The Culinary Tour of Marinette

My grandma passed away on September 14th. We flew out Thursday to celebrate my grandma's life, visit with family and embark on a culinary tour of Marinette as we ate out with different family members.

We moved away when I was three, but apparently the food of Marinette resonates in my being as a culinary treat. I am not sure if it is a taste I acquired in the womb or if everyone equally enjoys the no calorie left behind experience of a pat of butter on everything along with the usual grease accompaniment especially when they come deep fried or "broasted". One local delicacy is the deep fried cheese curd. Family sends us Seguin's Cheese Curd and have made pizza deliveries via airplane from Brother's Three, that is how much we love this cuisine.

Our first stop after checking into the hotel was Brother's Three Pizza. We met up with two of my aunts and had deep fried cheese curds and mushrooms. The pizza was a greasy sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.

Before the wake we met my uncle and his family at Schloegel's for Cornish Pasties and more deep fried cheese curds and mushrooms.

After the wake we took the back room at Jozwaik's Bar and Grill which is home of the Wabash and Brother's Three Pizza that tasted like I remembered it. Of course we ordered more deep fried cheese curds and mushrooms. I got to talk to my aunts and uncles, my dad's cousins, my cousins and meet Cliff's family.

The next day was the funeral and lunch was served in the basement of the church. The dessert table was almost the size of the regular buffet. We ate lightly so we could stop at Mickey Lu's for brats, cheeseburgers and malts with my cousin before heading to my aunts to watch the ASU/ Badger game. We picked up the food there and brought it back to the hotel after stopping at Seguin's Cheese for cheese curds, Limburger cheese (aka stinky cheese), Makinac Island Fudge and Door County Wines which all successfully made the trip back home. Otherwise my clothes could have been ruined by cherry and blueberry wine. My cousin bought stinky cheese but forgot to put it in the hotel fridge so it created a very unappealing odor in their room.

The evening of the funeral we went to Trade Winds with my aunts, uncles and some of my cousins. They have frog legs and a fish fry, but our group had a limited menu, so I had prime rib as it was the only thing that wasn't battered and deep fried.

We did miss out on the perch fish fry, which I remember at the Elk's Club on Friday's, but I think we did the town of Marinette justice food wise. Somehow I think it was more about being together and breaking bread with some very special people I am proud to be related to and call my family. We honored my grandma, who most of us, excluding in laws gathered around the table were there because of her life and the life she gave to us.

Leg room for sale

Hubby has often made fun of the Southwest Airlines upgrade to board first. I found the perk that $25 will get you aside from the option to change flights (which we did to a nonstop and saved $11)- LEG ROOM. It is almost like first class if you overlook having to share an arm rest.
Granted sitting in the exit row won't work when flying with kids and if you were boarding a connecting flight you might be SOL, but today it works and $25 isn't a bad trade off on Southwest where they don't charge $50 for luggage.

Let Things Finish

I found this line in the book 12 and 1/2 Keys by Edwards Hays and it stuck me as very perceptive especially at this point in life with small children and getting anything done- "Most people find satisfaction and pleasure in finishing tasks.......Joe never finished things, rather he let things finish."
I like finishing tasks, but with small kids I think I would have less anxiety about everything left undone at the end of the day if I would let things finish instead of finishing things.

Walt Disney World

Marc signed up for the Florida Half Ironman and that set the wheels in motion for our family trip this year. We used the time share that he inherited and were able to trade a one bedroom week on Kona for a 2 bedroom that slept 8 in Orlando. With the extra room we asked Marc's mom to watch the race and spend some time with us at Walt Disney World.

It turned out that there was a space shuttle launch scheduled for when we were in Florida, so we drove to Titusville to a little restaurant called the Wineburger that a friend's uncle who works for NASA had recommended to watch the launch from. Watching a launch has always been a goal after realizing that I would never personally make it into space. The launch did not disappoint and it was great to be watching it with my family while my son sat on my shoulders. My daughter might have missed it and kept playing with her Leapster had I not told her to look up. It was the highlight of the trip for me to see and head the shuttle Atlantis go up.

Of course the traffic was also a site to behold as many people were going to watch the third to last shuttle launch currently scheduled. Toll roads suck and I am glad to live in a state that doesn't have toll roads. Fortunately while waiting in the cash lane we noticed the rental car had an E-pass for the tolls and even though there was a surcharge of $2.50 per day it was worth it to change lanes and bypass the long bottle necks the booths created and actually get to Titusville as opposed to being stuck on the freeway for the launch.

On Sat we made our first trip into the Magic Kingdom with the kids. We had watched a history channel show on Disney World prior to our trip and my daughter had to see the Hall of Presidents to confirm that Lincoln would not ooze red fluid that looks like blood. She was also impressed with the first lady's dresses and plans to sew replicas of Nancy Reagan's red dress and Eleanor Roosevelt's black dress this summer. A very grand endeavor for a six year old indeed.

Thanks to FB I learned that a friend from high school was at WDW at the same time we were. We briefly caught up and got to meet each others families at the castle. The world gets smaller everyday and it was nice to see him and meet his lovely family.

My mil had mentioned wanting to go to Cinderella's castle for a meal with the princesses. I was able to get lunch reservations and we surprised my daughter with a Cinderella dress and gloves for the trip. She was very excited to dress up for the lunch. She was given a wand and my son was given a sword. It was fun to watch her with the princesses and my son was embarrassed when Ariel gave him a kiss and got lipstick on his face.

Sunday was Marc's race. We stood on a picnic table and got to see him finish in the top third for his age division and the entire race. In the afternoon we went to Animal Kingdom and met up with Marc's cousin who works there. He was idolized by my daughter and she loved bragging to the kids she met that she knows someone who works for Mickey Mouse.

On Monday we went to Epcot. My daughter and I did the "behind the seeds" tour in the land. She got to release ladybugs and we got to feed the fish during the tour. We also met up with two of Marc's cousins for dinner and got to visit with them.

Tuesday we went back to the Magic Kingdom. My son wore his cowboy boots and just met the height requirements for most of the rides. I certainly prefer Splash Mountain to the tea cups which we managed to avoid the entire trip. We also tried to do the rides that aren't at Disneyland.

Wednesday we had a dinner reservation with tickets to Fantasmic that evening so we spent the morning and early afternoon swimming at the hotel. Unfortunately the kids were out in the sun too long and their faces got a little pink after the sunblock wore of in the pool. When I re-applied sunscreen it burned their faces and we had to wash it off and buy baby block at Walgreen's on the way to the park. That got in their eyes and they screamed and cried on the tram. They eventually calmed down in the park, but not before cancelling the dinner reservation that was the hardest to obtain.

Thursday we went back to the Animal Kingdom and my son loved the dinosaur area while my daughter preferred the petting zoo. The hotel had movie in the pool night and we watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.

Today we went back to the Magic Kingdom to ride a couple of rides and replace my son's broken toy and buy my daughter another pair of earrings since one of her new mouse earrings fell off in the pool. On the flight home we saw the oil slicks in the gulf when the pilot pointed them out.

Overall it was a nice vacation and the crowds weren't too bad given school is still in session. The life experience of seeing the launch was worth pulling my daughter out of school. I was glad the kids were big enough for most of the rides. I certainly favor Disneyland over Disney World as it is easier to get around especially staying within walking distance and the weather is much nicer in Anaheim without the humidity. Although I am not in a hurry to go back to an amusement park anytime soon.

What's for Dinner?

I have answered that question so many times and received less than appreciative responses so many times that I now respond to that question with, "Yuck! I hate that." It is not a specific recipe, but just a way to prepare the kids that I am cooking and if you don't like it, oh well and you can wait until breakfast. And they have held out. At 2am when they wake up with hunger pains and are told the kitchen is closed for a couple more hours it is a sad time and I empathize with them, but maintain the rules.

Sometimes cooking is fun and other times I get in a rut without inspiration and look upon it as a dreaded but necessary task that is criticized and unappreciated. My daughter has food allergies so I cook from scratch a lot and we rarely order pizza or go out to eat as a family. I also go to several different grocery stores to get safe foods for her. It is a part time job reading labels and shopping for soy and dairy free products. A few of the stores I frequent are Fresh n Easy, Trader Joe's, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Fry's, Costco and Sam's Club. I might be able to get by shopping at Whole Foods all the time, but there is a reason it has been dubbed "Whole Paycheck" and why I go to the other stores and stock up when I am there.

My husband doesn't necessarily like the "safe" foods, requiring his own brands of certain items and went so far as to label my daughter's items as "bad tasting stuff" on a Google grocery list he created earlier this week for "our" benefit. Opening this list made me wonder what his real intention was since he has been scanning food cartons to track his diet online. And let's just say these were not pleasant thoughts that entered my mind. Visions of him wanting me to scan food as I buy it and then again as I throw it away entered my head. Thank heavens that wasn't his plan. It had more to do with using a list when shopping and a conversation regarding sardines and other random items and their quantity in the pantry that don't seem to circle through our diet as frequently as they greet him in the cupboard and his concerns about waste. The sardines were bought when my daughter was eating them a couple of years ago and they have yet to expire. They are a good source of calcium, but like most little kids they like something and then they don't.

Last night in an attempt to circle some stuff through the pantry I used cans of garbanzo beans and made falafel. One kid liked it, one kid didn't. I can't wait until sardine night, it might be one where we all say "Yuck, I hate that" especially if I serve them with mustard, diced green chilies and maple syrup which by the way I have too much of also.

Gloriously Gluttonous and Indulgent Girl's Trip

I did a girls' trip to San Francisco with my best college roommate and friend of 20+ years this past weekend. It was my ninth trip to the city and her first. We decided to forgo renting a car and use pubic transit and shoe leather. The public transit was easier than I expected especially with Google Maps on my phone.

The flight into SFO was eventful in that my friend passed out on the plane and I couldn't get her to wake up and when I felt her face she was clammy. That revelation prompted me to push the call button which set all sorts of things in motion. Fortunately my friend rallied as they were putting the oxygen mask over her face. There was a Dr on the flight that assisted and EMT's escorted her off the plane. They did a brief assessment and finding nothing we went on our way after signing multiple documents for the airlines and EMT's.

We took BART from the airport to the city. The exit was right at the doorsteps of our hotel, The Palace Hotel. I was thrilled to be staying at such a beautiful historic hotel. We checked in and were back out the door to find a late lunch and explore.

For lunch we found a Vietnamese restaurant and I ordered soup and tea. They were out of black tea and the woman at the counter suggested Thai tea as a substitute. I was expecting something similar to a normal ice tea but got an orange thick drink instead with several black round balls at the bottom that looked similar to rabbit droppings. It was good, but not what I was expecting and it took a while to get used to and helped if I didn't look at it.

On Thursdays the SFMOMA is open late so we walked around the corner to the museum and began to explore the museum. Modern Art is interesting. I can appreciate most of it, but only really like about half of it or less. Having just watched the movie "The Invention of Lying" with Marc I thought it would have been hysterical to have had a movie scene shot in such a museum and have the actors discuss the art truthfully. There was one incredible exhibit that I really liked and that was Ewan Gibbs' drawings of various San Francisco scenes that he made with minuscule circles or slashes. They were really remarkable.

One of the things we lucked into when planning our visit was "Dine About Town" where several for the nicer restaurants offered three course dinners for $35 and two of the ones we went to had wine pairings with dinner. This was a glorious gluttonous find that really made the trip over the top. We chose restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, so we dined at XYZ, One Market and The Waterfront.

On Friday we were up early and had breakfast before setting off on a walking tour of Chinatown. I found the book "Walking San Francisco" at the library and it was a great book although following the tour backwards because of our starting point did complicate things a touch when alleys weren't labels from the direction we were approaching, but Google Maps came in handy. We did stick out in Chinatown, especially carrying at tour book, but I don't think the book made that much of a difference. At the conclusion of our tour we ate dim sum and then contemplated our next adventure.

We walked through North Beach to Washington Square Park and started a walking tour of Telegraph Hill. The title of the walk is "Scaling the Stairways' to Paradise. The walk was labeled as strenuous and I skimmed the book and it didn't seem like that big of deal. We climbed Telegraph Hill and the view from Coit Tower was incredible. I think there is a picture of my husband there when he was a little kid but I have to confirm that. We then climbed down the Greenwich Steps and there was a lovely garden where we stopped and watched the parrots. At the bottom of the hill the book then instructed us that "is should be instantly obvious that you have your work cut out of you"- that's right we were supposed to climb back up the hill we had just climbed down. My friend would have none of it and refused. So instead of making it to the finish and connecting with the North Beach Bar Crawl walk back to the hotel we took the low ground and walked along the Embarcadero which provided us with a way to get to the start of the cable car line at Market and Drumm. We rode the cable car up and down the California line getting off in Chinatown to stop at some of the shops that had been closed when we first walked by. I got Paige a pink kimono with butterflies and Ken a little battery operated lantern. We got caught in the rain and I was a drowned rat by the time we got back to the hotel.

On Saturday we took the 38L bus out to the Legion of Honor and got to view the Golden Gate Bridge from the other side. The Legion of Honor was incredible. They had a traveling exhibit of Cartier Jewelry which was amazing. Grace Kelly's diamond necklace was my favorite piece. The other exhibits were amazing and the collection of Rodin's was unique in that it had both plasters and bronzes.Hunger pains and sore eyes from actually being able to read the labels without kids in tow, we eventually left to seek out a late lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant about 3pm.

Later we met up with my friend's brother who lives in SF and leisurely walked towards our dinner destination. There was a full moon rising over the Bay Bridge that was just amazing and we had a view of it from our dining table where we feasted on lobster.

Sunday morning I went back to St. Mary's Cathedral that we had found on our Chinatown walk for mass. The congregation seemed to be all travelers from somewhere else except for a handful of people. It was a nice mass in a historic setting. The second reading was Love is patient, Love is kind.... and that is what Father Chuck chose to spend his homily on even quoting Shakespeare. I of course prayed that my friend wouldn't faint on the flight home among other things.

After mass we went to breakfast and headed to the airport. Thankfully it was an uneventful flight home. I am reconsidering wearing slip on shoes without socks though after walking barefoot on what felt like sweaty carpet. I was so grossed out that I put hand sanitizer on my feet.

It was a nice get away with a treasured friend where I could do grown up things. Today it was back to carpooling, a play date at the park and plunging an overflowing toilet. Such is the life of being a mom.