A Menu of Local (Mostly) American Dishes

When we have friends for dinner, I often pick a theme. The most recent, was local dishes from around the U.S. The only exception was the appetizer because I couldn't find something that was easy, and fast, and that I hadn't already made - so I substituted a Levantine appetizer. I was very happy with the results. The menu was:

Appetizer - pita bread coated with olive oil and za'atar spice, and toasted - from the Levant

Salad - curried Waldorf salad - from New York

Main dish - Shrimp de Jonghe - from Chicago

Side dish - Maque Choux - Cajun from Louisiana

Dessert - Blueberry - Strawberry Sonker from Surry County, North Carolina

I was very happy with everything except the dessert. The dessert tasted ok, but was not great. I'll try that again some time to see if I can figure out if I can do better.