These Are FL's 2 Most-Craved Christmas Dishes, Survey Says

FLORIDA — From classic comfort foods to cultural fare handed down over generations, Christmas meals on Florida dinner tables tend to showcase a variety of robust flavors. According to a new survey, however, it's these two dishes that are most craved by Floridians during the holiday season.

Writers at New Jersey-based cabinetmaker Fabuwood recently surveyed 3,000 people to discover the most-craved Christmas dishes in every state. What it found was the days of sticking to the traditional turkey or ham dinner are long gone.

The most dreamed-about holiday dishes in Florida were Key Lime Pie and deviled crab.

While Floridians may have tried-and-true recipes on hand, here are a few for anyone who may be cooking these dishes for the first time this Christmas:

• Florida’s Key Lime Pie
• Florida Deviled Crab

Ham is the way to go at Christmas in many regions, claiming three of the top 10 spots.

The top 10 regional favorites are, according to the survey:

1. New York’s cheesecake
2. Idaho’s prime rib
3. Texas’ Texas-style barbecue brisket
4. Kentucky’s bourbon-glazed ham
5. Vermont’s maple-glazed ham
6. Washington’s apple pie
7. Virginia’s southern baked macaroni and cheese
8. Alaska’s snow-crab legs
9. Wisconsin’s honey-glazed ham
10. Nevada’s bone-in rib-eye steak

Here are a few other seafood and/or Southern dishes to try:

Here are some other interesting findings on what holiday dishes please Americans' palates according to where they live:

• Southern states dominate the dessert category, with specialties like Mississippi’s mud pie and Alabama’s red velvet cake.
• Coastal states prefer seafood as the main start of the meal.
• The Midwest embraces its immigrant heritage with dishes like West Virginia’s pierogies and Wisconsin’s Swedish meatballs.
• Western states showcase local ingredients (like bison.)

See the full survey online.