Best of luck to Brandi! With an update...

On Saturday, Brandi competed in the Wildcat Invitational Archery Tournament at West Ashley High School.  Results from the all-day tournament should be available today ... I'll post an update when I find out.  She scored 253 points, her all-time high.


UPDATE;  She came in 4th place overall, out of 150+ archers, with only one point out of 3rd place.  WAY TO GO! 

Brandi shooting at 15 meters

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25, she is competing in the SC State Archery Tournament in Sumter, SC at 11:00 am.  

Best of luck to you, Brandi!

Mmmmmm...breakfast

Isn't this just so pretty? I don't even like runny yolks but the younguns and Bill do!  

Griddle one of two full of eggs!

  With some mini chocolate chip studded pancakes, too!  

Griddle one of eight full of pancakes!

With this yummy breakfast, it gave us a good start to a full, yes, full day of playing Risk.  World domination awaits.... 

Tour of Fifty States: Minnesota's meal

Minnesota, chosen by Brandi, is another state that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in!  That’s just too funny.  She is re-reading the books one at a time, just like I did at her age. 

Food Network is on just about all the time at our house, and one of the shows we don’t really like but we can’t stop watching (LOL) is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.   We recently saw an episode that made us all say we want to try what Guy Fieri was eating – Juicy Lucys (MMM hamburgers stuffed with molten cheese!) That is exactly what I picked for Minnesota.  J

With the burgers we’re having Hotdish, which is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers.  Senator Al Franken holds an annual Hotdish competition.

Dessert will be Kolackys (also spelled Kolach and Kolache) due to Minnesota being the “Kolacky Capital of the World” and the state holds an annual Kolacky Days festival. Hmmm…what jam to choose for the filling?   

Menu:  Juicy Lucys, Hotdish, Kolackys

Outcome:  Oh, the burgers were so good!  Everyone really liked the Hotdish and the kids asked us to make it again.   The Kolackys filled with strawberry preserves were just right.  Not too big and very easy to make. 

Next up:  Bridget’s turn!  She chose Massachusetts!

Minnesota's Meal!

Food Category Breakdown

Below is a breakdown of the different types of foods we'll have when we are finished with all 50 states and D.C.!

Our state meal progress!

Just thought I would share this: I have a Power Point map of the U.S. that I fill in when we randomly choose our next state meal.  Notice that Brandi is the only one of us who has picked states that share a border with another one she picked...and she did it again this week!  

23 have been chosen so far...

Tour of Fifty States: Pennsylvania's meal

For the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s meal, we knew we needed to have Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. I found that in Philadelphia, they aren't called “Philly” Cheese Steak Sandwiches, just Cheese Steaks! There are so many ways to prepare a Cheese Steak – the choice of cheese and the types of veggies that are added make for lots of combinations.

I chose Shoofly (or Shoo-fly) Pie for the Pennsylvania Dutch, or Amish, that live in the rural areas. I don’t recall ever having Shoofly Pie before but I love, love, love molasses. (I think that the sticky molasses that attracts flies is how the pie got its name.) There are 2 different kinds of Shoofly pie – wet bottom and dry bottom. The dry bottom pie is baked completely and is cake-like and the wet bottom pie is baked a little less, with a custard-like consistency. The wet bottom one sounded good to me!

In keeping with the Pennsylvania theme, for breakfast we had French toast stuffed with Philly Cream Cheese. For Saturday night's dinner we had some Amish Potato Salad and for a treat, I broke out some surprise Hershey bars ... with nuts, because we’re all a little nutty.

Menu:  French toast stuffed with Philly Cream Cheese, Hershey Bars, Cheese Steak Sandwiches, Fries, Wet Bottom Shoofly Pie

Outcome:  Who doesn't love a Cheese Steak?  All of us did a 50/50 combination of 2 different cheeses --Provolone, White American, or Cheez Whiz.  We had sautéed mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers, too.  I found some “Philly Cheese Steak” rolls at the store, but these were sliced completely through.  We all agree that the next time we have Cheese Steaks that we’ll use a regular hoagie roll that is split but still hinged at the bottom to better hold the sandwich.  Lesson learned!  I also opted not to use ribeye $teak$ because wow they are pricey!!  Instead, I used a round roast that I froze and then sliced paper thin.

The Shoofly Pie was interesting.  We feel that the crumb topping was just too much and should be reduced by a third.  The texture was a little too “floury” to us and it overpowered the molasses flavor.  Perhaps a little more butter would have made a difference.  I’m including the original, unaltered recipe below.

Next up:  Brandi’s turn!  She chose Minnesota!

Cheese Steak!

Tour of Fifty States: Florida's meal

When Bridget picked Florida as our next state meal, we all thought -- Key Lime Pie!  But no one else could think of what the Main dish should be.  I shared with everyone about the Cuban sandwich (having lived in Florida for 4 years, I remembered that they were very popular, even where we lived, in Gainesville.)  The Cuban or cubano is basically a sub sandwich (see New Jersey.) What sets the Cuban apart from other subs is that it is pressed very firmly on a griddle or skillet until it’s flattened and crisp and the cheese is melty inside.

Cuban cigar factory workers immigrated to the Key West and Tampa areas to work in the cigar factories beginning in the 1860s and the sandwich was served there. Now it’s popular not only in Tampa, but in Miami, where many more Cubans immigrated in the 1960s.  The Tampa version of the Cuban includes Genoa salami (as a nod to Italians living in Tampa), and the Miami version omits it.  Since Matthew and Amanda live in Tampa with their father, we are adding the Genoa salami to our Cuban sandwiches.  J

Tostones (twice-fried plantains) are another dish influenced by the Cuban, Puerto Rican, and several other Caribbean islands’ immigrants that flooded into Florida in the last century – today their influence has led to a “Floribbean” style of food.

No fresh milk, no refrigeration, and no ice were available in the Florida Keys until the opening of the Overseas Highway in 1930. The original recipe was uncooked; canned sweetened condensed milk was “set” in reaction to key lime juice.  When looking up recipes for Key Lime Pie, I came across so many recipes!! Graham Cracker vs. pastry crust? Meringue vs. whipped cream?  Well, we are making 2 different pies and we’ll see which one we like the best!  Both variations are given in the recipe.  Check the Outcome to see which one each of us liked the best. 

Menu:  Cuban Sandwiches, Tostones (Fried Plantains), Key Lime Pie

Outcome:  The sandwiches were really good – Bill did a wonderful job pressing them with a heavy skillet on the griddle for us and got them very flat with the cheese melted just right.  I fried the plantains and Bill mashed them flat with a drinking glass and I fried them again.  They were kind of like potatoes in consistency and taste.  Bridget said they reminded her of pistachios as you chew them, with a little graininess and sweetness.  None of us were really blown away by the tostones, but at least we tried something we’d never had before. 

On busy Saturday, after Brandi’s upstate archery tournament, Bridget’s basketball practice and friend’s birthday party, Ben’s volunteering at a robotics competition, and Bill being on call, we made the first of the Key Lime pies in a Graham cracker crust with meringue.  Sunday Ben had a history project to work on at his school, so he missed dinner and the second pie (pastry crust and whipped cream.) His mom picked him up from school and came to our house to get the girls and we had a piece of pie and a fork waiting for him.   At this point, the rest of us were divided 50/50 on crust and topping.  See the table:  

  

	Graham Cracker Crust	Pastry Crust	Meringue	Whipped Cream
Bill	X		X
Paula		X		X
Bridget	X			X
Brandi		X	X
Ben	X			X

Graham cracker crust and whipped cream wins!  That’s how we’ll make Key Lime Pie from now on!
Next up:  Brandi’s turn!  She chose Pennsylvania!  She is the first one of us to pick a state that touches another one we’ve picked (she had also picked Ohio).  With Brandi, this finished up our rotation of names (middle names by ABC order.) We played a dice game called Farkle, one of our favorites, and our placement from winner to loser decided our next rotation.  Brandi won the game by a landslide, so she gets to choose next time. J

Florida's Meal

Tour of Fifty States: Virginia's Meal

Smithfield ham is a specific form of “country ham” cured in the town of Smithfield, Virginia.  Country hams are usually sold in stores unrefrigerated as whole, bone-in hams packaged in rough cotton bags, with identifying markings printed on the bags. It is also sold in presoaked, sliced, ready-to-cook form, usually vacuum-packaged.  There are several methods of cooking a country ham including slicing and pan-frying, baking whole, and simmering for several hours (in several changes of water). Whole hams may need to be scrubbed and soaked for several hours before eating to remove the salt cure and mold. Even when soaked, they are still quite salty.I didn't really want to do the soaking and scrubbing method, I chose to go with a “City ham” for our state meal instead.  Much less salt, also! 

For Virginia, our dessert called Virginia Apple Pudding … but it is really just a fruit topped cake.  Pudding in the US characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards.  Since Virginia was one of the original 13 colonies, the first citizens simply kept the traditional British word “pudding” when they refer to “dessert.” Pudding may also refer to other dishes such as bread and rice pudding. 

Menu:  Ham with Ginger Glaze, Sweet Potatoes, Virginia Apple Pudding

Outcome: The ham was wonderful.  I found Ginger Preserves at Publix and I amended the recipe – it called for an entire 2 liter bottle of Ginger ale, but I only added about a third that I basted the ham with (it seemed enough.)  The ham was spicy but not too much.  J  The Virginia Apple Pudding was – according to Bill, one of the best desserts we’ve had.  The cake was a muffin-like texture and really quite good.  We’ll be making this again with peaches as soon as they are ripe.  Can’t wait!
Next up:  Bridget’s turn!  She chose Florida!

Virginia Ham and Baked Sweet Potato with cheese!

Looking forward to next week...

Bridget picked Florida!  All of us are looking forward to Key Lime Pie....MMM .  What else will we serve?

Stay tuned....

Virginia's write up will come tomorrow.  :)

Tour of Fifty States: Kentucky's meal

My mom, a.k.a Granny, was born in Middlesboro, KY. Her mother’s family lived and worked the coal mines in the area. When doing research for this project, I discovered some pretty interesting facts about this little town of just over 10,000.

The city claims to be the only one in the United States built entirely inside such a crater, as well as the home of ragtime music and the oldest continuously-played golf course in the country.

The town of Middlesboro, built in the crater, was established in 1886 to mine iron and coal, although the town's founder, Alexander A. Arthur, apparently did not know of the crater's extraterrestrial origin. K. J. Englund and J. B. Roen, working for the U. S. Geological Survey, identified the impact basin in 1962. The Middlesboro crater forms part of the string of geological features that made the Cumberland Gap, a critical westward passage during the settlement of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. Starting around 1775, the Gap became the primary route of transit for settlers moving west; between 1775 and 1810 as many as 300,000 settlers may have used the Gap.

Without Middlesboro crater, it would have been difficult for packhorses to navigate this gap and improbable that wagon roads would have been constructed at an early date. Middlesboro is also the only place in the world where coal is mined inside an impact crater. Cool facts!

On another note, in 2012 Kirstin and I took a long road trip and one of our stops was in Louisville, where we visited the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory. That was a fun experience and got to bring home a mini bat. We also visited the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, and several Kentucky bourbon distilleries in and around Lexington. Had I known about the Brown Hotel and its world famous Hot Brown sandwiches, we’d have surely stopped to try the local favorite. Here’s a link to the hotel’s description and their recipe: http://www.brownhotel.com/dining-hot-brown .

Menu : Kentucky Hot Browns, Kentucky Wonder Beans, Kentucky Bourbon Fudge Pie

Outcome: We all think the Hot Browns came out very well. Cheesy, bacony, and just really good! The flavor combination can’t be beat. The pie was rich and fudgy with just the right consistency. Mmm good! We each had a piece and shared the last 2 slices with Granny and Grandpa…hope they liked it as much as we did!

Next up: Bill’s turn! He chose Virginia! Two weeks away…

Tour of Fifty States: Idaho's meal

It seems like forever since we did our last state meal … it’s been almost 2 months!  We had a triple birthday celebration, Thanksgiving, putting up the Christmas tree, a last soccer game, an end-of-season soccer party, tree decorating, cookie decorating, driving to Florida to pick up Matthew, a Dollywood trip, Christmas dinner with 15 people (!), returning Matthew to Florida, and an on-call weekend for Dad.  Whew.  Now it’s January and we can get back to a calmer schedule. 

Christmas was especially important and poignant this year.  First, we got to enjoy it with Matthew.  Normally he lives with us and spends Christmas with his father; but now that he lives with his father, he spent Christmas with us for the first time in many years.  Second, both of my brothers came to Christmas Dinner.  The 3 of us haven’t been together in a long time, let alone for a holiday meal.  Since we’re all getting older, we felt it important to be together with our parents at Christmas.  That thought brings me to the third point about Christmas being so poignant.  Bill’s stepmother Diane passed away on December 27 after her final Christmas with the rest of her family by her side.  She had a short but hard-fought battle with cancer.  All of us were sad to hear of her passing, but we are grateful that she no longer has to suffer in pain.  She will be missed. 

Menu :  Grilled Flank Steak with Mushroom Sauce, Duchess Potatoes, Blueberry Buckle

Outcome:  When everyone thinks of Idaho, they think, “POTATOES!”  Of course, I had to find the perfect potato recipe.  Plain old mashed or baked taters just wouldn’t cut it.  I came across the recipe for Duchess Potatoes and knew it would be perfect with the flank steak and mushrooms.  My piping bag and I had a disagreement, so I ended up spooning the Duchess Potatoes into individual au gratin dishes and baking them.  They came out very nicely with lots of little brown crispy bits all over the surface. 

On to the main dish…we are all huge mushroom fans in our house!  The recipe for the sauce called for “dry sautéing” the mushrooms, meaning that butter or oil was not added except at the very end for flavor.  I really loved the intense flavor that this brought to the mushrooms … almost beefy.  Bill grilled the flank steak to a perfect medium rare for us. Bravo! 

As for our dessert, various cake-y desserts topped with fruit are referred to by many names:  crisp, crumble, cobbler, grunt, slump, brown betty, kuchen, but this was a new one to me:  buckle.  Same type of dessert, though, a simple cake batter covered with fruit and baked.  The recipe called for huckleberries, which are nowhere to be found in SC!  So we used blueberries.  Upon doing a little research, I’ve found that huckleberries are very similar to blueberries but they are NOT grown commercially (being resistant to domestication) and are only harvested in the wild.  Mystery solved!

Next up:  Ben’s turn!  He chose Kentucky – and we see the kids again this weekend, so it will be faster for the blog update!

Tour of Fifty States: Wisconsin's Meal

Following last week’s South Dakota meal (kind of in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder) here is another state that is linked to her.  She was born in Wisconsin, so many years ago.

Today Wisconsin is a state that is very, very proud of its heritage and is known as “America’s Dairyland.”  I got the recipe idea for the soup that I made from the Wisconsin Cheese Board.  Their website is www.eatwisconsincheese.com/recipes.  The one they have is called “Wisconsin Cheese Soup” but as usual, I doctored it up a bit and made my own version.

When you get to the recipe for the brats, be sure to read the “guidelines” that were given at www.bratwurstpages.com. J

Menu :  Bratwurst and Sauerkraut on buns, Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup, Schaum Torte

Outcome:  We all really liked the brats with the grilled onions.  I think I’m the only one who had sauerkraut though, LOL!  I found some “brat rolls” made by the same National Brand of brat manufacturer…but they were much longer than the brats made famous by the National Brand. Most of us ended up dipping our extra brat buns pieces into the beer cheese soup.  Speaking of the soup, it was pretty good!  I found some “Pretzel” bread sticks at Wal-Mart in a pack of 6 --these tasted just like soft baked pretzels and they were excellent dipped in the soup. 

As for the dessert – I don’t know what happened, but I followed the directions for the meringues to the letter and yet, they were sticky on the inside.  The outside parts of the meringue were super light and crispy, but when I cut into them with a serrated knife, they were the consistency of marshmallow fluff.  Not too appealing, being so gooey, but pretty good tasting with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and frozen (thawed) mixed berries.  I left the meringues in the oven all night to hopefully dry out more, but the next day they were still sticky on the inside.  Note:  The recipe ended up with 12 large meringues, so if I prepare this again I will half the recipe and make the meringues a little smaller. 

Next up:  My turn to choose!  (This round, we are going by middle names in ABC order.) I picked Idaho!  With the holidays quickly approaching, with birthday dinners for 3 of the kids and other mandatory dinners/occasions, our state meal may be pushed back to January.  I will keep writing up the recipes I make for us, however, and post them on here! 

Wisconsin!  YES I used ketchup!

Tour of Fifty States: South Dakota's Meal

As a lifelong fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie book series and the 1970s TV show, I was excited to have the meal from South Dakota.  Brandi, who is also a huge “Little House” fan, mentioned that South Dakota was one of the places that Laura and her husband lived.  J  She was even re-reading Farmer Boy this weekend.

My ancestors settled in Sioux City when they came over from Norway and for many years I had a great-aunt who lived in Rapid City.  I’ve always wanted to visit the area and we’re thinking about making next summer’s vacation trip to see Mount Rushmore…and we’re going to try to stop by DeSmet, SD along the way to see Laura’s home. 

Menu :  Chislic, Potato Skins , Berry Kuchen

Outcome:  Bill really liked the seasoning on the beef cubes.  We opted to serve the meat on each person’s plate instead of on a platter to be speared with toothpicks, South Dakota style, but it was still very, very good!  The Kuchen recipe for South Dakota was much different from the one for North Dakota, which was more like a cake.  This version came out like bars, with a more solid crust on the bottom.  The recipe called for blackberries, a fruit you would more likely find on the South Dakota prairie, but we had 5 gallon-sized bags of blueberries in the freezer – so a Blueberry Kuchen is what we had! 

Next up:  Bridget chose Wisconsin!  (Brandi also remembered that was where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born!)