I am recovering from my weekend in Wisconsin, still, and I returned four days ago. Brats and Beer Pong will do it to me every time. As I enter the second half of my third decade on this earth I wonder how much I have aged my insides with all of my adventure eating. I'm no lanky 5'9" chef, instead I carry that unforgivable and non-reduce-able-mid-drift which clearly shows I'd rather drink red wine at night with my neighbor's Patty and Martha than walk 'the loop' which is so conveniently located at the end of my street. I live in bikini country as well, but for some reason I am more motivated to track down a local goat cheese I keep hearing about than lifting weights. Maybe I'll strike a balance...til then, I must go on....
Back to why I was up up in the mid-west. Every 3 or 5 years my maternal grandmother's family has a reunion at my great uncle Peter's farm in Sheboygan, WI. I missed the last one and really wanted to get back to a wonderful part of the country to see some of my mom's side of the family I actually like. Perhaps someday I will enlighten you to that whole family drama, but today is more about the food than the funny farm.
My blog is supposed to be about my culinary adventures, my inspiration for the food I create and should hopefully entertain the would-be readers who stumble upon it.
Well, without further ado, I give you....the brat...no, not a whiny, spoiled child...the bratwurst.
If there is one thing that comes to mind when I think of my family reunion it is always eating bratwurst, with visiting the Gibbsville cheese store as the runner up. Every time I go to a reunion I promise myself, and my digestive tract, I will be gentle and only eat one brat...but then three brats into the day/night I have forgotten this solemn vow and have a love affair with the German born sausage which my family has feasted on for decades. Please, if someone can tell me, why is it that a brat taste SO much better when eaten in it's hometown? I swear, brats taste better when eaten in Wisconsin and for those of you who don't know, Johnsonville brats are made in Sheboygan County.
This year my mom and I decided to give Meisfield's a try. We went to their meat store and hit pay dirt...baby brats, msg-free brats (the downside to many a sausage is nitrites and msg), summer sausage, local Wisconsin cheese...needless to say, my second checked bag on my flight home was actually a soft-sided cooler packed full of epicurean delights!
During my short stay mind went crazy (maybe it was all of the beer?) and all I could do was think about what to do with brats. As I ate my second brat for dinner on Friday night I started to think about incorporating them into an omelet for breakfast, then I had an even better idea...slivered brats with peppers and onions on a pizza...FOODGASM...right then and there....so now it is my intent to perfect the perfect brat pizza...recipe to come as I test it over the next several months. Oh, man, I just had another idea...brat calzone...boooyah!
This blog is supposed to force me to get back to my recipe testing and cookbook research. My friend Liz Biro is a professional writer and is always telling me to blog...so I hope this first blog will propel me into the blogosphere with the rest of the writers out there and give me inspiration to get back to writing my book. So Liz, when you read this, thank you for pushing me and encouraging me. It does help to write about my experiences and I think this blog could really be a motivational source. I owe you....maybe you can come over for a taste test, I was thinking bratsagna?
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