BEST SAUSAGE SUPPER IN ST. LOUIS!

Today is our Church’s Sausage Supper. It’s from Noon till 6pm.

COME ON DOWN!!

Our sausage was homemade this Friday!

It’s hickory smoked! (I’ve been smelling its smoky goodness since Friday!)

It’s all you can eat!

$10 for adults!

$5 for kids!

For carryouts come to the church at

4795 N Hwy 94

St. Charles, MO 63301

For dine in go to Trinity Lutheran School…

4689 N Hwy 94

St. Charles, MO 63301

Apple Surprise

Tags

apple cake, apple picking, apples, food

Apple picking is an odd activity.  Here’s a product that’s available in the store 365 days a year at a reasonably low price.  Also, there are none of the following in the produce section of the grocery store:

Worms.

Bees.

Mysterious beetles.

Ticks.

Danger of falling from trees.

Secondly, when it was all said and done, I drove over 60 miles round trip for five pounds of apples.  That is not the behavior of a sane person.  Third, I had to go out into the orchard and find apples that were not worm-eaten, rotten, and within arms-reach of children*.

*My lovely daughter seemed obsessed with risking bones and internal organ damage by trying to pluck 25 cent pieces of fruit from the most inaccessible branches of the trees.  You kind of understand how Eve was tempted by the apple seeing that spectacle.

Who would do this craziness?

Why do we do these things?

Because it’s awesome.  You are foraging for your own fruit.  My daughter climbed trees looking for the perfect fruit, my son creeped under branches looking for good fruit on the interior of the trees.  Good family times.  I’m sure if I had to do it every day, it would be a hellish nightmare, but once a year, it’s a blast to go out and spend a ridiculous amount of time and money to get a bag of apples.

Anyway, here’s pictures of apple orchard fun at Centennial Farms in Augusta.  We picked Mutsu, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious apples.

Katie climbed into the trees for apples.  I’m really not sure if this was allowed.  However, it did get us some good apples.

Brendan’s hands overflowed with bounty.

This picture would be great without my clumsy finger in the corner.  Someday I will master the technology every 13 year old on the planet has done with ease.

When we got home, I tried to make Apple cake.  Let’s just say it was an adventure…therefore I call it “Apple Surprise.”

First of all, I’m no good at peeling apples.  I’m just not good with paring knives.  So, Katie and I used a vegetable peeler, and it worked out ok (Except for the two apples that flew out of our hands and into the garbage can).  We put six peeled apples into the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Notice the bits of peel on the apple.  That is an indication that it was late and I needed to get this done and get the kids to bed.

We had also bought a gallon of apple cider at the orchard, so I used a half cup of cider and a half cup of water rather than a cup of water in the bottom of the pan.

I didn’t have cake mix, so I used the Internet to figure out how to make my own cake mix.  It went pretty well.  For your information, here’s how the Internet says to make cake mix:

2 3/4 cup flour

1 3/4 cups super fine sugar (I did not use this)

2 teaspoon baking powder (I used baking soda…did I mention I’m not a baker?)

3/4 tsp salt

I sifted it all together and hoped for the best.

Well, I took my “CAKE MIX FOR DUMMIES”, added a stick of melted butter, a cup of brown sugar, almost a tablespoon of cinnamon and mixed it all up until it was lumpy.  Then I poured it over the apples and cider.

Notice Katie messing with the cake mix in the background.  She seemed unsure if this plan would work.

At the last minute, I decided to sprinkle some apple pie spice on top as well.

So this all looked good, and I thought we’d bake it for 50 minutes to see what would happen.  At the last minute, I decided to pour a little more apple cider over the cake mix…that was a good idea.

Here it is right before it went into the oven…Have I mentioned I’m not a baker?

About 35 minutes into the cooking, I noticed the parts of the cake mix that had apple cider poured on it looked like cake.  The rest of the cake looked like nasty powder.  At this point I said, “Why not?”  Let’s pour apple cider over the whole darn thing.

I cooked it for about 25 more minutes and SHAZAAM!  Apple surprise.  The biggest surprise was that it was fantastic.  I’M A BAKER ON THE EDGE!

Look at that fresh-picked apple goodness!

Well, now it’s Wednesday, and I still have a rather large amount of apples left.  Obviously, I should eat them raw.  That’s what a healthy person (or one of those paleo dieters) would do, right?  But, let’s just say that I wanted to do something less healthy with the apples…I’d be glad to entertain your suggestions.

Food…with Friends (or an Ode to Oysters)

Tags

Lake of the Ozarks, lobster, Minnesota, Missouri, natural light, New Mexico, oyster stew, oysters, Wisconsin

The lovely wife and wonderful kids had an outstanding first week of school.  Sarah nailed a couple of projects, Katie transitioned to third grade like a pro, and Brendan has turned out to be an attentive and compliant kindergartener.  I even felt reasonably successful this week.  So, with all that in mind, Sarah and I got to get away for a very brief overnight getaway at the Lake of the Ozarks with some great friends.

Along the way, I got to have a new food adventure, that one would not expect in the middle of America.

Before I go any further, I will say, I have always had mixed feelings about eating our mollusk friends.

Clams good!  Mussels: good!  Scallops: Sweet and delicious!

Calamari: Not a fan!

Octopus: There is a reason some call them devil fish.

Maybe I’m anti-cephlapod.

Oysters…what do I say about oysters?  Well, my experience with oysters goes back to my childhood.  When I was a kid, my Grandpa Crowder used to live with us for several months at a time when he was in his eighties, and I was in middle school.  My grandpa was quite a character.  He would smoke his pipe in bed and occasionally try to trip you with his cane.  He would whip you at dominoes, gin rummy, or especially at checkers (he was almost blind, so we put white tape on black checkers so he could see the board).  Then after he beat you, he’d laugh.  He was fun to have around.  But, one of my clearest memories of him was oyster stew.

The story goes that he had it once on his way out to visit one of my uncles in California.  He apparently had it in New Mexico (because that’s where you go for oysters), and loved it.  It was one of his favorites.  So, about once a week while he lived with us, my mom would make oyster stew for him.  I don’t know how she made it, but it involved canned oysters.  I just remember it smelled bad.  I’m trying to keep my blog G-rated, so I won’t get descriptive in saying what it smelled like.  So, you reader, may use your imagination:

It smelled like _______________.

It was SO bad, that once when he sat down for his lunch of it, my mom, sister, and I all put clothespins on our noses while he ate.  He laughed and laughed.

So, my first impression of oysters was not good.

Fast forward to Christmas, 2001.  The lovely wife and I were having our first Christmas as a married couple. Her parents are from rural Minnesota, and as part of their Christmas eve tradition, they always had what else…oyster stew.  (Because Minnesota is THE place for oysters)

For weeks leading up to the traditional Christmas Eve stew, I swore to Sarah that I would NOT eat oyster stew.  I complained about the smell, the look of the oysters, and basically wondered how we would celebrate the birth of Jesus with Mollusks in Milk.  So, the big day finally came, and at some point I finally said to Sarah, “How do you eat those things?”

Finally, Sarah said, “Oh, we don’t eat the oysters.”

WHAT???

Basically, my fantastic mother-in-law puts heats cream, tons of butter, and then adds some shucked oysters (not from a can).  Then they put OYSTER CRACKERS in and drink the creamy, buttery broth.  Occasionally someone may get an oyster speck, but that’s it.

In 2002, Sarah’s Aunt Pat (from Wisconsin, also known as “America’s Oysterland”) made stew at a big family reunion.  She used different, smaller oysters…I tried some in the stew, and it was great!  So now, I was confused.  Could these lowly bottom feeders be good?

YES.

So, back to this weekend’s adventure.  We were down at the Lake of the Ozarks (Known worldwide as the place for fantastic oysters) and one of our friends brought some VERY FRESH seafood on ice.

This friend of ours works for a very wealthy individual.  Occasionally he provides our friend with some AMAZING seafood.  A few weeks ago, he brought home some big eye tuna.  We had it sashimi style, and it was delicious.

This weekend, our friend brought fresh oysters and two ten pound lobsters.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay for the lobster, but I will let you know, the lobsters had a good time before their date with the steamer.

Perhaps they wouldn’t have gotten so overweight if they didn’t drink so much.

Back to the oysters…we had 50 fresh oysters on ice for Friday night.  Most of them were put on the grill to cook in their shells with a little garlic, spices, and parmesan cheese.

But a couple were left aside for those who liked them raw.  After seeing one of our friends take one off the half shell, I thought I’d give it a try.

SEE VIDEO POST FOR THRILLING OYSTER EATING FOOTAGE!!!

I put all my preconceived notions about oysters aside, added a little Tobasco sauce, and let that little bivalve slip-slide down my throat.  It was cold, salty with a touch of spice, and actually wonderful.  I especially loved getting the liquid out at the end.  I could honestly see myself eating a whole tray of those in the future.

Shortly after, the other oysters from the grill were ready.  The lovely wife took this picture that captures the pile of sea bounty before us:

These were delectable.  We put a little lemon juice on each one, and had one amazing bite of what I’ll call Ozark Oysters.  The parmesan and oysters complimented each well, and I thought the lemon really brightened each bite with it’s slight sweet-sour flavors.

So, what have we learned?  I’ve learned that I have seen my relationship with oysters come full circle, from clothespins on the nose, to sucking down these live bottom-feeders in central Missouri on a fantastic weekend of food with friends.

Thanks friends!

So, I’ll ask my readers two questions.

1.  How do you feel about oysters?

2.  What is your favorite mollusk meal?

Lincoln and Lunch

Tags

Abraham Lincoln, bacon, chocolate cream, Illinois, pie, pork tenderloin, Springfield

The last days of summer are a melancholy time, especially for a teacher.  Every year we are offered a taste of the retired life.  Late mornings, the flexibility of schedule, time to yourself, not having to answer hundreds of questions in a day, and not having to wear the shackles of society (shoes).  You know it is going to be about 10 months until you get that freedom again.  I know other people don’t have this luxury that teachers have, but every year there is a mixed bag of excitement and worry; hope and sadness.  But you know who had it worse??

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

I’m always reminded of that whenever I visit the Lincoln sites up in Springfield.  “Oooohhh, I’m worried about my lessons and athletics!”

Abraham Lincoln says, “I’m worried about mutinous advisors, incompetent generals, an unstable wife, America falling apart, and oh yeah, one of my kids just died.”

Your problems are put in perspective and you have a greater respect for the man.  Anyway, I strongly suggest people check out the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.  That’s what we did this last Monday, as part of a Last Day of Summer adventure with my parents, the lovely wife, and wonderful children.

Now just up the road from Springfield is the New Salem State Historical Site.  We toured the site on Monday morning.  While there, we were given a recommendation  for lunch at Gillmore’s Cafe just up the road in Petersburg, Illinois.

The family hopped into the van and made the short ride up to the Cafe.  It’s not much to look at from the outside, I think it was an old garage.  However, if you are looking for a down-home meal at a ridiculously low price*, you have found the place.

*BLTs with fries for around $4.  Same with the burgers.

The server was friendly, and half of the group ordered BLTs (check out my earlier musings on this topic).  I however, ordered a Breaded Tenderloin Horse*…I’d never heard of this before and I thought I’d give it a try.  It was described to me as a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich with cheese sauce.

*You really probably shouldn’t put “Tenderloin” and “Horse” together on an American menu…people might get the wrong idea.  It was pork.  Not horse.

Breaded pork!  Cheese!  Sign me up!

This is what came:

Overall, it was ok.  However, my lovely wife recommended that I not eat all of it.  After all, it was a pile of pork, white bread, fries and cheese.  The pork tenderloin was really good.  It was moist and, well, tender.  The cheese sauce was oddly grainy.  Overall, I’m not sure why it’s called a Horse.  Frankly, if you ate this every day, a horse would be unable to support your massive bulk.

I only ate half.  Hooray for my healthy choices!

Oh wait, I ordered homemade pie.

I promise I will write a future blog extolling the virtues of pie.

Now, the Tenderloin Horse was so-so.  Everyone else enjoyed their BLTs and patty melts.  However, we all agreed that the pies were AMAZING.  I would go back for the pie.

I ordered chocolate-cream pie.  I think we have gotten used to the Jell-O pudding mix pie, or the very whipped chocolate mousse style store-bought pie.  Those are all ok.  This was pie perfection.

The picture doesn’t do justice to how good it was.  The chocolate had a full-rich flavor.  Almost a dark chocolate.  There was sweetness, but it didn’t overpower the chocolate flavor.  I also like the fact that it didn’t have three inches of cream on top.  The cream was a great compliment with its velvety-smooth texture to counteract the thick chocolate layer.  Finally, the crust was firm and flaky, and held together throughout the pie.  I like a crust that doesn’t fall apart, but doesn’t overpower the rest of the ingredients.

Just an FYI, Sarah ordered the cherry cobbler, and said it was good as well.  You’ll have to take her word for it, because in my opinion, cherries are the fruit of the devil.

So, if you ever find yourself in Lincoln Land, and have a hankering for home cookin’, go on up to Petersburg and check out Gillmore’s Cafe.  If you steer clear of the Breaded Tenderloin Horse (Once again, not a real horse), you can have two pieces of pie.

Overall, nice people, good sandwiches, and GREAT PIE.

So, I’ll leave my readers with a question.  Where is your favorite spot for down-home cooking in the Bi-State area (or even farther)?  Let me know!