These Little Piggies Brought Lots of Christmas Memories

It’s funny how a special dish can become the keystone of a family. You’d never think that growing up, sometimes hating that dish as a child, but over the years growing to love it, because you’ve developed a taste for it. Things we take for granted. Things we think will never go away. Things that have become the fabric of your family and you just didn’t know it. I had a bit of an epiphany today as I was creating this special dish, to serve my husband tomorrow, on Christmas day…Pigs in a Blanket…A.K.A. Beef Rouladen.

To understand this epiphany, I have to take you back a bit…about 40 years. One of the ways the women in my maternal family have always shown love, is with food. When someone is happy, you make them food. When someone is sad, you make them food. When someone needs a pick-me-up, you make them food. It’s what we do, and would probably help account for the “sturdiness” of my family! 🙂

As such, with my first husband, and my current husband, I found out what their favorite meals were, and I went right to the source to learn how to make it…my in-laws…and I’m so grateful that I did. While I come from a long line of amazing cooks, when I moved out of my mom’s house, at 18, I didn’t know how to make much more than toast. My mom owned a business and when she came home at night to cook dinner, she really didn’t have the time, or patience, to have me underfoot helping her…it was much easier for her just to get in the kitchen and git ‘er done.

My first husband was a good cook, and he taught me so many basics of cooking, and we learned a lot together, too, like timing a meal…now that’s something you only get with experience! While all of his siblings, men and women, are really good cooks, one of his sisters in particular is an amazing cook. She made dishes that spanned the globe. She could make pierogi’s as good as tamales – and she was Mexican! She could whip up an Asian stir-fry just as easily as breaded venison tenderloins with a creamy mushroom gravy. Oh, my Lort! Everything that comes out of her kitchen is a delight to behold and a symphony on your taste buds! It was she, Melia, who taught me that every single culture uses the same basic ingredients, only the spices and some techniques set each apart from the other. Because of what she taught me, I can easily recreate almost any dish, from any region of the globe, and I’m so thankful for that.

Now back to those piggies…

Pigs in a Blanket is something that my husband’s family grew up eating, and that my mother-in-law also grew up eating. It’s been passed down from generation to generation through their German lineage. Every Christmas my mother-in-law would have a huge tray of them, and even with that, there was always a mad dash to get them. They are pretty labor intensive and can be costly, so everyone is lucky to get one, and the little kids have to split them…they’re that good! Served traditionally with a side of spaetzle and some amazing brown gravy. It’s something that all of us look forward to each year…and I didn’t even grow up with it!

About ten years ago, I (thankfully) had the foresight to ask my mother-in-law how to make them, because my husband really loves them and I wanted to make them at home so that he could eat them to his heart’s content. 😉 She told me a basic description of how she made them, and I wrote it all down so I wouldn’t forget. The following week I made them for my husband and he was as happy as a kid in a candy shop! The thankful foresight is the fact that my mother-in-law probably doesn’t even remember ever making them, or what they are even, let alone the recipe. So many recipes died with her memory…so many…and it’s tragic, really.

Four years ago, the family decided that we would all make the food for Christmas and take it to Grandma’s, because it was all too much for her to coordinate. That was the first year that I took the PIB for Christmas. OMGosh, it took FOREVER to make them. I think I made 21 that first year. I surprised my husband by telling him I would make them for the family, after a discussion with him about missing them. I did everything my MIL did, except I changed two things…after browning them, she would put them in a big pan, add water just to cover them, and bake them for 3-4 hours. I have a tiny little oven, so that was not an option, so after I brown them, I put them in a oval crockpot and cover with beef broth, and cook overnight. In the morning I remove them, make the gravy, and then add them back in.

I’m not gonna lie…I now make them better than my MIL did…and it’s not just me saying it. Every single person in the family has commented on how good they are, and my hubs said they were better, too. It’s the beef broth in place of the water…I’m sure of it!

Last year, as we were all eating Christmas dinner, I announced to my niece’s and nephew, that one of them was going to have to learn how to make them. To which my eldest niece looked up quickly and replied, “Why? We have you.” I had to remind them that I wasn’t going to be around forever and that this is a family recipe that must never die! I said, “This is something that comes through YOUR family, not mine. You guys have to learn how to make this, because otherwise it will be lost forever, because grandma makes them a little differently than you’ll find in a recipe online.” No one stepped up, they just happily continued to chow down on all the goodies.

About an hour later my nephew, Emmet, came up to me in the kitchen and said, “Hey Aunt Trudy, how about I buy everything and you come over to my house and show me how to make them. Is that cool?” Heck yeah it’s cool! I’m so excited to teach it to him!

My epiphany came today as I realized that for the first time in their lives, my in-laws are not going to be getting PIB for Christmas. Grandma is in assisted living now and no one has decided to host this year, and we can’t, because our house is tiny…we can barely fit four or five in there comfortably. I got them all prepared this morning to throw in the crockpot tonight. Even doing only six, it took about an hour and a half. It was after I finished, that my heart got so sad for everyone in the family, because they don’t know it yet, but they are going to be missing such a big part of Christmas…the memories that food bring us.

Thinking that I might be getting a phone call from Emmet soon…

Take Back Thanksgiving For You And Your Family!

As a retail store owner, call me crazy, but I’m boycotting retail sales…for one day…Thanksgiving. Well, actually I truly believe there are four days that no one should have to work, other than medical and emergency services personnel, (sorry, guys!) but we’ll save that for later. Right now I’m talking about Thanksgiving. From rich to poor and everything in between, we all take this day to reflect and give thanks for the people who love us through this great journey we call life…the people who stick around for the good, bad, and ugly of it all, and for the abundance we enjoy. 🙂

Before I get a bunch of hate comments, I realize that Thanksgiving isn’t the best of times for many folks out there, but I’m going on my own life experience here, and that of many of my friends and co-workers. For most of us, it’s a happy day.

When I was a kid – back in the olden days – nothing was open on Thanksgiving. You had better make sure you had gas in your car, milk, bread, eggs, or any other thing imaginable, because there was absolutely nothing open. I take that back. There was always that one gas station, about 40 miles away, that was always open, but who was driving 40 miles for a gallon of milk?

You spent the day with family, either at your home or like us, you traveled to another place to visit your relatives. We often went to Iowa to visit my grandparents…both sides. Corny as it sounds, we would sing “Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go!” as we drove through the luscious hills of Galena, Illinois, and along the bluffs of the Mississippi River on the Iowa side…one time through a blizzard! Oh, and we always, and still do to this day, sang the Iowa state song as we crossed the Mississippi River. My mom always wanted us to have pride in where we came from. Yeah, I know…lame. How awesome is that?

The point is, you were forced to be with your family. Not forced in a bad way, just forced in a way that there really was no where to go. It was fantastic! As I’ve grown into adulthood and raised a child of my own, I kept those same traditions alive. We all have…until now.

Why is it necessary? Will those stores in the mall and Walmart go out of business if they don’t open on Thanksgiving? Heck no! To me, it’s greed in its worst form. Seriously. I’m calling on every single one of you to boycott shopping on Thanksgiving and to spread the word far and wide to all of your friends! Let’s start a movement!

Take Thanksgiving Back!

If no one shops on Thanksgiving, it will send a message, loud and clear, that we, the people, don’t want to work, or shop, on the one day that should be ours! How can you demand that someone leave their family to work on one of our most highly regarded American holidays since America began? Not on that day, or Christmas, New Year’s or Easter, either. It’s just not right and I will never be a part of that greed, because that’s what it is, plain and simple. Greed.

Just like I have for the last 51 years, I’m going to make darn sure that I have every single thing I need for Thanksgiving, because I won’t be leaving my house for one thing, except, perhaps, to enjoy watching the sunset with my family by my side. American style.

Something To Think About…

It took me a couple of weeks to write this post, because I wanted to make sure that I got it right. I had to let it marinate for a minute. After a particularly grueling day, personally, a couple of weeks ago, I came in to the shop to find this note laying on the floor. It had been pushed through the mail slot by someone who was obviously #tickedoff at me for not being here.

At first I got pretty mad and wanted to scream at the faceless, genderless, writer of the note that wouldn’t they really like to know where I was? In the next moment I realized that it was not their fault, and that I “got it.” That person might have driven from way on the other side of Gurnee or Zion to get here, and they had no clue why I wasn’t here…they just knew that I wasn’t and I’m pretty sure they got pissed about it. I would have, too….for a minute…if I were them.

I also got a couple of voicemail messages from two customers who came by that week and found me gone with no note on the door. They figured that surely something was wrong if a small business is closed mid-week with no note on the door…they wanted to make sure I was alright. That warmed my heart. They “got” it. It also took away some of the sting of that note.

Here’s something most people don’t think about when they go to a small business and the doors are closed during their normal, open hours…there may have been an emergency.

Small business owners fight every single day to stay in business. We do all that we can for our customers. Many times we don’t get much sleep or any personal time for days…even weeks…in service of our customers. Oh, and that thing most people look forward to every Friday called a paycheck, is often times some kind of far off dream, because there are things that we need to get for the shop, so we make that our priority. Oh yes, we are most always the last to get paid too…if there is anything left to pay ourselves with, that is.

We don’t complain, because this is what we’ve chosen in life and we get many other benefits from being self-employed, but it’s not an easy road for sure. So as you can imagine, a small business owner would rather do anything other than having to close the shop doors during regular hours, because we have so much on the line.

We try very hard to schedule things before and after hours, but unfortunately, the world works on a schedule, too, and there are times when we have to be at the doctor or dentist, at our kid’s school to pick them up, because they’re sick, or any other number of reasons we could be gone. Just like you, we will get called away from work…we’re human.  Sometimes it’s as simple as our kid has a very special something going on and we’ve decided that for this one time, our kid takes precedence. I’ve done it…and I don’t feel bad about it. I want my son to always remember that I showed up when it was important…not that my store was more important than him. It’s quite a balancing act to be sure and something no small business owner takes lightly.

So what was I doing on that Tuesday afternoon at 4pm? What made it necessary for me to stay away from the shop that day and leave in such a hurry that I never even thought to come and put a note on the door? What made me cause that person to experience a #wasteoftime? What could have been so important for me to inconvenience this person and others who may have come by over those couple of days?

I was in the hospital, at my brother’s side, as he heard the devastating news that he has Stage 4 lung cancer that has metastasized to his brain. I was there doing all that I could to support him, his family, and most especially my elderly father, who never, ever, should have had to hear news like that about his child.

Please, take a moment to consider that the next time you show up at a small business and the door is locked during normal hours. Think about that first, before you’re feeling like you want to write a nasty note or leave a nasty voicemail. We are human beings with human tragedies and responsibilities just like you and everyone else. The last thing we’d ever want to do is disappoint you, but there are times when that may be inevitable.

There are times in life that you just have to show up. This is one of those times for me. Here’s a fair warning, too, over the next several weeks you may come to the shop and find me gone again, although this time I’ve put a general note on the door to explain my absence. I can guarantee here and now that if my family needs me…I’m there…and I’m apologizing in advance to you.

And for the person who wrote the note. If you would have left your name and number I might have had an opportunity to explain and make it up to you, but you never gave me the chance.

 

Epilog: August 3, 2014

My brother lost his fight with cancer today, just five short months after his diagnosis. He would have been 54 in nine days. I have never regretted, not once, the time that I spent with him, nor the few days I had to close my store to be with him. In two cases I helped him realize a dream to do something one more time before he died. I feel privileged  to have been able to do that for him, because he has done so much for me during my lifetime. I will miss him greatly, as will my entire family. He was a really good guy.

We also lost my Pop two months ago…my step-father of 40 years, whom I loved very much. When it rains, it pours. Great news…I was able to get help and we didn’t have to close the shop while we traveled to his service in Tennessee. Let’s just say that 2014 is a year that I’m ready to be rid of!

For those who feel the need to leave nasty or rude comments, or admonish me about, “how dare I close my store!”, I wish you peace and light. There is absolutely nothing more important to me than my family. Nothing. If you can’t understand that, I feel sorry for you. You must be very lonely, indeed.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Fair warning.

Want A Good Pork Recipe? Ask An Iowa Girl!

I posted this pork chop photo (see below) on facebook tonight with a public “shout out” to my Aunt Millie and so many people asked for the recipe that I decided to write a post and share it with everyone…it’s THAT good! I was taught how to make this dish by my aunt. It went like this…A couple of years back I was in California on a business trip and took the opportunity to visit with my Aunt Millie for a couple of days. She was seventy-nine years old at the time, and I have to tell you that I had a hard time keeping up with her! Truth be told, she did tell me how happy she was to see me and spend time with me, but I was really cutting into her social life! LOL! Seriously!

We went all over the place together and she drove, through the California valleys, canyons, and San Diego freeway, well, like a CHAMP! I wasn’t nervous once…not once…and if you ask my husband he’d tell you that’s about a miracle. I don’t know what it was, but that chick just moved right along without hesitation and never wavered in her focus, so neither did I. Funny side story…one of the things I most remember about Aunt Millie is driving with her in Los Angeles when I was about ten years old and whenever she’d come to a yellow light she’d lay on the brakes while immediately laying on the “mom seatbelt arm” and saying to me, “Better safe than sorry!” Kind of shaped my driving philosophy! 🙂 Thanks for indulging me…back to the story!

We would stay at home for dinner and then play cards until well past bedtime…it was so fun and a time I’m so happy that I had with her. I can’t wait to go back! One night for dinner she made what has now become known in my household as “Aunt Millie’s Famous Pork Chops” and my life has not been the same.

Let me give just a little back story in that my family, both sides, is from Iowa. Other than a few of us in California, and a few of us in Illinois and Florida, my whole family lives in Iowa. We are corn fed and love our pork. You almost can’t be from Iowa if you don’t love those two things! So when Aunt Millie said she was making pork chops I got excited and ever since she taught me how to make this we have had it at least one night a month…sometimes two nights…and every time my husband, Frank, says, “Man, I LOVE Aunt Millie!” I laugh every time and am reminded that I, too, love Aunt Millie. That’s what’s so cool about breaking bread with people and sharing recipes and memories. We think of her at least once a month with love! 🙂

Another great thing I discovered about this recipe is that you can cook it in the crockpot, too! Wow…what a bonus! So without further ado, here is the famous recipe, but don’t tell anyone…if it’s not a family secret, it should be!

One quick warning…per usual…I don’t really measure stuff, so I’m going to give you an idea of a measurement, but you can tweak it to your liking! Here’s what you’ll need to make four or five pork chops…

Aunt Millie’s Famous Pork Chops

Pork chops – as many as will fit into the pan you’re using…let’s just assume you’re making four. If you want to make more, adjust the ingredients as necessary.

Potatoes – one for each porkchop and then add one more!

Regular size can of condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup or less of milk

Splash of Soy Sauce

Minced Onions

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9″x13″ baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray and put on stove to heat. Season your pork chops however you like them. I use Spike seasoning on EVERYTHING! You can use that or just salt and pepper, but make sure you season your meat! One good trick to do to pork chops is to cut through the fat that surrounds them so they won’t curl. Just look for the piece of fat that surrounds the meaty side of the chop and cut through from where the meat ends to the outside of the chop. If it’s a big chop, you can cut the fat in two places. I usually try to cut on the curve of the chop. This helps them to lay flat and brown more evenly. Place seasoned chops in the heated frypan to begin browning. Please note: you are not cooking the chops all the way through, just browning them to get a nice carmelized color.

While the chops are browning peel the potatoes. Slice crosswise into rounds that are about an 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick. Arrange the potato slices in the baking pan in flat layers and be sure to season with a little salt and pepper at each layer. Turn the chops to brown on the other side.

While the chops are finishing browning open the can of soup and put in a medium mixing bowl. Add just enough milk to loosen it up a bit. You’ll probably only need up to a 1/4 cup of milk, but start by adding just a little at a time! This is going to be your sauce for the meal and if you make it too loose it will be like having soup instead of sauce. You want it to still be thick in the bowl. I would say a good consistency is like that of Yoplait yogurt…stiff, but not too stiff. Make sense? I add something to the soup mixture that Aunt Millie doesn’t, but I thought it would be a good addition. At this point I add about a tablespoon of minced onion and two or three shakes of the soy sauce. Stir to combine.

Once the chops are browned on the other side place them on top of the potatoes in the baking dish. Pour the soup mixture over the top of it all making sure to cover each chop and all the potatoes with soup so that none are dry. Place in the oven and bake for about an hour until the potatoes are tender.

If you are cooking in the crockpot follow the same steps and then just cover and turn the crockpot on low or high depending on when you will be back to eat. When I did this in the crockpot the first time I was worried that the potatoes would get all mushy, and I was very pleasantly surprised when they didn’t and the dish tasted exactly the same as it did when cooked in the oven.

Prep time for this meal from start to finish is approximately 10-15 minutes. Seriously. It couldn’t be easier. That’s why this has been a “go to” week night meal for us for some time now. Easy and delicious! I hope you enjoy it, and when you do, don’t forget to give a nod of thanks to Aunt Millie! 🙂

It’s All In A Name…Personalized Gifts Are Cherished Forever!

People love the sight and sound of their own name. We like to hear our names because it makes us feel wanted, needed, or just visible in the world. Think about it. I’m sure you can easily recall a time where you saw your initial or name on a product and your heart skipped a beat and a feeling of happy came over you, and you thought, “I must have that!” With me, it was always, only the initial. 

Growing up with such a unique name as Trudy, I never could find anything with my name on it. In the late 60s and early 70s everyone was getting these really cool leather bracelets with their names on them…everyone, but me.

I’ll never forget the day in 1973 when I found my name on a coffee mug at Disneyland in California. I couldn’t believe my eyes!! There it was…my name…emblazoned on that mug for the world to see! I’ll never forget the feeling of joy when I saw that. How I had searched and searched for something, anything, with my name and there it was within my reach! Until my dad said, and I quote, “I’m not paying $5.00 for a coffee mug when you don’t drink coffee! $5.00? Are they crazy?” My heart sunk to the very floor. “Omigosh, Dad, are you kidding me? Please, Dad, please!” I cried. He refused and I never quite got over it. Oh, as an adult I understand that he was raising three kids and $5.00 in 1973 is like $25.00 today and people weren’t spending that kind of money on their kids so they could feel good…probably the reason my generation has over spoiled our own kids. 🙂

Three times in my life have I found something with my name on it…three times.

One day about twelve years ago while making buttons for a football and cheerleading program I had an epiphany. I was working on about 500 personalized buttons and every time I came across a weird spelling of a name I would think to myself, “Wow, this kid is going to be so happy. I’ll bet they never see their name on anything!” I remember how excited I would get for them, and still do. As I was thinking that, it finally hit me…why I love what I do…I’m helping people feel special by seeing their names on things!

It also made me think about why personalized gifts are so awesome to receive and give. It just feels good to give someone something that you know will be cherished. Personalized gifts are such thoughtful gifts, because they take a little time and planning to get. Someone actually has to think about it beforehand…that’s another reason why they’re so special…the time involved in planning them! With so many things that you can embroider a name or initial on, the possibilities are almost endless. You can even get names personalized in bling for all kinds of things. Personalized wedding shower and wedding gifts are special, too, because it’s so exciting to see your new name! 

It does take time. Every year, believe it or not, our cut-off for Christmas delivery of personalized and custom gifts is the Monday after Thanksgiving…seriously! It creeps up on us every year, and every year someone gets disappointed, because they had their great idea for a gift just a week or two late. The time for thinking about personalized gifts is now, in the beginning of November, not the second week of December, because it probably won’t happen, or if it does it won’t be cheap.

This year to help our customers we’re having a Personalized Gifts Event over four days to give them time to come in and design a one-of-a-kind personalized gift for everyone on their gift list. There are so many things that can be personalized with a name or monogram. So, get your list together and come in and join us for some holiday cheer and refreshments while we help you design some jaw-dropping, super-cute and perhaps sparkly, personalized gifts!

This is your year! Be the one who gives everyone’s favorite gift under the tree! Put their name on it and watch them smile!

Moms and Mimosas…What Better Way To Celebrate?

I remember when my boy, Brandon, was in grade school. I loved having him home for the summer. We’d always do so much fun stuff while he was off, but by the end of summer I’d be a little frazzled and ready for a break from the constant entertaining of the child. Don’t get me wrong…I loved everything about it, but I’ll tell you what, an eight or nine year old boy can just about wear you out! 🙂

I used to laugh and say that on the first day of school you would hear mothers yelling “YES!” at the top of their lungs while doing a fist pump in the air! LOL No, seriously, we really did! 🙂

I’ve found myself getting nostalgic for those old days and thought what better way to celebrate the first full day of school and mom’s liberation for a few hours a day, than with a Moms and Mimosas Party! We’ll be opening up at 9:30 that morning so grab your girlfriends and come enjoy a morning of shopping, mimosas, and breakfast…on us!

We’ll be throwin’ down an enthusiastic group “Yes!” and fist pump about 9:45…come join in the back to school fun! Must be 21 and older!

Who: You and your girlfriends!

What: Back 2 School Moms and Mimosas Party

When: Thursday, August 23, from 9:30-Noon

Where: Designs On You!

Why: Because we like you, silly…and…you deserve it! 😀  Come in, bring a friend, and enjoy a mimosa, some breakfast, and a little Retail Therapy!

Can’t wait to see you there!

Photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/5644845492/”>Joe Shlabotnik</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photo pin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a&gt;

Being A Mother Is Where This All Started…A Mother’s Day Reflection

It’s funny how things happen in life sometimes. How an idea can turn into an opportunity at the drop of a hat…when you least expect it. As I sit here planning for the Mother’s Day weekend ahead, and the sixteenth anniversary of my first business, The Button Lady, I find myself reflecting on how that business started and how it led to starting this business. It’s a story that some may know, because I’m proud to tell it.

Seventeen years ago my love affair with Warren Township and our beloved mascot, the Blue Devil, began. Well, to be honest, the love affair started sixteen years ago when the football program changed from the Gagewood Packers to the Warren Township Blue Demons. Being a lifelong Chicago Bears fan I was none to happy to be cheering for the “Packers!” If you know me, then you would consider this a more than valid statement! 🙂

I was so proud of my little man…he was a BEAST on the Warren Township football fields…a true athlete. So proud that I wanted to scream it to the world, so I made a button with his name and number on it and wore it proudly to all practices for about a week when one of our team moms asked me where I got the button and I told her I made it. After hearing that she offered me $1.00 a piece to make one for each kid on the team. Sure I would…it would pay for the button maker I had bought!

I told the story to my friend, Donna, who was I was team mom with the year prior, and she promptly ordered them for her team and encouraged me to go to the team mom meeting and offer them to all of the players. Long story short…I sold over 1,000 buttons without even trying to other proud moms in the Warren Township football and cheerleading programs. One thousand buttons! Wow! What would happen if I tried? So the next year I went out and tried and sold 5,000 buttons!

That next year led to some referrals, that let to me being invited to sell buttons at a cheerleading competition in Antioch…and the rest, as they say, is history. Now a sixteen year history being one of the area’s pioneers in cheerleading vending, and sixteen years of making friends and building relationships with other proud parents of athletes.

All because I was a mother who was so proud of her son and wanted everyone to know it.

I continued selling at competitions…kept my day job…and went back to school to learn what I needed to run a business. Fast forward to 2004 and Designs On You became a reality with the support of all my Warren Township, and cheerleading, friends and customers…and we haven’t looked back.

You can thank the cheerleaders of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin for our focus on super-cute spiritwear. After being disappointed year after year with the woman’s selection of spiritwear at the township, I really started to notice the cute stuff all of the cheerleaders were wearing. They were so spirited and cute…and in their colors! At that time if apparel was geared towards the women, and it rarely, if ever was, the only thing they’d do is put it on pink and think it was great. Sorry…the pink was gross and THAT’S NOT OUR COLOR!!

Our goal became to find super-cute stuff in team colors that any girl, young or old, would be happy to wear…excited to wear…and I think we’ve done a pretty exceptional job.

The ladies of Lake County can thank that one little beast on the football field boy, for sporting the cutest spiritwear around!

All because he called me Mom…

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

Here’s A Tasty Recipe For Leftover Corned Beef!

About two years ago, my husband and I discovered Reuben egg rolls. I guess I was a little slow to notice them on menus, because I’m not really an egg roll freak, not really a fried food freak to be honest, but my husband is an egg roll freak so when he suggested we have that as a starter one day I agreed. Soooooo, I figured out that I am definitely not an egg roll freak, but I am a Reuben roll freak! OMG those things are T A S T Y!!

Reuben Rolls from Blackthorn Grill

The first place we had them was at Timothy O’Toole’s in Gurnee. They were good, but kind of greasy, and as I mentioned I’m not into the whole greasy thing. So we tried them again at Blackthorn Grill in Lake Villa; oh boy, those were much better! After having them at both places, and being a pretty accomplished home “chef,” I decided to give them a try at home. My motto has always been, “If it doesn’t take two hours to make, and I can make it better at home, then I won’t order it at a restaurant.” It just always seemed so silly to me to spend money on food eating out when I could usually make it better at home. I’m not saying that I’m Gordon Ramsey or anything…but I’ll bet I’d make it past the first few rounds of Hell’s Kitchen! 🙂

Let me forewarn you that when I cook I don’t use recipes, I don’t measure, and I don’t ever write down what I’m doing, which sometimes really stinks, because I often forget what I did once the meal is done. It’s kind of like Zen cooking…I get lost in the process of it. That being said, take these “measurements” with a grain of salt and feel free to adjust to your liking.

Here’s what you’ll need to make these delectable goodies! About a 1/2 to one pound of corned beef, 8 oz. bags of both shredded Swiss cheese and mozzarella, thousand island dressing (I used Kraft fat free), jarred sauerkraut (don’t use canned…it tastes like metal!),  a package of egg roll wrappers from the refrigerated section of the grocery store, a small bowl of water, a frying pan and some canola or vegetable oil to fry them. I don’t think mozzarella is used in the restaurant versions, but I like the “meltiness” that it adds to the rolls.

The corned beef can be either leftover meat from your St. Patrick’s Day meal, or you can just buy a pound of it at the deli unsliced. If you’re using leftover meat, just be sure to trim all of the fat off of it. Dice the meat in roughly 1/8 to 1/4 pieces. If you’re an accomplished cook this will seem elementary, but for those of you who aren’t, I’ll explain in a little detail.

The easiest way to get the right sized dice is to slice the meat in about 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices then stack them on their sides on the cutting board. Slice them again – across all layers – in 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices creating sticks . Just  try and keep the size of the slices the same as the first cuts you made , this will ensure that the pieces all cook evenly. Next, you simply turn the board and cut across all of those ribbons to create the dice. 

Put the meat in a large mixing bowl. Add to that about a 1/2 cup of the Swiss cheese and about a full 1/4 cup of the mozzarella. If it looks like there isn’t enough cheese, just add more. Add about 2/3 cup of sauerkraut to the bowl (make sure to drain it first!). At this point I like to mix it all together before adding the salad dressing. Once it’s mixed add the salad dressing about a 1/4 cup at a time…roughly two good squeezes, and you probably won’t need a whole lot more than that. Stir together. You’ll want it to look moist, but not swimming in the dressing. It’s so quick and easy! It probably took you longer to read this than it will to actually do it. 🙂

Now you’re ready to roll! Lay out one egg roll wrapper at a time on the cutting board and place about a 1/3 cup of the mixture on across it. Pull the corner up and over the mixture and roll once. Fold the side pieces toward the center and then moisten the area of the other corner that is a exposed with the water. Don’t use too much water! Lightly wetting your finger and running it along the edge will be fine. If you use too much water the egg rolls sometimes stick to the plate and rip open when you try to remove them. Continue to roll until the wrapper is closed and sealed. Lay on  a cookie sheet until you finish rolling all of the meat.

If you have a deep fryer, by all means use it, but if you don’t, a frying pan will work. The size just depends on how many you are cooking and feel comfortable watching. I use a medium pan and cook about five at a time. I usually put the oil in the pan before I begin rolling and turn it on when I’m about halfway done so that the oil is ready when I am.

At this point you have a choice once the oil is hot…you can either cook them all up if you need them or you can partially cook them for freezing. I usually freeze some and cook some for that night…here is what I do. Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting just a small corner of an egg roll into it and see if it begins to bubble…if it does it’s ready…if it doesn’t, it’s not. Once it’s ready put the rolls in only for about 5-10 seconds, turn over for another 5-10 seconds and remove to a paper lined cookie sheet. These first egg rolls will be the ones you freeze (if you are). Once you get as many done as you want to freeze remove that cookie sheet to cool and replace it with another paper lined cookie sheet.

Once cooled place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for about an hour until they are frozen on the outside, then remove and place them in a zip lock freezer bag or container for freezing. Doing this pre-freezing will stop them from sticking to each other in the bag and you can easily take them out of the bag as needed. I cook the frozen rolls in the oven at 350 degrees for about a half and hour or until they are golden brown. I put them directly on a cookie sheet from the freezer…there’s no need to thaw them. You could fry them it you prefer, but the oil that they’ve already absorbed will make them crisp up nicely in the oven.

These next rolls will be the ones you eat! 🙂 Cook the rolls on each side until golden brown. I’m not sure how long it takes…it could be three minutes, or it could be seven minutes. Hey…I warned you…I don’t pay attention to that stuff, it just always turns out right! 😀 Once the rolls are browned remove them to the paper lined cookie sheet. If you like salt, and even it you don’t, this is the time to sprinkle just a little bit of salt on them to bring out their full flavor. Just a little bit, right when they’re hot out of the oil and still glistening from it. I like to use kosher salt.

That’s it! How easy is that? The whole thing takes maybe an hour or less. You can serve them with more of the Thousand Island if you’d like, but I don’t think they need it. Actually, in the restaurants I don’t think they put it inside the mix and they do put it on top or offer it on the side, but I’ve found the meat to be too dry like that and that’s why I added it inside. That and the addition of the mozzarella is what makes them so creamy and good! 

Let me know if you make them and how they turned out! I can’t wait to hear! 🙂 ENJOY!

Something Happened In California That I’ll Never Forget…

I’ve been putting off writing about this for over a month, but it just keeps eating away at me. It’s not that I even necessarily want to think about it anymore, or relive it again, but I just can’t let it go and I know that it might just save one life…so I have to put my feelings aside and tell you the story.

As you may or may not know, I recently took a trip to California. The first part of the trip was a four day industry intensive trade show full of workshops, vendors, and seminars. The second leg of the trip consisted of site visits at two of our California vendors and a couple of days with family since I was already there and I couldn’t see the vendors until Friday…it all worked out so perfectly and I was so excited to be doing all of it.

I hope I look this good and have this much energy when I'm 79!

The day the trade show ended I drove down to my cousin’s house to spend the night and then went off to visit her mom, my seventy-nine year old Aunt Millie. What a fireball my aunt is! She about had me wore out at the end of each day…she’s a ball of energy…and oh how we did laugh! We learned that we both loved to play cards, and we’re both competitive, so we tore up the kitchen table with some Rummy 500 and Skeebo!

On my second day with her we went down to San Diego to take the trolley tour and learn a little of San Diego’s history…and boy did we! It was such a fun filled day walking about old San Diego, having lunch on Coronado Island, and then enjoying fresh, homemade flour tortillas with a little butter, streetside, before we drove home. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day.

The third, and my last day there, we drove up into the mountains to Julian. What an awesome little town…and I mean little, just about a block and a half long! We walked around in all the shops and then had lunch at Mom’s, who served one of the best rhubarb strawberry pies I’ve ever had! It actually tasted like rhubarb and not just strawberry. It reminded me of the pies my grandma used to make me. 🙂

On our way home it started to rain. We drove home on Wildcat Canyon Road, a curvy and dangerous stretch of highway. As we made our way along we came upon a really bad car accident. There was a little silver car that was smashed into a tree in the front and was hit by a big truck on the passenger side…it was crumpled like an accordion. We could tell that it had just happened moments before as everyone was just standing there with bewildered looks on their faces. We were there before any police or fire department as shown in this newspaper photo.

As I looked at the scene, still about fifty feet away, I noticed an aqua hoody hanging over the driver’s side door, where the window was rolled all the way down. It struck me odd that a hoody would be placed so gently over that opening where so much destruction had just occurred.

When we got closer I realized that there was a hand coming out of the sleeve that was hanging there…and there was a dark haired head underneath the hood that had fallen forward. I knew by the color and style of the hoody that the body belonged to a young girl of probably 16-20 years old. At that minute I hated my job that made me know so much about that hoody and who would be wearing it…and all I could think of was the mother who was going to get that phone call…and I began to pray for her.

Her name was Amanda Jean Blessum and she was nineteen years old. A beautiful young girl who lost her life that day, on January 23rd, 2012…and a family who now bears a heartache I can’t even begin to imagine. I know you’re probably thinking that she was texting or on the phone and the accident happened that way…that’s what I immediately thought, too, but we’re both wrong. Amanda wasn’t texting or talking on the phone. She didn’t even have a phone with her. Here’s the tragic thing…she was speeding on a wet road, lost control, and she wasn’t wearing a seat belt. She was going too fast around a turn and her car hydroplaned. Speeding and no seat belt. It makes me so sad that this all could have been avoided.

How many times did you speed as a teenager, or even now as an adult, and not think about it. How many times does your teen get in the car without putting their seat belt on thinking that nothing will ever happen to them. I’ll bet Amanda didn’t think anything would happen to her, either.

Here’s why I struggled with telling you this story. It’s sad. It’s tragic. It’s something we don’t want to talk about. My hope is that you’ll take a moment and use this as a talking point with any teenager you know…be it your own, your nieces and nephews, or your friends and neighbors. I wish every teen could see these photos and know that something can happen to them. A consequence that they never really thought would happen when you speed or don’t wear a seat belt, really does exist…just ask Amanda’s mom.

I don’t want any mother, father, grandparent, brother or sister ever to have to feel this kind of loss. I will never forget Amanda Jean Blessum as long as I live even though I never met her. I will continue to tell every young person I know about her for as long as there is breath in me and I remember the story. I hope the blessing in her loss is that  more will live when they hear about her.

 

Blessum photos from the Ramona Sentinel.

 

The Friday Night Fish Dinner Proved Me Right!

Do you have a husband, or wife, who never wants to listen when you have a great idea? Me, too! Well…to give the poor guy credit, I do come up with lots and lots of “great ideas.” And this one really was great, I felt it, I knew it, but he just would never give in…until last night.

We have a friend who used to live in a neighborhood off of Deep Lake Road in Lake Villa. I noticed a small sign for a restaurant that pointed into the neighborhood. On one visit I told my guy, “Hey, let’s check that place out for dinner!” I knew that if it was in the middle of a neighborhood, and people were there, it had to be good. We asked out friend about it and he wasn’t all that excited about it…never got excited about much, anyway…but he did say it was “good.”

Since his buddy wasn’t all for it, he decided that he didn’t want to go…so he said no. What a bummer! I love trying new places, but he really loves working on word of mouth, so I gave that one up and really just about forgot it…until last night.

He called me up at work and said he wanted to go out for a fish fry. He asked, “Do you want to go to Black Thorne (another fave as you know!), or Reflections, or what?”  “Reflections?” I thought to myself…hummm, he must have heard about a new place! “Wherever you want to go, dear” I replied, secretly smiling inside, because I knew we were about to jump out of the rut!

Once we were turning in to the neighborhood and I realized where we were I almost punched him in the arm! “Hey!” I said, “This is the place I almost begged you to come to ten years ago!” He acted all surprised by that and then finally admitted that it was true. “Well it’s about time!” I told him and was then very excited for our culinary adventure.

The name of the place is Reflections Restaurant and Lounge, which is about twelve to fifteen minutes up the road from the shop, in Lake Villa. I’d love to give you a link to their facebook page, but sadly, they don’t have one that I could find. I still can’t believe how many businesses are resisting the internet. It’s such a fun and easy way for our customers to get to know us, and us them. Do go check out their website, but it is not the greatest…cursory at best.

From the moment we pulled up to the place it felt, well, magical is the only way I can describe it. All lit up with a warm and inviting glow…like a log cabin. It was dark when we went there, but once we parked and got out I realized that it sits on Deep Lake. From the website I saw that they have a beautiful deck and we can’t wait to go back this summer on our bikes and enjoy it! Once you walk inside it’s the same “magical” feeling. The bar area is the first part and the dining room is to the right. The bar was full of regulars and Frank and I had to laugh, because we were pretty much the youngest people there! What I did figure out, though, is that these were the “cool kids” of their day (late 50s through 60s…with some cool grandmas, too!), and this was a pretty cool spot to hang out.

The dining room walls are adorned by old photos of the restaurant and the area…pretty cool history lesson. I only wish I could have walked around and looked at them all, but they have tables in front of them. I guess I’ll just have to go back until I get a chance to sit at all of them! 🙂 There’s also a small room in the bar area with two long family style tables. I think that would be a really fun place to have a small birthday party or luncheon of any kind. Oh, and did I mention the wood burning fireplace in the bar? WHO doesn’t love that?

After getting on the waiting list we headed into the bar for a cocktail while we waited. I ordered a whiskey old fashioned, sweet and when I got my glass I noticed that it was sticky on one side and when I inspected the spot it seemed to be dirty. Now, I don’t know exactly what the heck was going on there, and as a nineteen year bartender I can tell you that I wasn’t freaked out and knew that sometimes a spot gets missed, so I walked calmly up to the bar to ask for a replacement. The bartender was busy and I waited patiently…hey, like I said, I used to be a bartender, I waited patiently.

When the fella finally got to me he didn’t smile, he didn’t ask me nicely, he just looked at me with my drink in my hand and said, “What’s the matter?” very gruffly. I explained that my glass was a little dirty and before I could go any further he snatched it out of my hand without a word, made me a new one, and shoved it toward me on the bar! I didn’t expect him to kiss my butt, but I would have like a “Wow, I’m really sorry,” or a “Let me get you a new one, sorry about that,” or something! That’s all it would have taken for me to be completely satisfied, because as it turned out the cocktail was delicious, perfectly mixed, and like a Wisconsin Supper Club cocktail…and if you’ve ever been to a Wisconsin Supper Club you know what I’m talking about! Needless to say, the bartender didn’t impress me and left me wondering if we had made a mistake in coming to this place.

The good news is that all the time they’re not spending on the internet they are apparently spending on training a phenomenal kitchen and front of house staff! With the exception of the bartender, who unfortunately was our first impression of the place, the rest of their staff were prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, hard working, friendly, and professional. At all times there were up to three bussers constantly walking the floor looking for dirty plates to pick up. There was a lot of hustle going on in that restaurant…and you should know by now how I feel about “hustle” in a restaurant or bar!

I’ve got to tell you…I hate it when they leave dirty plates sit too long on my table. I really notice things like that, and those are the “little touches” that make a business go from good to great. Almost before I could lay my dirty fork on the plate to signal I was finished, someone was whisking that dirty plate away! Another of those little touches was a thin slice of lemon in our water glasses, which were waiting for us immediately before we arrived to sit down! That’s a classy touch…refined…sophisticated…and something I really appreciated and didn’t expect from a small place like this.

The owner’s are Polish, but the menu is far from just Polish cuisine. There were so many items on the menu that I wanted to try, that it was hard to focus on the reason we were there…Friday night fish! I ordered the broiled seafood platter and Frank ordered the broiled cod. Our sides were soup or salad; I had the clam chowder and Frank a salad. He wasn’t all  that impressed with the greens and said he they could have been crisper. The soup wasn’t really a clam chowder tasting soup to me and it was a little loose for a clam chowder, but it was very good, just not as clam chowder-y as I’m accustomed to.

I have to give a shout out to our server, Sarah, she was awesome! She offered suggestions, recited the daily specials-and there were many-like she created the menu, and even gave Frankie an eyeball at a couple of plates she was walking by with, because she knew it was our first time there! We will definitely be asking to sit in her section next time we go there…and she’ll be glad to see us, because as a former server, I appreciate good service the old fashioned way…with money.

Frank really enjoyed the broiled cod, as did I. The perch on my platter was very good and the scallops were cooked perfectly. The shrimp, although cooked perfectly, were really tasteless and didn’t impress me, and the “homemade mashed,” as they were billed, had us wondering for a minute if they were from a box..and there was a very small portion. Just a little bit more would have been nice. The vegetables were the only bad spot of the meal…frozen…hard…tasteless. Disappointing when everything else was so good and fresh vegetables are so easy and inexpensive to prepare. 

What I might become obsessed with is the coleslaw! Like many things in life you’re either one thing or another…Cubs fan or Sox fan…dark meat or light meat…mayonnaise based coleslaw or vinegar based coleslaw…I’m the former…on all of those! So you can only imagine my surprise and delight when I realized with the very first bite, that I will be trying to figure out that recipe until I get it right. O M G !!! I’ve never had a vinegar based coleslaw that I like so much…I’ll even put it in  the top four coleslaws I’ve had in my life…TOP FOUR!!! One of the keys, I believe, is a textural component…everything was very, very, thinly shredded…almost see through. It was delicious…and addicting…OK, I’ll admit it…I’m officially obsessed!

We didn’t order any desert, but they walked by us with the platter a couple of times and wow did it look good! The prices were very good for the value, the ambiance of the place is delightful, and we can’t wait to get back there to try the pierogi and pork hocks! I also got to let my husband see, once again, that I’m always right! 😉 …yeah right!

I give this place 3 twists of the throttle! Do go check it out!