, Texas and a few states, but lobster, brisket and lamb are niche favorites scoring first in just one state each. While not really an entrée, per se, West Virginia’s favorite Christmas dinner? Roast potatoes. (Same as Idaho, of course.)

Smoked mango Old-Fashioned

Regional Christmas Favorites – Pierogies & Persimmon Pudding: When it comes to America’s top 100 regional Christmas dishes, New York cheesecake took the top spot, with Idaho prime rib, Texas BBQ brisket, Kentucky bourbon-glazed ham and Vermont maple-glazed ham filling the top five spots. West Virginia had two favorites barely slide onto the list, with West Virginia pierogies with wild mushrooms coming in at #89 and persimmon pudding filling the #99 spot.

Favorite Christmas Dessert – Fudge: With their traditional charm, buttery texture and countless decorating options, sugar cookies topped the charts in 15 states, making them the most popular Christmas dessert in the country. Red velvet cake came in second as the favorite in 11 states, while West Virginia stuck with fudge as its top pick. (I’ll be devouring a pan of my dad’s homemade fudge as you’re reading this on Christmas morning!)

Favorite Christmas Cocktail – Hot Buttered Rum: Let’s not forget those festive Christmas cocktails to enjoy with all of these good holiday eats. Not surprisingly, eggnog is the most popular Christmas cocktail in the country, with 12 states naming it their favorite, and hot buttered rum comes in a close second with 10 states picking it first – including West Virginia.

The return of Corner Kitchen’s chicken livers

If you’re a Food Guy follower, you know I’ve written at length about chicken livers in an attempt to help desperate readers who are looking for the best ones in town. And if you’re a regular reader, you also know I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “best” chicken liver, since I can’t stand the things.

Chicken livers from WV Corner Kitchen

But many of you do and past attempts to find the best often led to Charleston’s WV Corner Kitchen, a popular “homestyle cooking” restaurant at 1701 Bigley Ave. that closed earlier this year to focus on its occasional catering business.

Well, chicken liver fans, you’re in luck.

The folks at WV Corner Kitchen announced last week that they have taught their friends at Husky’s Dairy Bar in North Charleston how to make their famous chicken livers and if the demand is there, they’ll give them a permanent spot on their menu.

I won’t be partaking, but now’s your chance to indulge!

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Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national culinary publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or at wvfoodguy@aol.com.