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A Culinary Detour

4/27/13
I know I said the next recipe I'd post would be pho, but...last night we made wiener schnitzel for dinner and profiteroles for dessert. They're both recipes I found in the May 2013 edition of Family Circle magazine (my FAVORITE magazine), which had a section of world cuisine. 

The wiener schnitzel was, admittedly, a bit disappointing. It wasn't really anything special, even though I did my best to jazz up the breading a little bit with paprika and oregano. It could very well be, though, that the blandness came from me substituting pork chops for the veal cutlets traditionally used in the recipe. Either way, I found myself longing for gravy (I know, I'm ashamed) because it turned out more like chicken fried pork steaks than wiener schnitzel. Maybe next time I'll do a German/Southern fusion (interesting...) recipe where I'll do some sort of beer-based gravy. Could be fun. I served it with roasted potatoes, but to make it more authentically German boiled potatoes with fresh dill probably would have been better. Here's the recipe I used. Maybe you guys can tell me where I went wrong! Either way, this one's not going in the "keep" folder.


Wiener Schnitzel
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 c. panko bread crumbs
  • Salt
  • Dried oregano
  • Paprika
  • 1 lb. veal cutlets or pork chops
  • 2-3 T. butter

Steps:
  1. On a small dish or plate, mix the flour with the pepper and a pinch of salt. On a separate small dish or plate, beat the two eggs with just a little bit (about 1 T.) of water. On yet another small dish or plate, pour our the panko bread crumbs and combine with a bit of paprika and oregano (about 1/2 tsp. of each). 
  2. Place your veal cutlets or pork chops on a cutting board and place a sheet of plastic wrap over them. Once covered with the plastic wrap, grab a mallet or rolling pin and proceed to bash the crap out of them until they're nice and thin (about 1/3 to 1/2 inch). Remove the plastic wrap.
  3. One by one, take the cutlets and place each in the flour, turning to cover. Once the cutlet is covered with flour, shake it off to remove excess flour and place in the dish with the eggs, turning to cover. Once it's all nice and egg-y, place it in the panko crumbs dish and turn to cover, pressing slightly to make sure the crumbs stick well. Repeat these steps until all cutlets are covered.
  4. In a skillet or pan, heat 2 T. of the butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, place your cutlets into the pan. Don't crowd them! They need room to do their thing. Add another tablespoon of butter if you find that the pan gets dry and starts to turn dark brown/black (this means it's burning!).
  5. Cook each side for about 2-3 minutes, until nice and browned. Serve.


Roasted Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min.
Cook time: 20-25 min.

Ingredients:
  • 2-3 good old Russet baking potatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Oregano or any dried herb you like

Steps:
  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Wash and dry your potatoes (because no one likes eating dirt). Cube into bite-sized chunks.
  3. Put the cubed potatoes into a bowl and cover with a good drizzle of olive oil (about 1.5-2 tablespoons). Toss or stir to coat all the potatoes with the oil.
  4. Turn out your potatoes onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a healthy amount of salt, pepper, and herbs. 
  5. Pop into the oven and cook for 20-25 min., stirring every so often. 


After dinner, we decided to try another recipe: profiteroles. Profiteroles are a nice little French dessert which probably belong more at a some rich person's tea party than my after-wiener schnitzel treat, but it was worth a shot anyway. :)

Profiteroles are kind of what we Americans think of when we think "eclaires." They start with a very simple dough of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, and then they're baked until they become cute little puffs. Once cooled, they're cut in half, stuffed with ice cream, and topped with melted chocolate and powered sugar (if you're being extra naughty). They were every bit as good as I hoped they'd be, and because of their small size (about 1/2 the size of a billiards ball), they were great in terms of portion control, too. They're light, but also rich and sweet, so just one (or two) is good enough to satisfy an after dinner sweet tooth. They'd freeze well, too, in case you wanted to make a whole bunch in advance and then serve them the next day.



Profiteroles
Prep time: 2 min.
Cook and cooldown time: 35 min.
P.S. This is a tiny little plate for this tiny little treat!

Ingredients:
  • 4 T. butter (unsalted, if you please, and don't give me that nasty petroleum bi-product, either. Just suck it up, go for the real thing, and promise you'll do an extra couple of crunches to make up for it tomorrow. Trust me, it's worth it to get the real thing.)
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • Ice cream! I used French Silk from Edy's, but you can really use whatever you like, although I'd suggest the classics: vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry.
  • Dark chocolate chips or chocolate syrup, for topping
  • Powered sugar, if desired

Steps:
  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a small pot, heat 1/2 c. water, the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until it boils. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to medium, add the flour, and stir until it forms a ball or dough. 
  3. Dump your dough into a bowl to let it cool for about 10 min. This is very important! If you don't let the dough cool enough and you add the eggs (in the next step), you'll end up with scrambled eggs because the dough will cook the eggs.
  4. Once cooled a bit, add in the eggs, one at a time, and stir until it forms a smooth, shiny dough.
  5. Place the dough into a piping bag or plastic zip-top bag with a corner snipped. I learned a nice little trick for how to do this: put a zip-top back in a big glass or liquid measuring cup. Once in there, it's a lot easier (and a whole lot less messy) to just lop your dough in there than it is to try to hold the bag and put the dough in.

    6. Using a piping bag or zip-top bag, pipe mounds of the dough onto a parchment paper-lined       baking sheet about 1.5-2 inches apart. With this recipe, I ended up with eight mounds. Once you've piped all the mounds, wet a finger (so it won't stick to the dough) and pat down the mounds so they're smooth on top.
    7. Bake the dough in the 425 degree oven for 10 min, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for about 10 minutes more, or whenever the mounds puff up and turn golden brown. Once cooked, put the mounds on a cooling rack and cool completely.
    8. Once cooled, slice each profiterole in half and put a glob of ice cream on the bottom half and replace the top. Drizzle with melted chocolate or chocolate syrup and powered sugar, if desired. Enjoy with a nice strong, dark cup of coffee.


I promise you, today we really are making pho! So the next post you'll see will hopefully be a successful pho recipe. :)

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Preparing for a Super Phun Pho Adventure

4/24/13
What a week. This Friday, I submit the final assignment of my masters degree career. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. That does mean, though, that I'll have more time to do what I love: cook and eat. :)

Tomorrow, Matt's driving the 7.5 hours to Springfield, IL for an interview for a graduate assistantship, so please send good vibes his way. I'll be here in Lincoln. Alone. With the dogs.

I've begun digging into the insanely interesting world of Asian cuisine, thanks to cookbooks lent by my mom and mom-in-law.



There are a lot of really great recipes out there, but I'm trying to find a good balance between one that's exotic and authentic and one that won't break the bank buying the ingredients at an Asian goods market.

I'm thinking that I'll try a new recipe tomorrow, when I'm here alone without Matt. :( I can tell you that the dogs are pretty excited about it...

Did you pick a recipe yet?

No really...can you start cooking now?

It'll be tough to pick a recipe, but since I'm not feeling too great, I think I'll go with pho (pronounced "fuh"), a Vietnamese soup that tastes like heaven in broth form. It's like Vietnamese comfort food (or phood...see what I did there?), and it beats chicken noodle soup five to one. Don't believe me? Listen to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. He kind of takes it past awe and wonder and into weird and a little disturbing, but you get it...pho is GOOD.



I'll most likely need to run to the store tomorrow to pick up a few ingredients for the pho, and I know just the place; a Vietnamese market was recently built in Lincoln right next to an AWESOME restaurant aptly named "The Pho Factory," and I'm pretty sure they'll have all I need to make my own version.

Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy Anthony Bourdain and his almost-too-enthusiastic-it's-over-the-top pho food porn.

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Your fun, totally non-food related post du jour...

4/24/13
This is HILARIOUS. These Swedish guys heard that Justin Bieber was in town and decided to have some fun with his fans...they rented a limo and dressed one guy up as the Biebs.

Hilarity ensues.

Enjoy! :)


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Video: How Much Food Can You Buy For $5 Around The World?

4/21/13
Check out this awesome video about how far $5 goes for food around the world, as measured in the really important stuff: rice, coffee, and beer.


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The perfect end to Sunday

4/21/13
Ahhh...after finishing dinner on a Sunday night, there's really nothing better than relaxing on the couch with our puppies, coffee and cookies in hand.



The sky outside our apartment building is as black as night, although sunset isn't supposed to be for another half hour or so, so it's looks like we're in for a very big storm tonight. As long as it's not snow (or hail), I'm happy.

I picked up these little German cookies at the store the other day, and they are DELICIOUS, like little waffle cones dipped in chocolate. The perfect way to end a Sunday. They had a few different kinds, and I wanted to pick up a couple different boxes, but Matt reminded me that normal people don't leave the grocery store with large stocks of German cookies.

For dinner, I made little peppered steaks, fresh green beans, and roasted sweet potatoes. I was going to take photos for you...but I ate it before I remembered. My bad. :(



Hope you're all having a relaxing Sunday evening, too!

Next time I'll remember to take photos before stuffing my face. Lesson learned!


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Couch Dinner Stir-Fry

4/19/13
Tonight, Matt and I decided on a spicy beef stir-fry to accompany us during our nearly 24-hour vigil on our couch watching the news coverage in Boston.

I hope Boston can sleep safer tonight. We're all wicked glad they've got the guy.

Anyway, after making a quick run to the grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients, I began to assemble dinner, beginning with what I like to call "the holy trinity" of Chinese cooking in my kitchen: ginger, chili sauce (or Sriracha), and toasted sesame seeds.

The holy trinity of Betsey's Chinese cooking.

Now, this may not necessarily be true for other cooks (and certainly with Chinese cooks, who have  much more sophisticated Chinese cooking knowledge), but they're the ingredients I always have on hand whenever we have a hankering for some stir fry or other Chinese dish.

I love making Chinese-inspired dishes. They're quick and tasty, and you don't even have to leave your house to get it. Or, as one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, would say, you don't even have to put on pants to answer the door for the delivery guy (sorry about the SUPER low quality video...why do people on YouTube insist on videotaping their TV screens?!).





Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry
Prep time: 5 min.
Cook time: 10 min.

Ingredients
  • Canola or vegetable oil
  • Beef cut into strips...pick whatever's on sale from your local friendly beef guy
  • Ground black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)
  • Ground ginger (about 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 1 white onion, cut into chunks
  • 1 green pepper, cut into chunks
  • As many diced Thai peppers as you can stand!
  • 2 c. white rice, cooked (I used instant, and I always put just a tidge bit of rice vinegar into the water as I'm cooking it so that the rice ends up nice and sticky. Just make sure you prepare it fresh or heat it up so you don't have a hot beef and veggie mixture and cold rice. Blegh.)
  • Low sodium soy sauce
  • Hot/spicy mustard 
  • Chili sauce or Sriracha
  • 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar

Instructions
  1. Over medium/medium-high heat, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil to the point where it's almost smoking.
  2. When the oil is good and hot, throw in your beef strips, season with ground black pepper and ginger and cook until brown, about 5 minutes.
  3. While the beef is cooking, mix up your sauce: in a small bowl, combine several really good shakes of your soy sauce (until you have about a scant quarter cup of soy sauce), a good squirt of your mustard, a hefty glob of Sriracha or chili sauce, your sesame seeds, and the brown sugar. Set aside. Give it a taste, and if you like it spicier, you're crazy but free to add more chili paste. If you want to take a bit of the bite off of the chili sauce, add a bit more brown sugar. I LOVE adding brown sugar to these sorts of dishes because when it hits the hot pan it'll caramelize a bit and you get this beautiful, deep, well-rounded flavor. Anyway, back to the recipe...
  4. Add your onion and peppers to the pan and cook a few minutes to take a little bit of the crisp off of the veggies.
  5. Drizzle your sauce over the beef and veggie mixture and let cook about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  6. Plate your dish! I always serve my stir fry dishes by putting my rice in a base layer in a big serving bowl and then topping it with the beef/veggie/sauce mixture so the sauce kind of gets soaked up into the rice, but I've always wanted to get some of those cute ceramic Chinese take-out boxes to dish them up in. :)

This is a go-to recipe in our house, and you can modify it to fit your taste buds (use chicken or pork, different veggies, or change up the sauce). Plus, it's super quick and inexpensive to make. But it disappears just as quickly!


Just a few minutes before this photo was taken, this serving dish was heaping full of stir fry. 

Now that Matt and I are good and full, and we know that Boston can go to bed safe and sound, we're headed to bed as well. We old folks have a bedtime of 10 p.m. or sooner. This is what graduate school does to people. Sad.

Anyway, good night all! If you have any good ideas for other Chinese recipes to try, please let me know! I'm always excited about a new one to add to my repertoire!



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Fresh Prince Theme After Going Through Google Translate

4/16/13
This, friends, is why people fail French class. In order to be a good world traveler, you have to be able to laugh at yourself...and your reliance on Google Translate. :)

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Renaissance Festival...à la Poland

4/11/13
I hope you guys are ready for the coolest thing ever.

Today's history lesson comes to you from one of the best, friendliest, most comfortable countries to find yourself in the world: Poland. Yay!

My parents and I visited Poland several years ago on our trip to the Baltic states, and I have been touting the country's beauty and its inhabitants' generosity ever since. Seriously, if you want to go somewhere unique that feels just like home, go to Poland. And for Pete's sake, order yourself some of their delicious food, too. (I had a sausage and veggie stew in Marienburg, Poland that I haven't been able to forget, even seven years since!)

But what I really wanted to share with you today is the endearing story of Marlbork Castle, a castle established in the 15th century by the Teutonic knights.

Marlbork Castle, Poland

It's an absolutely breathtaking building, nestled in the deep green forests of Poland. Built from red brick (which is not exactly what you think of first when you think "castle"), it's apparently the largest castle in the world in terms of surface area (thanks, Wikipedia!).

When my mom, dad, and I got to Marlbork Castle, there seemed to be a rather large and vibrant Renaissance Festival going on, although no one spoke in the affected Olde English verbiage we're used to associating with those sorts of events. No, these folks spoke Polish, and they weren't at all silly, not even in jester costumes or Medieval gowns. They were nothing more and nothing less than absolutely charming. Several tourists, also magnetized by the festival's bizarre placement next to a Teutonic castle in the year 2006, were being instructed by a man dressed as a squire in the fine art of archery. Women in long flowing gowns walked about the castle's grounds and chatted in bright, cheery Polish tones.

Meanwhile, the trio from Grand Island, Nebraska just stood and stared, enchanted.

After some time, we tore ourselves away from the spectacle and entered the castle. After walking through several thick brick archways and across several drawbridges, we came to the innermost castle wall and passed under what seemed to be a series of overturned buckets on strings. This, I overheard a tour guide explain, was once used as a way for knights to defend the castle in time of attack. The buckets could be filled with scalding hot liquids (water, oil, tar...take your gruesome pick) and dumped on would-be attackers as a last defense.

Yikes.

Shaking the image of hot oil being dumped on my head out of said head, I walked into a serene courtyard, and all the noise of the Renaissance festival and chatting tourists faded away. It was like the place swallowed sound.

This was the castle's monastery.

I never say this, and I generally detest the touchy-feely nature of the expression, but this was a spiritual experience. (Go ahead, roll your eyes. I would. Just do it and get it over with so we can continue. Good? Good.) As more visitors streamed into the courtyard, they quickly stopped their conversations and were left only with the same placid look of wonder on their faces. We toured the castle rooms, one by one, amazed by the stone architecture and the work that these ancient brave men must have done to protect such a beautiful, holy place.

As we circled back toward the courtyard gate, I noticed a group of people bottlenecked at the entrance of a room guarded by towering wooden doors. I joined the crowd of feet shuffling forward through the doorway, expecting to see another room of stone and mortar.

Instead, I saw blue sky and rubble.

Apparently, Marlbork Castle was the unfortunate pawn in a Nazi-Soviet battle during the Second World War. Russian troops holed up in the castle, sure that no harm would be inflicted on such a treasured piece of history. Instead, they were met with artillery fire.

After the war, the Polish restored the wounded castle, but left one room--the chapel--untouched as a reminder to all of the horrors that war can make man commit against fellow man.

It is for this reason that I have every respect for this holy place, and will always remember that moment of seeing the demolished chapel, destroyed by war. I wish I would have had the sense to take a photo, but I guess I figured that not picture could ever capture the gravity of the experience.

My mom and I posed for this picture just as we were leaving Marlbork Castle.

This is another one of those places you just have to put on your travel bucket list. Trust me, you won't regret it.

...but really, try the Polish food, too. It's DELISH! :)

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Betsey's Russian Recipe Experiment: YOU DECIDE!

4/9/13
Hi folks!

This week, I want to give you (yes YOU!) the opportunity to choose what I cook for our week on Russian food!

My Little Russian Cookbook and Pilsner Urquell (that Matt knocked over shortly after this photo was taken).


I have a few ideas from the Little Russian Cookbook my mother-in-law sent (thanks, Charlotte!):
  • Beef Stroganoff (a classic)
  • Govyadina v'Smetane (beefsteaks in sour cream)
  • Kotletki (Russian cutlets)

So throw out some ideas, or some of your favorite Russian recipes! (NOTE: Given my Runza recipe last week and the resulting overpowering smell of cabbage emanating from everything I own, please suggest something that goes light on the cabbage.) Go ahead, I can take your worst: caviar, borscht, rye bread, vodka, you name it. I'm looking forward to your ideas!

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This week: Россия (RUSSIA!)

4/8/13
Hello friends!

This week, we're exploring the food of one of the most exotic places I've ever traveled: RUSSIA! About seven years ago (yikes, already?!), my mom, dad, and I took a tour of the Baltic states and surrounding areas: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia, Estonia, Poland, and Germany. It was an unbelievable experience, and I'll never forget it.

Our time in Russia was incredibly interesting, albeit quite intimidating. Let me explain. I went to Russia when I was 16. With a 13 year-old Betsey's passport. If you don't think that things can change  drastically from age 13 to age 16, just ask the Russian customs agents. It took me about 20 minutes to pass into Russia (when everyone else just got a quick once-over and was let through), and by the time the ordeal was over, I had three severe-looking Russian female customs agents crowded around my passport, scrutinizing the photo, then looking back at me, then back to the photo. I was quite sure they wouldn't let me in.

But they did! I guess they figured anyone presenting a passport of a buck-toothed, acne-faced teenager with bottle cap glasses couldn't be too much of a threat. And no, I'm not going to post the photo.

Russia is such an enigma to me; everything seems more or less familiar, but with a very unique and mysterious twist. I remember visiting the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood (yes, the place with the onion towers). Stepping into this Eastern Orthodox cathedral was like stepping back in time. Again, like my trip to the Vatican, I don't have any internal photos of the church because I wanted to be respectful of the holiness of the place. Even if I had whipped out my camera, I don't think I would have had the ability to process actually taking a picture. The church had a very thick atmosphere, like the weight of history hung in the shadowed coffers. Icons of saints and Biblical stories decorated the walls, and every so often the light would catch one and you'd get the whisper of gold underneath a century of dust.

If you're not familiar, the church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1855. The patch of cobblestone road on which he died is still there, squared off by ropes. They built the church around it to commemorate the tsar, and it was completed in 1907. Super cool, huh?

The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood

I vividly remember our trip to the Winter Palace and Summer Palace, formerly belonging to the Romanov family (for those of us little girls who grew up loving the movie Anastasia, this part of the trip was AMAZING). Although the Romanov story ended very tragically, I cannot deny that, while strolling along the manicured gardens of the Peterhof Palace and through the hardwood, gold-crested rooms of the royal homes, I felt a twinge of anger that this sort of wealth flourished in a time when Russia was in the throws of crushing poverty.


Gardens of the Peterhof Palace

View from the Throne Room overlooking the Canal of Finland. The Canal, it's said, was built that way so that the Tsar of Russia could always have an eye on his greatest enemy: Finland.

View of the back of the Peterhof Palace from the Canal of Finland.

Shameless photo of a teenage Betsey in back of the Peterhof Palace.

I hope you'll all get the chance to visit Russia someday. It's a bit intimidating sometimes, since the language isn't necessarily the most gentle-sounding and its buildings still show the decay of decades of communist rule. But it is a land of inspiring beauty and rich history, and I will never forget the time I spent there.

Until next time!
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Sometimes I get emotional about food. Don't judge me.

4/5/13
Happy Friday, all!

I'm writing to you from my dad's office back in my hometown of Grand Island, Nebraska. I'm in town today for a presentation for school, but since tomorrow's by dad's birthday, I thought I'd stick around. :)

I wanted to let you all know that I did in fact end up making those homemade Runzas (or, for all you non-Nebraskans, "Nebraska beef buns") last night. Unfortunately, myself and everything I own now smells like cabbage (insert Austin Powers joke).



But I digress.

I'll have to drudge up some old family recipes from my mom's German ancestors to make for you. Hopefully none of them involve cabbage. But since this week is supposed to be dedicated to both German and Czech food, I would quite remiss if I neglected to address two of my favorite foods: Pilsner Urquell beer and kolaches. Naturally, these two things are connected to two of my favorite activities: drinking and eating.

But in all honesty, I love these things so much because they are usually done in the company of others. That's what makes food so wonderful; enjoying it along with some good conversation. For me, Pilsner Urquell and kolaches are directly tied to spending time with my family. I remember many years of my youth going to my Grandma Stehlik's house in Wilber, Nebraska ("the Czech Capital of the USA") in the hottest part of summer to watch my uncles drink beer and dance the polka. Ah, memories.

My Uncle Roy, Grandma, Dad, and Uncle Dale at Czech Days in Wilber.
A storefront sign in Wilber, NE.
The rare Czech palm tree, spotted in Wilber, NE.

Every time I saw my grandma (Czech Days or otherwise), she'd have whipped up several batches of homemade kolaches. If you've never had a kolache, TRY ONE NOW, slap some Cool Whip on it (Grandma's rule) and enjoy with a nice strong cup of coffee. They are amazing, like little jelly-filled pastries of wonder (may hands-down favorite is cherry!). I'd like to make some for my dad's birthday tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time. If not, I'll make them next week so you can experience their deliciousness.

I'll always associate kolaches with my grandma. She passed away this past August, and I don't think I'll ever think of her passing without tearing up. My grandma was very special to me, and so by making kolaches, I feel like it's one small way of being with her again.

Food is so beautiful that way. It helps us remember where we come from and gives us that comforting little feeling that those people that seem so far away are right there next to us in the kitchen. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a kolache without crying a little, but it's nice to know that, whenever I want to remember all the wonderful things about my grandma, I just need to whip up a batch of them.

The same goes for whipped cream, too; a few months ago Matt and I were at a church event and someone had brought desserts and some Cool Whip. Just as I bit into a whipped cream-dipped strawberry, my eyes watered up and I started to cry, for no other reason than that the taste reminded me of visiting my grandma and her dishing up a fresh kolache with a big dollop of whipped cream.

I feel sorry for all of the people around us wondering why I seemed so moved by whipped topping.

Sometimes I get emotional about food, okay? Don't judge.

Have you ever had a panic attack/mental breakdown/epiphany/other from eating food? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

I'll leave you with this little gem. My sister snapped this photo during Czech Days several years ago. I had found and subsequently tried on Grandma's wig. She was not amused.

Betsey: The Wig-napper!

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Playing Catch-up and the Etymology of "Runza"

4/3/13
Sorry for the delay in posting; it's been a crazy week in the world of work and grad school. I'm writing to you now in between work and night class, so if I start to drift off or sound a bit delirious, let me know in the comments.

It's really too bad that I'm short on time this week, too, because the recipe I really wanted to make this week and post about takes quite a bit of time to do.

I found this Nebraska Beef Buns recipe from a fellow food blogger, Crystal of A Lovin' Forkful. I made it a few months ago and we LOVED it. We loved it so much, in fact, that you say the words "homemade" and "Runza" around either Matt or I (or heaven forbid, say it around us both at the same time) and prepare yourself for an epic storytelling of how tasty these things are. For those of you who are from Nebraska or live here, you know right away that by "Nebraska Beef Buns," I really mean Runzas. For those of you who aren't lucky enough to have connections to the Cornhusker State, Runza means absolutely nothing.

Behold Runza, the only fast food establishment I would be proud to be seen at:









Here's what original Runza "sandwiches" look like (from Crystal's blog post):

Crystal, the food blogger that took this photo, has the BEST Runza recipe!

They are amazing comfort food, like little hugs from Mom wrapped up in a nice toasty bun. Runza sandwiches are usually made with ground beef, cooked cabbage and onions. Yes, the cabbage will smell a bit when it's cooking. Get over it. It's worth it.

We in Nebraska seem to put this German halo around the Runza, like it was mailed straight from Berlin and shoved into a plastic Runza wrapper or something. My question, though, is how authentic is the Runza, really? Does the "traditional German" halo hold any weight?

Well, yes and no.

According to trusty Wikipedia, "Runza" is the trademarked American adaptation of the Russian/Polish "bierock," a pastry stuffed to the crust with meat and cabbage. Major yummage. The sandwich eventually found its way to Germany as some Russians moved west. But since nothing in the good old U-S-of-A can be successful without a side of fries and a drink, the Runza we know and love today has departed from its Eastern European roots, partnered up with crinkle fries and Pepsi, and found strong footing in the Cornhusker State.

Whelp, looks like I'm out of blogging time. Gotta run to class! I'll post again very soon. Until then, TRY THAT RUNZA RECIPE! You won't regret it!

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