Super Scraps and Scrapple

Scraps (a little lame but always love that alliteration):

Well, just a short note to begin the Super Bowl Day festivities.  I can’t tell you how glad I am that today is the “the Game”.  One, it will be interesting to watch, but two,  MAYBE it will terminate all the rants about deflation; media circuses (I’m only here….); debates on NFL commissioner failings; how great a QB (insert Brady or Wilson here) is; on and on..  Anyway, we’re having a few friends over, mostly to have a little party rather than being riveted to the TV (well, maybe the commercials).  I don’t have much of a dog in the fight, although I would rather NOT see the Seattle team win, which is also not to say I am FOR the team from New England (kind of the anybody but Seattle thing – and I fear I am going to be disappointed.  Enough of that..

We are ready to welcome guests, taking an impartial approach.

A to the food, we aren't going “all out” on the menu, it is kind of a collaborative affair, but will include:

Cold Salmon; nodding to Seattle

Baked Beans and Brown Bread; New England

Bill’s Brats; Nationwide appeal with maybe a nod to Green Bay who SHOULD be there (sorry)

Fluff (see above)

Apple Crisp – again for the northwest

And stuff you gotta have like:

Black bean dip

Lil’ Smokies

Cheese Straws

Cold Shrimp/Remoulade

Fried Cheese Curds (see above, a culinary experiment..)

Along with assorted adult beverages:

Hard Cider (northwest)

Assorted Beers (including Sam Adams Boston Lager)

Wine (most likely including a Northwest Pinot Noir)

It is noted that there are no New Orleans (whose team who laid an egg this year) based dishes save the remoulade.   How’s your Menu??  Mostly have a good time regardless of the outcome of the contest.

Scrapple and the Church Ladies

And just like the super bowl, there is a yearly gathering of the Friends of the St. Louis County Libraries (FOL for short) to enjoy brunch at a local church here  (St. Georges Episcopal) in Valley Lee.  I think this is the N^th year I’ve attended and the N^th time I've “reviewed” it, but people always ask so here is N + 1:

One of the reasons I like it is because you get “real” food prepared by “real” people.  I use the term “Church Ladies” as a generic, when in reality the head person is a male.  In fact this year I learned he is an Abell, a venerable county name, but I don’t think related to the branch that has the diner over in Compton.  I hear this one is from the Ridge area, a whole different story.

Anyway, they always serve food made “from scratch” and I don’t think you’ll see a Food Service truck anywhere near there.  The menu is invariably the same from year to year, and is served buffet style every year.

It begins with a quiche (which I thought was quite good this year, just plain), then a green chili egg casserole;  then on to the meats

Scrapple (ALWAYS present)

Roasted Pork loin

With apple slices, and then (not pictured) pork sausage patties (formed by hand – not those perfect circles), and then (ALWAYS) Kugel (a baked pudding or casserole, similar to a pie, most commonly made from egg noodles or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbat and Yom Tov).  Why such a dish should turn up at an Episcopal church in rural Maryland might be worth some study, but it has always been present. 

This year there were some (wide cut) green beans steeped in vinegar and bacon fat. Those MAY have been new. The vinegar was very apparent (hint, I didn’t eat, only tasted).  

Also on each table was a bowl of a salad that is named after a town in our area - are you old enough to remember it?? There were many people at our table who said "My Mother used to make this all time!"

Dessert was served, a nice little chocolate mousse with a raspberry layer in the middle.  Nice and light. (much needed after scrapple and pork loin before noon!)

And also besides the food, there is usually an interesting program, and this year was no different.  Our Department Aging has several events one of which is offering twice yearly tours of the Amish and Mennonite communities, and the lady who leads those tours was our speaker.  She talked in general about their culture, her experience with her sort of friend/contact which resulted in several stories about their interaction.  We don't understand them, they don't understand us, and further don't care.  Many of the stories were quite humorous.  

She handed out a list of their businesses around here along with directions on how to find them.   There are 17 “stops” on her tour, but there are many more places listed.  I think I knew this but one of them is a dairy where they are producing cheese.  Sounds like a feeder journey!  Learned some about their marriage practices, children (can’t speak to you unless given permission by parents, and most likely don’t understand English), and factoids like Amish have beards and drive gray buggies while Mennonites have no beards and drive black buggies.  All through her presentation she kept saying “in general” and “there are variations”.  

Fascinating stuff about a culture that flourishes right here in our county.  She also mentioned that younger members are leaving because the cost of land is so high around here.

Enough...

Okay, so go fix your snacks, cool your brews, get your pillows to throw at the TV, plan your potty breaks (during the game NOT during commercials) and GO…   TBD,

And today, I guess you can be

DFF(ootbal).  Are ya ready for some….