There’s No Place Like Home: A Kansan Embraces Her Culinary Heritage

Kansas - 4Nestled snugly between the meager metropolis that is Kansas City, Missouri, and the proverbial amber waves of grain surrounding the entire region, is a small town in Kansas called Overland Park.

Until it was chosen as the unlikely backdrop for the Showtime series, United States of Tara, it was a place loved only by those who lived there. As the quite literal personification of the white picket-fenced “American Dream,” Kansas Citians (that is, people from the Kansas City “metropolitan” area) think of it as a great place to move back to when you’re ready to raise a family.

Before I get out my pocket-sized American flag and wave it exuberantly in your face, allow me to interject that it’s not a paradise in all regards. There’s nothing horrible about it per se, but … I’ll just put it this way: If you’re a Caucasian Protestant who makes more than the national average and has at least a splash of that vibrant red of the Republican Party flowing through your veins—you’ll fit right in.

Fortunately for my fellow citizens (and me), this admittedly unfair stereotype does not stretch to the local cuisine. Whether it’s the cleverly named Korma Sutra serving heavenly mango lassi and coconut soup, or the matumbo offered by the not-so-cleverly named Taste of Africa—a dish that will call to you even after you realize what that Swahili word translates to in English—delicious fares from around the world have soaked into our little landlocked haven.

I could tell you about all of those and many other lovely places with interesting foods, but let’s be real: I’m talking about Kansas. No matter how delicious a relatively exotic food is here, there are a lot of places in the States—not to mention the world—that do it just as well if not better. Like places actually in Africa.

Now, I’m not discounting the efforts of these hard-working creators of delectable cuisine. There’s just really only one type of food that an Overland Park foodie would be ready to put their dukes up for.

It’s all about the barbeque, baby.

Kansas - 1If you’re familiar at all with the area, you probably already know this. Like most of the Midwest, we’re obsessed. Us Overland Park citizens fully embrace the Kansas City BBQ style, famous for slow-cooked meats and tomato-based sweet and spicy sauces. Not only that, but we are lucky to be the home of a couple of pretty famously delicious joints.

Yes, we do have more to offer—but we’re really, really good at barbeque. Sometimes it’s nice to embrace who you are. And since we all can’t click out heels together to get a taste, I’ll share a recipe with you that reminds me of a couple of my favorite sandwiches (and trust me, I’ve had a lot of sandwiches: It’s kind of my thing.)

Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque, formerly misleadingly named Oklahoma Joe’s, has the “Caroline Pork Sandwich” and then there’s the “Poor Russ” at Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue. Both have slow-cooked meat, are lightly sauced and topped with coleslaw.

Don’t run! It’s delicious—I promise. These two Overland Park restaurant locations are the inspiration for this explosion of flavor.

Thanks for trying (or thinking about trying) one of my locally inspired favorites with me. Be ye warned: I like my slow cooker.

For your consideration, I present …

The “Porky Kim’s Porky Russ”

Sweet SlawKansas - 2
1 head green cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, finely shredded
4 tablespoons diced onion
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Toss the cabbage, carrots and onion in a large bowl, mixing well. In a separate medium-sized bowl, thoroughly whisk together the mayonnaise, oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, dry mustard and poppy seeds. Pour dressing mixture over cabbage and toss well to coat.

Cover bowl and chill while pork is cooking, or a minimum of two hours.

Note: This sandwich tastes great with a spicy slaw too! You can cut back the sugar and add a couple of freshly minced jalapeños or a few finely shredded radishes give it a little kick.

Sweet & Spicy Pulled Pork
1 large onion
1 3-6 pound pork butt (you’ll want leftovers – trust me)
3-6 fresh jalapeños, minced (adjust to taste: more if you like it spicy, less if you are a wuss)
2 12-ounce cans Dr. Pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
BBQ sauce of choice (I recommend Cowtown Bar-B-Que Sauce)

Kansas - 8Cut the onion into chunks and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Season the pork butt with salt and pepper before placing on top of onions. Sprinkle the minced jalapeños and brown sugar over the pork. Top as evenly as possible with the Worcestershire Sauce, and then pour the cans of Dr. Pepper over the pork. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for four hours, or low for a full eight hours.

Carefully remove meat from slow cooker. It should be extremely tender and juicy. Use a couple of forks to shred the pork. If it doesn’t literally fall apart at your gentle prodding, it’s not done yet. If it’s still overly intact and not shredding with ease (oh the horror!) throw it back into the slow cooker for another hour. Discard large chunks of fat while shredding, and tenderly place your succulent meat bits in a bowl large enough to house your pork butt.

Slowly add BBQ sauce to the meat until desired amount is reached. Remember: You can always add more later, so don’t go too crazy!

Porky Kim’s Porky Russ
Sweet Slaw
Sweet & Spicy Pulled Pork
Sandwich or Burger Buns of your choice

If desired, lightly toast buns to add texture. Top the bun bottom with a heaping helping of Sweet & Spicy Pulled Pork. Important: If slaw is heavy on dressing, strain the portion you intend use as the crowning glory of your masterpiece before placing directly on top of pork. Add the top of the bun.

Now invite me over for dinner.

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Posted in Dear Diary, On The Road

Sweet Home [Away From Home in Orange Beach], Alabama

Bushwhacker at Pirate's Cove ... with a Bacardi 151 on top.

Bushwhacker at Pirate’s Cove … with a Bacardi 151 on top.

One of the many benefits of marrying my husband Jim – apart from the obvious love and companionship – has been gaining a whole other family: Two sisters and one brother, plus all the nieces and nephews … not to mention his parents. They’re spread out, from Houston, Texas over to the Gulf Coast of Alabama and up to the DC area. Yearly summer visits to Jim’s sister’s family in Orange Beach, AL have become tradition and one that I’ve been gleefully enjoying for the past three years.  We gather there, right on the water, for a week or more of our yearly fill of Southern hospitality.

We beach, we laugh, we drink and we eat … drink some more. It’s my the perfect summer vacation.

Situated right on the Gulf Coast, on the little bit of Alabama between Mississippi and Florida, Orange Beach is a big vacation spot, but in a very small area of land. According to the US Census Bureau, the town is only 15.9 square miles, of which 8% is water! Every summer it seems to get more packed with tourists and vacationers. But for Jim’s sister Deirdre and her family, it’s home.

From the minute we get off the plane in Pensacola, Florida the adventure begins. This year, we stopped at Joe Patti’s, a fresh fish market right on the water. We got tuna steaks, scallops, crawfish and crab claws. And of course, a couple of loaves of freshly baked French bread.

Pirate Cove's pier and beach.

Pirate Cove’s pier and beach.

When you first walk into the market you have to meander your way into the middle where the ticket machine awaits to let you know your place in line. Patti’s brother usually calls out the numbers and if you’re lucky, as we were that day, he’ll cut your tuna steaks for you. There are so many varieties of shrimp and fish caught right in the gulf your head will spin with the choices. You can even get your seafood steamed right on site to eat there or bring to the beach.  On the other side of the market they pump out fresh baked bread – French, sourdough and Italian. A little counter offers West Indie salad, crab salad and ceviche. Then, there’s the hard scooped ice cream in the way back. If that weren’t enough, on your way out – or in – there’s a little trailer offering beignets.

After that, we load up at the liquor store. Here’s a tip: the liquor, beer and wine is cheaper in Florida than in Alabama. The taxes are just a lot higher. Luckily, Orange Beach is almost right on the line. In fact, a really fun place for drinks, music and bar scene is the Flora-Bama, situated across both states and right on the water. I remember my first year visiting: we were sitting on the back porch sipping something ice cold when my brother-in-law Todd noted a few skydivers coming in over the coast. Turns out, if they land in the Flora-Bama property, i.e. the beach right behind the bar, they get to drink for free all day. I, for one, am not up to that challenge.

Cheeseburger, onion rings and fried pickle at Pirate's Cove.

Cheeseburger, onion rings and fried pickle at Pirate’s Cove.

Speaking of interesting ways to get to places … a great dive (pun intended) right on the water that we love is Pirates Cove in Josephine, Alabama. While you can get there by land, the fastest and most fun way is to get there by water. They have docks to tie up your boat or jet ski and a sandy beach for the kids to run around on. They’re dog friendly too! There are even a few resident pooches that roam from table to table looking for love and a stray bite of your lunch. The burgers are good solid dive burgers and the onion rings are huge and crispy … definitely a must. Don’t forget to order an icy cold Bushwhacker topped with an extra shot of rum on top to wash it all down.

Of  course, if you’re looking for something more upscale, Fishers in Orange Beach has two restaurants in one – upstairs and dockside. Chef Bill Briand, schooled in New Orleans under Donald Link, keeps the menu seasonal and knows where and how his seafood was caught. Owner Johnny Fisher also brings in noted Southern chefs throughout the summer for what they call “Southern Grace Celebrity Chef Dinners”. You can check their events page for details on who and when.

My sister-in-law’s favorite restaurant is The Gulf, located just down the coast from her house a mile or two. It’s made of old, repurposed shipping containers painted bright blue, stacked and arranged to create both inside and outside dining areas. Think seafood, burgers and drinks, overlooking the gulf. They also offer a seafood bar where you can pile your plate high with crab claws and legs. Deirdre’s tip: get a little more than you think … you’ll eat it, it’s so good!

My husband Jim and our niece Isabella hanging out in the water of Perdido Bay.

My husband Jim and our niece Isabella hanging out in the water of Perdido Bay.

Of course, there’s nothing like eating a home cooked meal … right on the water at my sister-in-law’s. When we visit, most meals are eaten at home, cooked in her bustling kitchen with a dog or two hanging out or grilled out on the back porch overlooking the Gulf. My first year visiting, I met her good friend and NPR correspondent Debbie Elliott. She’s joined in the cooking at family parties and meals; she is a pretty phenomenal cook and gave me some great tips for this post. On this trip, I’m hoping to make it to one of the gems she suggested: the cheese maker shop at Sweet Home Farm in Elberta, Alabama. Debbie recommends the Perdido made with herb ash or the garlic blue.

I count myself extremely lucky to join in on these family vacations. My new family has amazing Southern hospitality and knows how to make anyone feel welcome to join in, whether at their table eating burgers or on the deck shucking oysters. And not for nothing, my sister-in-law makes the best crab cakes I’ve ever eaten.

When I tell people I’m coming down to Alabama, they question me … give me a strange look. “What’s in Alabama?” they ask me. “Family,” I answer. Not to mention the best beaches and eats.

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Posted in On The Road

Funi, Don’t Fail Me Now: Battling “Fudgies” For A Table

All photographs, including our cover photo, have been provided courtesy of Angela Brown.

USmall town_Schlosser_funi1s northern Michiganders—the demonym for people who reside in Michigan—have a term of “endearment” for the plethora of travelers who make their way to our beautiful setting after winter’s cold melts into summer steam: Fudgies.

The nickname is born of these tourist’s habit of spending lots of time (and money) in the many fudge shops in this area. And then there are the cherries. People sure do like their cherries. In fact, Traverse City, with a population of just 14,700 people, is bombarded by over a half a million visitors each July for the National Cherry Festival. But I guess when where you live is home to the Sleeping Bear Dunes—voted by Good Morning America as one of the most beautiful places in AmericaSmall town_Schlosser_funi3—you’re bound to get a fudgie … or ten.

While many of these visitors enjoy the well-known and abundantly advertised happenings in my beloved “up north”, there are a few places that continue to thrive on local love.

Trattoria Funistrada is one of them.

Their website describes the location as, “Nestled in Burdickville on the east side of Big Glen Lake, our building is over 90 years old and has always enjoyed a history of being a popular neighborhood gathering place.” Owners Holly and Tom Reay jumped at the opportunity to purchase the building in 2000. Both have fond memories of dining as children with their grandparents there when it was known as the Glen Lake Inn. Having worked at multiple dining establishments in this busy ‘seasonal’ area, they felt it was time to bring back that feeling of ‘neighborhood’ dining … a goal they’ve clearly accomplished given Funi’s devout following.

Don’t get me wrong—there have been some lucky fudgies who have rounded the bend in the road Small town_Schlosser_funi2and stumbled upon the awesomeness that is Funistrada. Their new-found addiction almost always takes over and they become repeat offenders.

The addiction is justified. Together with their daughter Carson (15), and son, Thomas III (11), the Reay family have built a reputation for consistently delicious food served in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Funi is like your favorite pair of jeans: it’s your comfortable go-to, and it always makes you feel like a million bucks. That’s because they use as many local ingredients as possible in creating meals you’ll never forget in a setting that doesn’t feel stuffy.

Even when the fudgies pack it up and head home, Funistrada has a local following that keeps the restaurant filled year-long. With favorites such as Veal Saltimbocca Small town_Schlosser_funi10(scaloppini broiled with prosciutto, mozzarella and Parmesan, served with a mushroom Marsala sauce) or Angel Hair Carsoni (named for the owners’ daughter Carson: chicken with Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, mint, lemon zest and red pepper flake, tossed lightly in olive oil)—one really can’t go wrong when making a selection from their varied menu.

Funi’s is so warm and friendly that it seems each time you visit, someone is celebrating a birthday, anniversary or an engagement. These celebrations are often shared by other guests. The Reays point to a recent example: Guests got acquainted when one sent another dessert, who, in turn, sent another a bottle of wine. It ended with a couple celebrating their anniversary having their entire meal paid for by strangers. Good food inspires people … and builds community.

Curious about the name? I was too! The U.S. Army surveyed soldiers in the 1970s to find out which veggies they liked best, and which they wanted off the mess hall menu. Asked to rank their food preferences, soldiers rated “funistrata” over lima beans. Ever had funistrata? Probably not. It is a fake food poll-takers put on the list as a joke. Soldiers preferred a veggie they had never eaten to lima beans, which is something the lima bean council doesn’t want to hear.

Or it could mean—in loosely translated Italian—‘off the beaten path’. And that’s where you’ll find it, tucked into the sleepy town of Burdickville … just four minutes from my back door.

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Posted in On The Road
photo credit to Aaron Otis Photography 2014


July
Watermelon is the perfect summer food. It hydrates, it cools, it's sweet and juicy. We have some great ideas for your table, including a salad, ceviche cups, popsicles and cocktails. Get ready to beat the heat with us!