This Time I Really Meme It
Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 01:44AM 
Time to finish the meme of fours, y'all. The one in which I was invited to participate by dear Diane Aldred, and which started here and continued here. This is the ground we have yet to cover: four places I have vacationed, four of my favorite dishes, and four blogs I visit every day.
I should be able to do this in a single -- albeit longish -- post. Then we'll be done. It's okay to be happy about that.
So here goes.
FOUR PLACES I HAVE VACATIONED: First let me say, in our family we have perfected the concept of the mini-vacation. Personally I do not like air travel and only go that route when absolutely necessary, like a year ago. I would prefer not to drive all over creation either. With few exceptions, I would rather sleep in my own bed. I don't care for overly-touristy places, nor do I enjoy the types of attractions where you have to stand around in line half the day to ride a death-defying roller coaster or such like, and everyone is sweaty and thirsty but a watery Coca-Cola costs five dollars. I've seen Mickey Mouse and have no need to see him again.
Half the fun is watching bold pigeons lurch around on the floor beneath the metal tables and chairs, their feet sticking in the powdered sugar that coats everything.
Plus which, we have found that with four grown children in addition to large and close-knit clans on both sides of our family tree, ample opportunities present themselves throughout the year to "get out of Dodge" for a day or two or four. What with major holidays, weddings, reunions, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and various other milestones and events occurring more or less nonstop, we find ourselves packing our bags at least a dozen times a year. I need a vacation from all of that.
The above notwithstanding, we've managed to do some decent vacationing over the years, and to have some fun along the way, and these are four of the places where that's happened:
[1] Chicago, Illinois ... I've written about this fascinating town before but I don't mind doing it again. I love Chicago and given a choice of destinations, that's where I'll go. You may keep your sun-drenched resorts, your sugar-sand beaches, your exotic ports of call. Keep London, Paris, Rome, and Vienna (well, I would like to see Vienna). I'll take the City of Broad Shoulders ... windy, raw, impossibly busy, improbably stylish, incessantly adventurous. Hunkered gamely by the thrashing lake, sparkling like a million fairies, Chicago thrums with an energy so infectious it seems to seep into your bone marrow. There is so much to do! Great shopping, wonderful restaurants, world-class museums, exciting sports teams, sophisticated performing arts, incredible architecture, fantastic sightseeing ... you may run out of time and money but you won't run out of options.
Your breath is taken away at the first sight of the Chicago skyline -- day or night, no matter the season, whether an aerial view or looming spectacularly on approach from the sprawling 'burbs -- and you never quite get it back until you leave. And then your chest aches to have your breath taken away again. At least mine does.
[2] Ocean City, New Jersey ... I like the tawdry excitement and endless variety of boardwalks, and I love the ocean, so Ocean City is a fun place to go. For two years we lived in South Jersey, a mere forty-minute drive from "the shore." Many was the time TG and I would get home from work, pack a picnic and our chairs and the kids, and head for the beach. We'd get there in plenty of time to find a private spot, eat our dinner, take a stroll where the waves meet the sand, and watch the fading-day sky turn its stunning corals and pinks and purples before "walking the boards" and then heading home.
Sometimes, depending on our mood, we'd forego the surf 'n sand part and go straight to the boards. We'd dine on pizza at Mack & Manco, then saunter aimlessly for awhile, people-watching, before indulging in a tub of Johnson's caramel corn or a frozen custard from Kohr Bros. Once, for our anniversary, TG and I spent the night at a bed and breakfast close to the beach. It was a June weekend so cold and damp we had to wear sweatshirts, but what glorious fun.
[3] Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana ... My mother grew up in Baton Rouge and numbers of our kinfolk still live in that neck of the woods. This has precipitated many lovely trips to Louisiana, a state and culture I dearly love. I have wonderful memories of visiting my grandparents and uncles, the fabulous meals they have prepared, and the colorful stories they have told.
Invariably when we venture into that part of the world we take in the impressive Art Deco state house -- the tallest capitol building in the United States, completed in 1932 -- where Huey P. Long was assassinated. We stroll the grounds admiring centuries-old live oaks dripping airy tangles of Spanish moss. We climb the 48 limestone steps, each engraved with the name of a State of the Union (Alaska and Hawaii were added later to the top step). In the lobby near the heavy brass banks of elevators we run our hands over the cool bullet-pocked marble walls marking the place where "The Kingfish" was shot down on a September night in 1935. Then we ascend to the observation deck where we watch hulking tankers queue up to drink deeply from refineries along the banks of the muddy Mississippi.
(I look there longer than usual because it was in the Exxon refinery that my Papaw labored for decades to feed his family. It was there that in the early '70s he suffered a grievous burn over one third of his body. From the bird's eye vantage point of the observation deck -- especially if my mother is with me -- we'll crane our necks eastward toward Greenoaks Memorial Park where my Mamaw and Papaw, alongside Mamaw's only sibling, Genevieve, and her husband Harold, sleep till Jesus comes. Later we will visit the graves.)
The next day we'll sortie early for an excursion down I-10 to New Orleans, mainly to gorge on beignets and café au lait at Cafe Du Monde across from Jackson Square. Half the fun is watching bold pigeons lurch around on the floor beneath the metal tables and chairs, their feet sticking in the powdered sugar that coats everything. Later we'll walk the streets of the French Quarter and buy still-warm pralines -- thick and lumpy with pecan halves, so sweet they'll cross your eyes -- from Aunt Sally's, all the while trying not to melt into puddles and slide through a shimmering slick of heat and sweat into the mighty Mississippi, to be lost among the rusty red barges. Such are only a few of the joys to be found in the Crescent City.
[4] Charleston, South Carolina ... since TG and I honeymooned in Charleston the third week in June of 1979, it has been a favorite place of mine. TG, an Ohioan, having spent four years as a cadet at The Citadel, has many fond memories of Charleston. So when we go we usually swing by the campus, pass through the Lesesne Gate, park across from the Summerall Chapel or maybe drive around to McAlister Field House, and walk a bit (depending on how hot it is). TG will begin to reminisce and I'll try to pretend I haven't heard it all before. Sometimes he'll happen across someone he knows ... but not very often, anymore.
For our 25th wedding anniversary in 2004, our children pooled their resources and sent us to Charleston for a few days. We stayed at the landmark Francis Marion Hotel overlooking Citadel Square, where we spent our honeymoon. It was fun to walk on the Battery at night and sneak peeks into the windows of antebellum mansions that face Charleston Harbor. There's unique shopping in the open-air market, architecture and history to die for (I love the cemeteries), and so many great restaurants you don't know where to start. One day we walked all the way out Calhoun Street to the water, where we watched freighters as tall and wide as buildings lumbering out toward the sea lanes. Afterwards we were so hot and tired, we rented a rickshaw to take us back to our hotel. We got rained on as we rode, and it felt so good. Charming city.
Mix and toss this all together until all the ingredients are blended evenly. Serve with a raspberry-walnut vinaigrette.
FOUR OF MY FAVORITE DISHES: Let me say here, I could go on for eight hundred more pages about food. I won't do that but I could. Just so you know. Diane will be careful after this how she throws those meme tags around.
[1] Chili. Nothing fancy ... it just happens to be my favorite. I make it with lots of browned ground chuck, cans of chili-hot beans and chili-seasoned diced tomatoes, and an extra packet of powdered chili seasoning to give it lots of spice. The trick is to assemble the chili early and slow-cook it all day in the crock pot. Then you ladle your portion onto a layer of Fritos and on top you put shredded cheddar, banana pepper rings, maybe some diced onion, and a dollop of sour cream. So good it will make your tongue slap your brains out.
[2] Banana Pudding. If there were only one dessert in the world, for me this would be it. And again, don't feel as though you have to get fancy. I know cooked pudding is better, but I don't care. Buy a box (or two) of Nilla Vanilla Wafers, twelve to fifteen firm bananas, and several boxes of Jello instant vanilla (or french vanilla) pudding. You'll need lots of ice-cold milk.
Generously layer cookies and banana slices in the bottom and up the sides of a huge bowl. The huger the better. When your layers are up to the tippy-top, prepare the pudding and pour it over the bananas and cookies, making sure to jiggle the bowl so the liquid goes all down in the crevices. Pop it in the fridge. You can put Cool Whip on yours if you want. I prefer real meringue but I'll eat it plain. I will eat a wheelbarrow full of banana pudding, plain. Mercy.
[3] Shepherd's Pie. Ahhhh ... the epitome of comfort food. I wish you could see the happy looks on my family's faces when they walk into the house (especially in winter but we had this dish two days ago) and realize I have made a huge pan of Shepherd's Pie for supper. Again you start with lots of ground chuck, cooked. When it's nice and brown and you've drained it, put it in the bottom of a big casserole dish. To that add one can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix that all up. Open up a great big can of Hanover Blue Lake fancy cut green beans. Drain that and spread the green beans in a layer over the soupy hamburger.
Make a big batch of mashed potatoes. Use regular brown Idaho spuds and do not peel them; just scrub and chunk them and throw the chunks in some boiling water. When they're soft, pour them into a colander you previously placed in the sink. To the still-hot pan you cooked the taters in, add a stick of real butter and some milk that you've melted together. Put the potatoes back into the pot. Throw in some kosher salt and coarse-ground black pepper. Mash the potatoes with a masher and have your mixer ready. Blend the potatoes for a while, then add a lot of sour cream. Whip them up some more and taste to make sure you detect the ting of the salt. If you don't taste it, add some more salt and whip some more.
When the potatoes are ready, spread them thickly over the green bean layer. Go all the way to the top of your casserole dish, which should now weigh about twelve pounds. Swirl the creamy potatoes real pretty on top. You can add cheese if you want but in my opinion it's "a bit superfluous, really." You want to bake this at 350 but first, place the dish on a flat pan to protect the bottom of your oven. The Shepherd's Pie will bubble up and a little bit will run out as it bakes. You want this to happen. Make a bunch of Jiffy cornbread muffins to go with it. Your grateful family will line up to kiss your hand (and yes, they will get mashed potatoes on it). The leftovers (if any exist) are scrumptious too.
[4] Hamburger and a Salad. Since I was a little girl this has been one of my favorite meals. Haul some more of that ground chuck out of the freezer. Season it with plenty of salt and pepper and form generous-sized patties. Put them on a large jellyroll pan and make indentations in the tops with your fingers. Liberally douse the burgers with Worcestershire Sauce and place them in a 350-degree oven. When they have been cooking for about twenty minutes, take them out and turn them over. Mash them down gently with a potato masher -- well, that's what I use -- but be careful because juice will squirt out. Put more Worc Sauce on top and put them back in the oven to cook until they are well done. Or I guess you can grill them if you want.
While the burgers are cooking, prepare a salad with no lettuce involved. Use that crunchy coleslaw in a bag ... the kind that's rough-chopped and has carrot and purple cabbage in it. Dump a bunch of that into a big mixing bowl and add a crisp diced apple (skin on), about a cup of walnuts or sunflower seeds, lots of bite-sized raw broccoli, a cucumber if you have it, and at least a cup of finely-shredded cheddar. You can add whatever else you like, too. It's impossible to do it wrong. Mix and toss this all together until the ingredients are blended evenly. Serve with a raspberry-walnut vinaigrette. (Whoever does not like that kind of dressing can rummage in the door of the fridge until they find what they want.)
Now arrange some substantial but fluffy hamburger buns face-up on a cookie sheet. Butter the buns (tops and bottoms). Take a big block of extra-sharp cheddar out of the fridge and cut one thick slice per hamburger. When the burgers in the oven are done, remove them and set your oven on broil. Put the buttered buns under the broiler but don't forget about them. Add a slice of cheddar to each burger. When the buns have toasted to golden brown, take them out and give each of them a juicy cheesy burger. Allow the buns to get to know the burgers really well before serving. This takes about five minutes.
When you take a big bite of hamburger followed by a forkful of that salad, you're going to wish your tummy would hold more. I promise.
FOUR BLOGS I VISIT EVERY DAY: I don't even visit my own blog every day, but many of the blogs I read faithfully are listed in my blogroll over there on the left. I read others too. You know who you are.
I'm not going to tag anyone. If somebody reads this and wants to answer all these same questions, have at it.
That's all, folks.
For now.
Reader Comments (15)
I won't argue with you about Chicago. LOL
We visited Charleston for one day, and I would love to go back. We ate at a restaurant called Magnolia's. Is it still there, do you know?
Your recipes are making me hungry. Bad Jenny. I haven't made chili in a while. Maybe I should do that soon.
Have a lovely day. Hope it's not still triple digit temps.
Ruth I knew you'd agree with me about Chicago! I so love that place. If you do get to return to Charleston, you must be sure and let me know. I will definitely drive down the road to share a cup of coffee with you. I love Magnolia's ... one of my favorite places for shrimp and grits!
The best thing about chili is, if you leave the chips out of your bowl it's not such an unhealthy meal. Maybe go a little easy on the sour cream (not easy to do). Wish there was some way to make that banana pudding healthier ...
Actually we had a whole day of rain yesterday, and today the high will struggle to reach 90! It's heavenly. You have a great day too.
Great. Now I'm craving a hamburger like crazy! Grrr...
You don't visit my blog EVERY day?? *tear*
Kidding, of course. Kind of. Sort of. ;-)
Not every day, Kev ... although I do miss you on the days I don't visit. Go make yourself a hamburger.
Speaking of Ocean City, we just got back from Rehoboth Beach, Deleware. Just finished blogging about what was the perfect vacation--two blocks from my favorite brew pub while my kids were assigned to sleep in the other rented houses.
BTW, thanks for visiting Meg's Fantasies. It's a computer dummy's way of adding a second page. My real blog is Prefers Her Fantasy Life.
Hop over and check out who Teen saw on the boardwalk.
Girl I was on Prefers Her Fantasy Life ... I just hopped over to see that other page for a mo, and was compelled to comment! But I'll sure go back and read about who Teen saw! It had better not be Johnny Depp! LOL! Thanks for reading.
Okay, now I'm hungry and in need of a vacation! You know there are a million travel magazines you could be writing for. You make me want to go visit all those places. My family went to New Orleans right after I graduated high school. They wanted me to go, but I just couldn't bear to be away from my fiance that long. I bet if you like banana pudding, you'd like oreo pudding too, i'll have to post the recipe. It's GOOD, esp. after a day in the fridge. That way of doing burgers sounds YUMMY!
Tracie, girl, those burgers are the best. My father-in-law taught me that. He is a great (if simple) cook. You probably wouldn't have appreciated New Orleans as a teenager, but now you should go. You would love it. Try not to go when it's so hot ... like now! LOL! October through March is perfect. I'll keep a weather eye out for that Oreo pudding recipe!
I could be mistaken, but I think you like ground chuck. ;)
All of your favorite foods I love, actually, although the Fritos underneath the chili is most definitely a midwest/southern thing!! We eat ours usually with cheese and cottage cheese.
Mmmmmmm banana pudding............!!
@ Angi ... well, I don't like ground chuck per se but I do like lots of recipes it goes into! You should really try some Fritos with your chili! I can't envision cottage cheese in chili and I won't even try ...
Woo! Chicago shout-out. Wow, you know more about it than I do, and I live here! As always, wonderful descriptions of your places and, more important, your food. I'm definitely copying down that chili recipe.
@ JD ... girl that chili is good. You will not be sorry.
I love the play on words in your title!
I know how you feel about Chicago and every time you mention it, I long to go there, not having been yet. And two of my fav dishes: chili and shep pie. Yum! There was a time when I even ate chili for breakfast. But I have never come across a recipe as unique as yours! Fritos? Wow! Sounds scrumptious!
Keli, you have got to try that ... the chili with Fritos I mean ... and go to Chicago before the snow flies! It is beautiful there in the fall.
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