6337. Make homemade French fries

Growing up steak and homemade French fries were a Sunday night treat. Mom would slice potatoes and deep fry them in oil. I've always wanted to make my own but never had a deep fryer (or basket). Now that we finally have a deep fryer, the hubby thinks that the homemade fries are too much work.

Well... the hubby is out of town which means I can cook all the things he doesn't like or want me to make.

Homemade fries are easy enough.

Peel some potatoes

Slice them into strips or chips (whatever you prefer). I tried to use my potato slicer gadget I got as a wedding shower gift.. yeah didn't work so well.

A mandolin would work for chips. I just ended up slicing them into strips. Didn't take me long at all.

Pat dry.

Deep fry until crispy.

Enjoy.

My fries were a bit under cooked because there weren't very crispy but I was impatient and wanted to eat. However, I will be making these again the next time the hubby is out of town.

4716. Go to Art in the Park in Appleton

Art in the Park was one of those things I wanted to go but never was home for it. This year with the hubby in Indiana for a tournament, I was determined to go.

Art in the Park is an art fair with booths that line all the sides of City Park in Appleton. Artists from around the area and the state are displaying their art work for people to buy. There are all sorts of different art forms – glassworks, paintings, wood working, photography, pottery to name a few.

Honestly, it was not what I expected. I wanted to see more demos and actually have an opportunity to create art. I like looking at art but I’m not one to buy art mainly due to budget and decorating space. Besides I find most art not to be my taste even if it’s very well done. I feel bad visiting artists’ booths without the intent of buying – the same I do with visiting boutiques if I’m not going to buy. However, there were some very cool pieces of art that I did enjoy looking at.

There was a children’s area where kids could create several different art projects but nothing really for adults to do that didn’t want to just wander and look at art. There was a stage with some pottery demonstrations but again adults couldn’t try their hand at throwing a pot either. If you got there within the first hour, you could have snagged some free art supplies but I was just too late.

I honestly was bored. After walking around the perimeter and scoping out all the booths, there really wasn’t much else left to do. I did make a second pass with Tara and found a few neat booths. I contemplated getting a nine foot train but I thought the hubby wouldn’t appreciate it very much. 

There were perfect pendants for a few friends but slightly out of my price range. 

A Wisconsin sport team stained glass would have been nice if I wasn’t on a budget.

Would I go again? Maybe. It depends on who wanted to go. I decided it’s not really my thing. I like art but I’m not one to buy it. Besides it crowded, parking is a mile away, and food is expensive. I could have gone to art on the town and done pretty much the same thing. However, don’t let me deter you from checking it out and buying art yourself.

I Hear Dead People -- A Cemetery Walking Tour

I saw something about a history walking tour at Oak Hill Cemetery put on by the Neenah Historical Society. I like history, cemeteries, and walking -- this was right up my alley. I figured it was going to be like the Forest Home Cemetery Tour Stacy and I went on a few years back with re-enactors portraying prominent Neenah residents.

There were 4 residents being portrayed and they were spread out around the cemetery. Each re-enactor gave a speech about his or her life while alive in Neenah. It was like the stepped out of the grave to tell their stories.

The first one Danielle and I visited was Dr. Emma Jaeck. She was a teacher, world traveler, and poet from Neenah not to mention had a PhD which was an amazing feat for a women in the late 1800s, early 1900s. She also was a key person in keeping Kimberly Point Lighthouse and creating Kimberly Point Park to keep the land for public use when people wanted to build on it. Personally, I may not have ever met Dr. Jaeck but she provided a spot for us to watch the Neenah fireworks every Fourth of July. This s the only speech we heard in it's entirety.

Effie Waller Smith was an African American poet with ties to Neenah. Danielle and I only caught the end of her speech so we missed how she came to Neenah but she did help raise a child and make sure the girl got an education despite her half black roots.

Ernst Mahler was the one person I wanted to hear his entire story as it was the one name I recognized immediately. However, we again only got to hear part of his life story. Unlike, the others Ernst spoke from memory and did not rely on his script. He was truly amazing. I knew of the Mahler family but I learned so much more about them -- their horse farm, how he help start the Paper Chemistry Institute in Appleton, and all the people he rubbed elbows with.  I wish I was able to learn more about Mr. Mahler and his family as he was just as important as the Kimberlys, Clarks, and Bergstroms of Neenah.

Last but not least we stopped to hear the story of A.H.F and William Krueger of the Krueger hardware store. This was another very interesting story as we learned about William and his brother A.H.F. I learned much about the family, not just the business side but also the political side of the family.

Parking was an adventure because it's not like cemeteries have parking lots so you parked on the side of the road where ever you found a spot without running over a grave. The 90 minute window of time to hear all the stories was difficult to hear all the stories from beginning to end even if you had the whole time. I was it went just slightly longer or started earlier to give people more time.

It was a very informative evening. I would definitely make this an annual event. Even with the $5-$10 donation, it was well worth it. I learned so much about Neenah and got some exercise as well. I always like a good cemetery walk. Hopefully I can make it again next year.

Get Up and Go to Church -- Walking Tour of Appleton Churches

The Appleton History Museum offers walking tours of Downtown Appleton of various topics... bootlegging, churches, haunted places to name a few. Usually, I am not free or find out about it too late and the tour is sold out. I happen to see that the church walking tour was still available and the hubby was busy so I snagged the last spot.

With our walking shoes laced up, our guide led us to various churches in the downtown area.. seven in all. We would be able to go in four of them. Or that as the plan. Due to time constraints (and weather), we ended up at six of the seven churches and only went in three of them. Since I find church architecture fascinating, this tour was right up my alley. Even though we learned about the history of churches, the architecture was slipped in as we learned about the history.

Our first stop was First United Methodist Church which we also got to inside of. The most intriguing feature of this church was the light fixtures. They feature dragons at the top. The inside may be simple but the wood beams and stained glass were beautiful.

Just up the street from First United Methodist was our second stop -- First English Lutheran Church. Another old church from that has been around for over 100 years, the architecture was definitely English with rounded doors and windows. The pipe organ is truly amazing.

After leaving First United Methodist, we walked over to the first Temple in Appleton. It is no longer used as a temple but the current owners are trying to restore it to it's former glory. The Houdinis worshiped here when they lived in Appleton and Harry's Houdini was the rabbi at one point in time.

I was disappointed to not to be able to go into the next church -- St. Paul Lutheran Church. This was the original German Lutheran church of Appleton. The name of the church was still in the German. With it's twin towers, I'd would have loved to get inside and see all the nooks and crannies. Oh well maybe another time.

We ended over to the site of the first Baptist Church in Appleton which is now a wedding chapel. There's a lot of history to this church including a meeting spot for the KKK, I believe. I would have loved to seen the inside but it was not on the agenda.

Our next two churches were a bit of a walk from the Baptist Church -- St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churches. Due to time issues, we ended up only going to St. Mary's. Both of these churches are blocks apart because the Irish and Germans wanted their own church to worship in their native language. St. Mary's is a gorgeous church with typical Catholic touches. It was recently remodeled but it didn't lose any of it's charm.. may have added a bit.

It was a lovely 2+ hours of history and architecture. The hubby asked me if it was worth the $10 and I said, it was definitely worth $9 and if we had a better curator, it would have been worth $10. That's just my opinion... I'm not a big fan of the curator since she is not a great presenter but that's not going to stop me from going to more of these tours in years to come. There's a bootlegger one I'm dying to go on. Our church guides were amazing and full of knowledge of their churches.

I would recommend checking out any of the Get Up and Go Tours offered by the History Museum. You get exercise and learn about Appleton at the same time. It's a great way to spend an evening or afternoon.

A Little Wine Tasting to Start the Week off Right

When I found out I probably couldn't meet my cousins in Door County for some wine tasting like usual, I suggested they follow me to Green Bay and we hit Captain's Walk Winery. They agreed without any complaints.

Since Captain's Walk doesn't open until noon on Sundays, I was playing around seeing if there were any other wineries on the way to Green Bay that were 1. open on Sundays and 2. opened before noon. On a whim I decided to check "the horse" winery in Kohler. They opened at 11 on Sundays. Perfect... Kohler was on the way to Green Bay. We could hit two wineries neither of which they have been to before. What a nice way for them to start their vacation.

The "horse" winery is really The Blind Horse Winery but all I could remember was horse when I searched. Luckily Google knew what I meant. Andrea, Amanda, and I stopped here several years ago after Carroll's Homecoming and I thought it didn't fit my wine palate but since I have discovered more wines, I wanted to try it again and I knew my cousins would like it. As we learned, they change their wines up quite a bit so what I had a few years ago may not even been available anymore.

For $6, we each got to taste 5 wines (and got a glass to add to our collection). They have a lot of award winning wines. Like usual I stuck with sweeter wines and tried a sip of my cousins' wines as well. There really wasn't one I didn't like but I did have some favorites.

• Gewurztraminer -- O.M.G. I can do a Gewurztraminer but it's not usually one of my favorites. However, theirs is a Summer Shady in wine form. Smooth and citrusy. This one came home with me and I can't wait to crack it open.
• Flirty Birdy -- I picked this one solely based on it's name. It's good. The hubby definitely would like it. It's a sweeter, fruity wine.
• Rose -- It was definitely smooth but it wasn't anything to write home about. 
• Cabernet Sauvignon -- A cherry and black berry wine with hints of mocha and vanilla. You definitely can taste the vanilla. It's a very nice sipping wine for a cold winter's night. 
• Ice Wine -- This was an extra dollar to taste but it was worth it. It's a sweet wine but the sweetness doesn't linger. For my first ice wine, it was really good.
• Naked Chardonnay -- I am not a fan of Chardonnay since it's usually really dry but this one was smooth. Even my cousin who thinks Chardonnays as dry as well, liked this one.
• Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve -- My cousin sampled this one and it's just aged longer than the regular Cabernet Sauvignon. It is different and smooth. It is one to sit and savor over a long meal or long night in front of the fire.

I am glad we stopped at The Blind Horse. Andrea and I may just have to get together here sometime in the near future for Christmas.

Our last stop of the day (well at least mine) was Captain's Walk Winery in Green Bay. Jeanne was impressed with all the old, large homes along the river on the way to the winery. We planned on having lunch at the winery since they had a small bistro. Small is right. The menu is very limited -- some pizzas, fondue, and appetizers. However, it is very good. We got some bread and a pizza. There was none left and I will definitely have lunch here again. The hubby won't do well for lunch here though. 

Since I was just here a few months back, I tried to sample different wines than I did last time. We also decided that we should all sample different wines/ciders so we could pretty much sample the entire selection by sharing. I think we ended up only doubling up on one maybe two wines. We each got 7 wines for $5 since we went with the select tasting. Let me tell you that's a lot of wine/cider.

• Collaboration -- It was good but nothing I would write home about. It might be a good sharing wine.
• Marquette Rose -- This was a new release. It's perfect for sharing. I definitely would grab a bottle of this to bring to a gathering.
• Captain's White -- I think I tried this one last time. Apparently it's nothing special since I have no notes about it.
• Disappearing Treasure -- It's another one that's good for sharing. It's nice and fruity. If I was going to buy wine here, this would be one of them.
• Fume Blanc -- It's another new release but it was definitely not my kind of wine. I think it was too dry. 
• Captain's Mistress -- WOW. This one should have came home with me. Sweet but not too sweet. It was just amazing.
• Wisconsin Maple Brown Hard Cider -- It was good just like a glass of cider should be but it wasn't a favorite
• Bourbon Barrel Brown Hard Cider -- This is a fall day in a glass. I would bring this to any fall gathering. Perfect fall campfire drink. My cousins wanted to bring back a growler to Kansas City but with the refrigeration need, it might not a survive three days in Door County and a 9+ hour drive back to KC. Fingers crossed it's still available in November.
• Summer Funshine Hard Cider -- It wasn't bad. I prefer the Bourbn Barrel Brown though. 

After all that wine, it was time to head home. These are new favorite wineries of my cousins. I only take them to the best places. Thank you to Andrea for introducing me to The Blind Horse. I know there will be more wine tasting for us girls in the future. And if you are looking for 2 good wineries, these are good ones to check out. 

Sipping Wine Floats for Dessert

My cousin talked about making wine floats back in June when we were all home. Due to time constraints that never happened but we made plans for them later this summer. Tonight was that night.

What is a wine float, you may be asking yourself. Well, it's exactly what it sounds like... a glass of wine with some ice cream in it. A grown up black cow.

To me it didn't sound that appetizing but I was willing to give it a chance. I am not a big fan of root beer floats because of the insane amount of ice cream in it. I also thought it would be better with sherbet but my cousin thought it might be overly sweet.

Making wine floats is not that difficult. Scoop some vanilla ice cream (or sherbet) into a glass. Pour wine over it. Enjoy.

My parents lack decent wine glasses that aren't a million years old, we had to figure out what to serve the floats in. Jeanne at first thought bowls. I was like Red Solo Cups.. those were too big so we went with the mini blue Solo Cups. Wine glasses would be ideal but the blue solo cups were also a perfect size and great for a party.

I am a wine float convert. These things were amazing. The best part was the creamy part that was leftover in the wine after you ate all the ice cream. It was creamy wine sauce. Yum.

We used a sparkling rose wine, Fissata but pretty much any sweeter wine would work. I would think a nice blush would be my choice since that is still my favorite kind of wine but white or red could work as well.

I may just have go get me some more wine and some vanilla ice cream for a sweet adult treat after a long day of work. Don't take my word for it though, go make your own wine floats.