Soup and Culture Snack Potluck

Girl Scout "Pigs in Potatoes" Snack

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we're not shy about borrowing--a cup of sugar, yesterday's newspaper, a really GREAT idea. So here is an idea we're sharing to celebrate our own National Potluck Month.

Back in January 2008, our friends Barbara and Chas made a resolution to do "one cultural thing each month." Unlike the resolutions we made in January 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. and 2012--they have kept it!  Now more than sixty exhibits, performances, concerts, lectures, public programs, discussions, and discoveries of charming museums later, they are still going strong. Barbara has posted some of their activities and discoveries on her Facebook page leading us to share in some of those adventures and find new places ourselves. 

We got to thinking not only is this a great idea, it is a terrific platform for a potluck party!  

So, now is the time to adopt this resolution and encourage your friends to do the same. Then, once a month, or once a quarter, have a Soup and Cultural Snack Potluck. Host family provides the big pot of soup. Everyone else brings the finger foods to share. Those foods--conversation starters--should represent something about the cultural event or trip from their recent visits. 

There are plenty of things to do in big cities and even the smallest towns have adventures if you go looking. Our favorite small town of Clear Lake, Iowa (population 8,000), has the Firehouse Museum, the Pioneering Museum, and the Arts Center and public library each with a variety of programs. And that's just scratching the surface.

Here in the Twin Cities cultural opportunities seem to be around every corner. While thinking about a recipe to include in this post, I decided to feature one of my favorite small community resources and museums. As February 8, 1910 is the officially recognized birthday of Boy Scouting in America, the North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting seemed a natural.  The museum is located just off Highway 36 in North St. Paul. They offer programs for the public and for scouting groups. Check their website for hours and opportunities. North Star Museum.

A while ago I did a program for the museum on old time scouting foods. Now I've adapted the Girl Scout hearty "pigs in potatoes" into a two-bite appetizer.  The flourless oatmeal cookies are easily made and a light end to a meal full of sharing. 

Girl Scout Pigs in Potatoes 

12 "B"-size red potatoes, pick ones that are about an inch diameter

1 package fully cooked "brown and serve" sausage links--one for each potato

1/2 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese--2 teaspoons for each potato

Scrub and gently boil the potatoes until tender. Cool and slice in half. With a small spoon scoop out a hollow bowl in the middle of the potato halves, reserving the scooped out potato bits. Cook the sausage according to package directions then dice. 

Combine the cooked potato, diced sausage and grated cheese. Gently press back into the potato shell. Warm under the broiler or in the microwave until the cheese melts. Serve hot or at room temperature. These can be prepared ahead and easily reheated. 

Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

2 eggs, beaten separately

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch salt

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 cup nuts or coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat. Mix in the melted butter and vanilla. Stir in the baking powder, salt and oatmeal and nuts. Last, fold in the beaten egg whites. Drop onto greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let baked cookies sit on sheet for a minute and then remove to cooling rack. Yield: 6 dozen cookies

Copyright 2013 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

1968 Exhibit and Great (Cheap) Food

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters the involving and hugely-popular 1968 Exhibit at the Minnesota History Center got us thinking about including a bit of time travel in our National Potluck Month celebrations.

In 1968 I had three cookbooks, two toddlers, and one graduate-student husband. We were living in Iowa City, happy in our apartment while the world twirled around us. I hadn't thought much about that year until I saw the 1968 Exhibit and looked at the on-line supporting materials. It was some year -- and what an excuse for a potluck!

Gather your friends, put on the hits of the year -- Jumping Jack Flash, Stormy, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Hey Jude and have a blast from the past as part of your National Potluck Month celebration. You could even combine the potluck with a visit to the exhibit. But you'd better hurry! The 1968 Exhibit runs through February 20, 2012 before it travels to Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. Here's the link for more information: http://www.the1968exhibit.org/about-exhibit

As to food. . . my three cookbooks give a few hints as to what was trending. I had classic red checkerboard covered Betty Crocker for all the basics. Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook for fancy fare. And for the growing interest in international cuisine, The Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking through the Ages with 600 recipes!

As to what we ate. . . well, we had our fair share of grown-in-the-garden meals. The apartment was actually the top floor of an old Victorian house that shared a huge fenced-in yard with another old classic house. Previous owners had put in two apple trees and a grape vine on the fence. Not only could we plant a vegetable garden, we had apples for eating, pies, and sauce -- free for the picking. And grapes for grape jelly.

The neighborhood grocery wasn't open on Sundays. The small store had a full-time butcher and all the meat was on display in the case, not packages. If I went in late on Saturday afternoon -- with the two kids in the stroller -- the meat man would take pity on me and sell me the chuck steak and soup bones he didn't want to carry over until Monday for ten cents a pound! Reduced from thirty cents.
This was back before there were crockpots, so I would cook the soup in my turkey roaster in the oven. That way I didn't have to fret about an open flame cooking for hours when I just might get caught up with kid stuff, or if I accidently nodded off for five minutes.

I could have chopped the meat up into the soup, but usually I pulled about half of it out to make into other meals. I could grind it up with pickles for sandwich spread, combine some of it with a box of frozen mixed vegetables and put it under mashed potatoes for "shepherd's pie," or toss a head of cabbage into the soup toward the end and then have "New England Boiled Dinner."

The soup itself was supper for three nights, rounded out with homemade cinnamon rolls.

It really was groovy eating, great to share with the neighbors downstairs, and a simple way into Potluck Paradise.


Cinnamon Rolls

Note: I've written this recipe with tips for someone who has never worked with yeast dough, so it looks more complicated than it really is.
1/2 cup warm water
1 package instant, quick rise yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
4 to 5 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the filling
1/2 cup butter, more or less
1/2 cup sugar, more or less
2 tablespoons cinnamon, more or less

Make the bread dough by first proofing the yeast. Put the warm water in a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast and tablespoon of sugar. Let stand until the mixture becomes bubbly. This is how you will know the yeast will work to make the bread rise. While the yeast is proofing, put the milk in a small sauce pan and heat until it just comes to a simmer, with little bubbles showing around he edges. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and sugar. Let stand until lukewarm – less than 100 degrees F. If it is any warmer it will kill the yeast. Stir the milk mixture into the yeast. Add the egg and mix well. Begin adding the flour. Stir in 3 cups with a spoon or fork. Then add another 1 cup. At this point you can begin kneading the flour in with your hands, adding more flour if necessary. Knead until you have a smooth dough. Form into a ball and lightly butter the top. Set aside in a warm place to rise until it is double in bulk. This could take as little as one and as much as two hours.

To make the rolls:
Combine the cinnamon and sugar.
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll out to a rectangle about 10 by 14 inches. Spread with about 1/4 cup soft butter and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up tightly from the long side. Pinch the bottom edge firmly into the roll. Slice into 12 rolls, place cut side up in a lightly greased baking pan. Set aside again to rise until double. This will take far less than the first rise, maybe as little as 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and when the rolls are doubled, put in to bake until lightly browned on top. You will know they are done if they sound hollow when you tap them on top. Watch carefully, as the butter and sugar on the roll bottoms does have a tendency to burn.

Additional notes:

If you want rolls with more layers of butter, cinnamon, and sugar, roll the rectangle larger and thinner. You will need more butter and cinnamon sugar, of course, and the bread part of the roll will be thinner when finished, but they are very good that way, too.

This is a lovely bread dough for all kinds of rolls. You can leave out the cinnamon and form the dough into cloverleaf rolls by taking three small balls of dough for each roll and and place them in a muffin pan to bake. For other spiral-type rolls use brown sugar and pecans, or glaze with orange marmalade.

As to kneading in the flour, I’ve discovered it is a good idea to only knead with one hand while the dough is sticky. Then you have a clean hand to scoop out half measuring cups of flour. Once you have all the flour in and a smooth dough. Go at it with both hands. To clean excess sticky dough off your hands, rub them with flour. The dough will flake off nicely and then you can wash up.

On the Air with tpt and a Great Muffin for Later

"Lights! Camera!!! Quiet on the set!!!"
What a way to kick off our self-declared "National Potluck Month!"

There we were, away from laid-back Potluck Paradise headquarters and in the midst of "Hotdish Television Studio On-The-Go" as Twin Cities Public Television ( tpt to those of us who watch and love it) took over the fabulous ALL Appliance store in St Paul for a day-long taping session. The show features seven wonderful hotdishes -- Minnesota's quintessential Potluck food -- casseroles or "covered dishes" to the rest of the country. We prepared one, but you'll have to tune in to see what it is. We're sworn to secrecy. The photo shows all that's left of this wonderful and easy-to-make dish. The show will debut in early March along with the opportunity to get your hands on the first in the series of tpt cookbooks -- tpt Cooks - Hotdish.

Talk about drama, fun, and glamor! And some mystery ingredients!

We got to cook in a wonderful new demonstration kitchen . . saw a few appliances that would fit right in at Potluck Paradise headquarters. The tpt staff were as good a set of prep cooks as any one could want. And we even got our make-up put on with an airbrush -- la-de-DA!

As to the recipes, you'll have to watch the show, or become a Member of tpt and get a copy of the new cookbook to find out. . . We can give a hint or two. The dish we prepared has eight ingredients, can be put together in less than 7 minutes, and bakes in less than half a hour. Interested? And one more hint. . . one of the ingredients is the ever popular crushed potato chips.

We'll leave it at that, but here's a great recipe you can enjoy right now.


These tasty, healthy muffins are the perfect compliment to any hotdish. Low fat and low sugar, the trick of combining the cornmeal with the warm milk to swell the grains, makes a rich corn taste with a "non-gritchy" texture. You can use all dates or all dried cranberries, but here at Potluck Paradise headquarters, we like the mixture.

Cranberry Date Cornmeal Muffins

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries and dates, mixed
about 1 cup hot water
1 1/4 cups milk, could be non-fat
2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg. lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the dried fruits and water in a microwave-save dish and microwave until fruits are softened -- about two minutes at half power work in my large microwave. Set aside to cool, then drain off the water. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the brown sugar and butter, stirring until well combined. Then gradually stir in cornmeal. Mix until there aren't any lumps and set aside to cool to lukewarm. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir in the cornmeal mixture, the drained dates, and egg. Mix well. The batter will be fairly thick. Spoon in to lightly greased muffin tins and bake until firm and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Yield: 12 3-inch "regular" muffins and 12 mini-muffins. Or 18 of the 3-inch size.