This one is going to be fun. I was so excited to learn about Arkansas’ affinity for cheese dip (not queso, I’ll get to that later). As someone who routinely tells people that my favorite food is simply “cheese,” I feel like I’ve finally found my people with the Arkansans. There’s actually a mini documentary called “In Queso Fever: A Movie about Cheese Dip” about how important cheese dip is to Arkansas. It’s compared to the likes of BBQ in Memphis and cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. Arkansas lays claim to the invention of cheese dip, which is heavily contended by the queso-loving Texas. Seriously — senators even got involved. At the height of the queso-cheese dip war, Arkansas and Texas state senators arranged a tasting competition.

It’s been decided (from my understanding) that cheese dip and queso are different things, and that Arkansas did indeed introduce cheese dip into the world in 1935 by Blackie Donnelly at his restaurant, Mexico Chiquito, in North Little Rock. Unlike queso, cheese dip is made with processed cheese (Velveeta) and is thinner because it includes other dairy products. It’s also (allegedly) more flavorful with spices, chilis, veggies and herbs. Based off of the recipe I used from an Arkansas native, I can definitely say they know what they are talking about. This was one of the best cheese dips/quesos/whatever I’ve had.

I followed the recipe relatively closely, changing things up for mostly convenience/what I already had. I put a whole 32oz block of Velveeta, about 8oz of Colby Jack cheese (hand-shredded, please!), 2 jalapeños, 1 can of Rotel, 1 can of diced green chilies, 1 small yellow onion, a handful of cilantro, and then a bunch of seasoned salt, garlic salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika in my slow cooker on the low setting. I added 1 cup of whole milk to start and kept adding more as the cheese melted until it got to the consistency that I wanted it to. I topped it with sliced jalapeño and some red and orange mini peppers. All I can say is: Arkansas, I love you.

For the main dish, I knew I wanted to do something for the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas — so I landed on catfish. Also, I just really love fried catfish. I was going to make it for one of the states in the South anyway; it’s quite the fried delicacy. Arkansas is also the birthplace of the commercial catfish industry, with at least two farms selling catfish in the 1950s. Catfish is found in just about every body of water in Arkansas, including rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs — it’s no wonder why it’s such a popular dish in the state.

Now, let me just say, since moving to Alabama in 2014 I’ve had my fair share of fried catfish. It’s one of my favorite main dishes to get at meat-and-three restaurants. This catfish … This catfish I made was the best catfish I’ve ever had. I am so proud of myself! Unfortunately, my husband has covid and lost his sense of taste, so nobody got to try this catfish and actually taste it for what it was besides me. You’ll all just have to believe me. I started by cleaning the filets and patting them dry. Then I heavily, heavily seasoned the filets with seasoned salt, garlic salt, old bay, paprika, lemon pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I then poured some buttermilk over the seasoned filets and let them all marinate together in the fridge for about an hour while I got the other steps ready.

The dry batter was just yellow cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, and the same seasonings that I used on the filets. I decided to try out frying the filets outside in a disposable pan on our flat-top grill so our house didn’t smell like hot oil and fish for the rest of the day. I saw someone do this on Tik Tok and thought it was a great idea since I hate the smell of fry oil in the house … and doing dishes. It worked really well!

We kept the grill at a pretty low heat at first and doubled up on the pans because we didn’t want to potentially melt the aluminum. We were very careful, but it ended up being fine. Next time we will have the grill hotter to begin with and try using just one pan. These pot thermometers are key in making sure your oil is hot enough for frying.

We simply took the catfish filets right out of the marinade and put them right into the dry batter and then right into the oil in one fell swoop. Frying really intimidated me, but this was way easier than expected! I had my husband do the first one so I could get pictures, but I did do some myself — I swear!

We let them fry past the point of golden brown because I like my catfish crispy. Like, “biting into it and hearing that cccrrruuunnnchhh noise right in your eardrums” crispy. And it was! They came out perfect! So crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside from that buttermilk marinade. Just see for yourself below!

I made a quick tartar sauce to go with it. Scenarios like this are why I can never be a recipe creator. I didn’t even look up what went in a tartar sauce. I just know what it tastes like and threw something together. I can tell you I did mayo, a pickle spear, some pickle juice, some capers & some brine, some sugar, some dried dill, some horseradish, some Worcestershire sauce, and some salt & pepper. I think that’s it. I knew dill & pickles were an important component, and I recall having a tartar sauce with capers in it before, but the rest is just tasting it and see what it needs. It came out really well!

Not only does dirty rice pair perfectly with fried catfish, but Arkansas is actually the biggest producer of rice in the United States. Arkansas accounts for nearly 50% of the U.S. rice production!

I found a Texas Roadhouse rice copycat recipe on Pinterest a few years ago and have been making it ever since. Side note: have you ever had the rice from Texas Roadhouse? It’s so good. Anyway, I knew I had to make it to go with the fried catfish … even if it has a whole stick of butter in it (it makes a lot of servings, though!!). I cooked a medium yellow onion in a stick of butter and then added 2 cups of rice to toast in the pan. While the rice was browning, I added paprika, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Once the rice was nice and toasted, I added 4 cups of chicken broth and about 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Bring that up to a boil and then cover & cut the heat to low. Let the rice cook for about 14-18 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and you’re left with perfectly seasoned and fluffy rice!

I might have failed Arkansas a little bit with this possum pie. My pie crust to filling ratio was a little off, but luckily for me the filling is the best part of a pie anyway. Especially when it’s a chocolate pudding filling! Possum pie was pretty much the only dessert option that came up in my research when I was looking up popular desserts in Arkansas. Honestly, when I saw that it was a pie with a pecan shortbread crust and a cheese cake + chocolate pudding filling, I stopped looking anyway. I couldn’t find much on why it’s called “possum pie” other than the colors mimic the marsupial it’s named after. *shrugs shoulders*

I’m glad I got this picture of the crust-making process, because you can barely see the crust in the end result (again, a mistake I was perfectly okay with!) Making the crust was just pulsing chopped pecans, flour, brown sugar, salt and melted butter in a food processor until you get a wet, crumbly mixture. I then pressed it into one of my pie pans. In hind sight, I would have used one of my wider, more shallow pie pans rather than this narrow, deep pie pan, but you live and you learn.

The first layer of filling was a block of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, and a splash of vanilla extract whipped together into a cheesecake-like batter. The next layer was a box of chocolate pudding because I realized if I made a homemade chocolate pudding, I would have to let it cool for hours and I wanted to eat this TODAY. Thankfully, I keep boxes of pudding on hand in my baking stash! The top layer is just some good ol’ Cool Whip and then some chocolate bar shavings as a garnish.

She’s not the prettiest girl at the prom, but she’s definitely the most delicious! I loved this big slop of sugary chocolatey goodness. 10/10 all around for Arkansas!!

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you like having more pictures of the cooking process or just prefer having pictures of the end product. I really appreciate everyone’s support so far! On to the C states!!