Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens

You are going to love today’s guest—my friend and a true Midwesterner, Leah Brink has lived in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and for nearly 20 years, she’s called Brookings, South Dakota home. She’s the kind of person who brings the fun to a party. It was her idea to start our show making strawberry daiquiris in my kitchen, and I certainly didn’t argue with that!

Today my North Dakota brother-in-law, Russell Ziegler, a coal miner and former United States Marine, joins us to talk about cold-smoking cheese, smoking pork butt, and how he turns a plain old pork shoulder into an incredibly flavorful smoked ham that practically shreds itself at the sight of a fork. You'll learn where he uses maple syrup, what’s in his brine that turns a pork shoulder into smoked shredded ham, and why he puts his smoked pork butt in a slow cooker to finish it off. We also talk about his wife Betsy’s recipe for cilantro lime slaw that is the crown to all meats, and it wouldn’t be a Midwestern show if we didn’t talk about dessert so Russell shares his thoughts on his Aunt Henrietta’s kuchen.

In this episode, my North Dakota sister-in-law Betsy Ziegler joins me to talk about the German dessert, Kuchen, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, beloved maple bacon long johns at Bearscat, and cruising the Missouri River and drinking blood-red cocktail pouches.

She shares her recipes, most of them using the “eyeball” method, for a non-mayo-based German potato salad, bacon and cheddar ranch dip, chicken and wild rice soup that she makes using a box of Uncle Ben’s wild rice and seasoning, Mexican corn, pickle dip, and smoked pulled pork and sauerkraut with fried knoephla, along with her secret to lightening up the “krautiness” of the sauerkraut.

It’s time to talk all things funeral potatoes. Cheesy hash brown casserole has more names than any dish I know—funeral potatoes, hash brown casserole, cheesy hash browns, party potatoes, company potatoes, Cracker Barrel potatoes, hash brown baked potatoes, taco potato casserole, hash brown potatoes, company potato casserole, and many others. 

In addition to sharing our recipes and the stories behind them on this episode, I share everything from what the common ingredients are and how people change things up like adding taco seasoning or not using cheese, to how to prep, cook and store funeral potatoes, how to make them in advance, and how much to make for a crowd. 

For the last month or two, I’ve been asking you to share your recipe for funeral potatoes or hash brown casserole with me. Thank you, Kalli Reisetter, Aimee Bastian, Amanda Runia, Kathy Rasmussen, Betsy Ziegler, Marie Mergenthal, Heidi Thomssen, and Christianne Beringer for sharing your recipe with us. 

My mother-in-law, Marie Mergenthal, is giving away her secrets for tangy dill pickle pasta salad, and the calico beans she is so well known for in the family. And if you like a Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait, stick around because Marie has a recipe to make it at home in a 9x13 pan. I’ve posted photos and these recipes on randomsweets dot com. She also shares a funny story about a time I brought salted peanut chews to a long weekend family outing. After you listen to this episode, you’ll know why Marie once put up a Hippy Head Shop tent.

Welcome to part 2 of our Gulf of Mexico getaway. This episode is all about the restaurants and delicious food we enjoyed while on vacation in Alabama’s Gulf Shores area this past February. My husband Jason and I share our top five meals and places to eat, like a smoked turkey sandwich, dry aged Delmonico steak, key lime pie, eggs Benedict atop a waffle, fried pickles and fried chicken, candied yams, Gulf grouper, fontina dip, and mac and cheese. Plus, we talk about the smoked tuna dip and a salad we want to recreate at home.

Although it was hard for us to rank our top five out of the more than 15 restaurants we dined at, our number ones ended up being the same, hands down, easy choice. A place that was such a memorable experience, we just knew we were in for something special from the time we called to make the reservation.

Yearn for a sugary soft, white sand beach vacation, but prefer a destination within the United States? You’ll find unforgettable spring break fun, romantic getaways, activities with the kiddos or teens, snowbird adventures, or time away with your friends in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama. Located on a 32-mile stretch of beach along the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay, Gulf Shores and Orange beach Alabama straddle Florida at Perido Key. Southern hospitality is in season all year long, while pine and palm trees wave in the salty sea air.

In this episode, you’ll learn about a few fun places to go to, the ferry you’ll want to take for a quicker trip to Mobile, four iconic bars to drink at and the Airbnb where we stayed. After listening to this episode, you’ll know which town we want to move to, and why I will forever refer to the Waldforf Astoria as the Waldorf Hysteria. And although we leave our top five favorite Gulf Shores dining experiences to the next episode (Episode 17), Jason reveals where he ate the best banana pudding, even though it was in Florida. 

Show Notes

Imagine, it’s Saturday afternoon and you’re craving something sweet and homemade. But you want something quick and easy, and you don’t feel like running to the store.

I’m sharing the ingredients I keep on hand for a few fast and simple recipes that you can bake (or no-bake) on a whim.

My husband Jason joins me in this episode as we share a few of our favorite experiences in the Phoenix and Tempe Arizona area this past January.

From the strawberry cocktail on our hotel rooftop bar and the biggest breakfast burrito I've ever seen, to memorable Mexican food in Scottsdale, to the buffalo wings Jason has been talking about for years and the burgers at a place he assumed was long ago swallowed up by redevelopment around the ASU campus—we talk about it all.

Even the place with amazing philly cheesesteak sandwiches and shuffleboard, and this isn't your Love Boat shuffleboard.

Stick around for the last five minutes or so because we share the nine (new to us) products we discovered when we went to two Trader Joe's in one day for hotel snacks. My new favorite everyday wine is included on this list.

Show Notes

Mail your funeral potatoes or cheesy hash brown casserole recipe on a 3x5 recipe or index card. By sending it to me, you agree that I can use the recipe and your name on an upcoming episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens.

Staci Mergenthal

1614 130th Street

Verdi, MN 56164

Because my favorite birthday cake frosting is a recipe my mom has made for many of my 50 birthdays, I asked her to share her cocoa fudge cake and snow frosting, also known as 7-minute frosting, recipes. I was surprised to learn that both recipes came from her mom, my grandma Janet, when my mom and dad got married in 1969. We walk through the steps to making snow frosting, and how humidity affects the outcome. And it was never a birthday party without my mom's barbecue meat on white buns. Since there isn't a written recipe, she had to write it on a sticky-note for me.

Show Notes

Mail your funeral potatoes or cheesy hash brown casserole recipe on a 3x5 recipe or index card. By sending it to me, you agree that I can use the recipe and your name on an upcoming episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens.

Staci Mergenthal

1614 130th Street

Verdi, MN 56164

On today’s episode, we’re talking about why I started this podcast and where the name came from, what you can expect, and a personal look into my history of baking. My funny and talented friend Jen Miller joins me with all kinds of questions, and you’ll learn what happened the first time I brought homemade cheesecake to a food day at work and why I like living in the Midwest.