Why I Oughta...

When we used to go to Michigan, we tried to incorporate Michigan-based foodstuffs into our rotation like this local Michigan beet sugar , local potato chips and these Koegel's hot dogs from (wait for it....Flint, Michigan).  Since we transitioned to Wisconsin, we've done some of the same - and I've chronicled both on-going and one-off Wisconsin foodstuffs like this local root beer , various cheeses ,  New Glarus beer and...of course... the King of Clubs cold pack club cheese .  There's a new entrant from the Usinger's Sausage company:  Mr. Baseball's Famous Franks Beef Frankfurters.  That's Bob Uecker for those non-sports folks (or...really....non Sports-movies people as my introduction to Bob Uecker was as Harry Doyle in the Major League Movie s and that Miller Lite Beer commercial - "must be in the front row! ").  He does the radio call for the Milwaukee Brewers , so it is a natural to see him involved in hot dogs, right?  Hot dogs and b...

Like a lot of you guys, we're fans of Mars Cheese Castle.  We make a trip there a few times a year and - of course - come away with a crock of the King of Clubs club cheese.   Turns out, there's a place that lives in the shadow of the Mars Cheese Castle that has decided to take a different tact towards succeeding:  Mars has gone big.  Bobby Nelson?  He's stayed small.  If you've listened to Steve Dahl for any period of time, you might have heard him talk about Bobby Nelson's.  I convinced Nat (and her folks...Dahl fans!) to make the 25 minute drive over to the cheese shop to check it out.  Above you see the sign:  Wisconsin Cheese!  Bobby Nelson is a former wrestler (wrassler) who had the move the "full nelson" named after him ?!?  Kinda awesome. Below is the shop.  If you look closely at the right side of the pic, you can make out one of the turrets of the Mars Cheese Castle.  They're like 300 yards apart. ...

Whaaaatttt what!?!  After poking around on the PizzaMaking.com forums , I just learned that Aurelio's ( My pizza touch-stone ) is now selling their sausage retail.  I went looking for more details and found this story from a few years ago that shows where they're selling it : Aurelio’s has been manufacturing its famed sausage in Chicago’s South Suburbs for more than four decades. Aurelio’s only uses the highest quality, all natural ingredients. In addition to producing fresh sausage daily for its bestselling pizzas across every Aurelio’s location, in 2010, the company began selling the sausage links to over 70 independent grocery stores throughout the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, including Walt’s, Stack and Van Til, Berkots, Ultra foods, FreshLine Foods, Fairway foods, Rio Valley Market, Express Wholesale Grocers, Mario’s Market West, Central Market, Edmar Foods, Spring Valley Supermarket, Fair Share Fine Foods, Halsted Foods, Wiseway Food Center, Super Save, El Ray ...

I went to the dump that is known as Wrigley Field last night with some good friends.  I think this was the second time I've been in the bleachers, but I can't totally recall.  Have to admit...it was pretty fun. Couldn't pay much attention to the game (which kinda explains why the Bleachers are such a party normally, right?), but I did 'hoss down an absolutely delicious Hot Doug's polish sausage called the 'Carmen Fanzone'.  I wasn't ever able to get to Hot Doug's before they closed, so this was a really nice treat! The Tribune describes the sausages thusly : Named for former Cubs players, the lineup consists of the Carmen Fanzone (spicy Vienna Beef polish sausage with brown mustard and caramelized onions), the Rick Reuschel (pork sausage with chipotle mustard and pepper jack cheese) and the Dave Kingman (bacon cheeseburger sausage with cola-barbecue sauce and sharp cheddar). The improvements they've made to the park are quite dramatic and ...