Happy Groundhog Day 2018!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Dear friends, Greetings from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania!

Actually, nearby DuBois, PA because Punxy is teeny-tiny. Regardless, I AM HERE!

Waking up at 4:30 am EST tomorrow to get on a bus and go to Gobbler’s Knob and watch a groundhog be pulled out of a burrow as drunken people cheer.

I have always wanted to make the trip, but this year I finally have the perfect reason to go–I am treating Mr. Sauce, Esq. to a birthday trip. Yes, February 2nd is his birthday.

I hope to post LIVE updates tomorrow on the Facebook page  from Gobbler`s Knob tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is a fantastic Groundhog Day post from a couple of years ago.

Enjoy and I will see you tomorrow!

In honor of this most bizarre of holidays, I made a dish from the 1971 cookbook, Gourmets & Groundhogs by Elaine Light.

Gourmets & Groundhogs
tPublished by Gray Printing, DuBois, PA. Please note that in PA we pronounce it “Doo-Boyz”

I found this volume at an antique store in Bedford, PA.

groundhog map
Punxsutawney! What a name for a town. Although, I can’t really judge since I grew up in a place called Zelienople.

Bedford is not on this map. If it were, it’d be in the lower right hand corner. Actually, it wouldn’t even be on here. Also, I forget that Punxsutawney is really not that far from Pittsburgh. I wonder why I’ve never made it to Gobbler’s Knob for February 2. I need to put it on my bucket list. Or at least I need to join The Groundhog Club. Membership is only $15 (although in 1971 it was only one buck).

Anyhoo, this book is really cool. In addition to over 200 pages of recipes (some of which are really interesting–I need to revisit this one), there is a history of the Groundhog and the celebration.

gourmet groundhogGroundey

The book is kinda wackadoo. Let me rephrase that—the whole groundhog thing is wackadoo. But I love it.

groundhog day menu

If I had planned ahead, I would have hosted a Groundhog Day dinner. Just to make Groundhog Punch. Perhaps next year!

After the big snow, I didn’t have a chance to go to the grocery store, so I chose a recipe that required ingredients that I already had on hand. My selection:

Hot Shrimp in Vermouth

The preparation of this dish was hella-easy (did I just throw a “hella”?). Not even worth mentioning. This is was the end result:

Hot Shrimp in Vermouth

Pretty good. I prefer the Chinese version that has a lot more salt and pepper and spices.

Since that was such a basic dish, and I already had the Vermouth out, I made a cocktail.

Vermouth and Triple Sec
From “Wonderful Ways to Prepare Cocktails & Mixed Drinks” by Jo Ann Shirley

Well, that’s a pretty good definition of this drink. Again, I had everything in my liquor cabinet so I went with it.

Vermouth and Triple Sec

It was fine. It tasted like a gin margarita, if that makes sense. The lemon, orange bitters, and triple sec kinda took over the whole thing. Which was fine. It was very drinkable. I mean, it’s not Groundhog Punch, but I’m sure that good ol’ Phil would approve.

OH! And it isn’t until just this moment that I remembered that Andie McDowell’s drink in Groundhog Day was sweet vermouth with a twist. Now, this was all dry Vermouth, but what a cowinkiedink! (how the hell do you spell that?). I might have to make one tonight.

Also, if you didn’t hear the proclamation yet, Phil has predicted an early spring! Here’s the official word from Groundhog.org:

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye

Now, this Second Day of February, Two Thousand and Sixteen, the One Hundred and Thirtieth Annual Trek of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club….

Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of All Prognosticators, was awakened from his borrow to the cheers of his thousands of faithful followers….

In Groundhogese, he directed the President and the Inner Circle to the precise prediction Scroll, which translated reads:

The inner circle goes to great ends
  To keep me abreast of latest trends
Down in my burrow I never get bored
   Riding on my hover board
And I sure have fun flying my drone
  But weather forecasting is my comfort zone
Is this current warm weather more than a trend?
    Per chance this winter has come to an end?
There is no shadow to be cast,
   An early Spring is my forecast!

And there you have it! OK, I’m gonna let Lawrence Welk and Friends play me out with some Pennsylvania Polka…

 

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2 thoughts on “Happy Groundhog Day 2018!

  1. And a-one and a-two. Awesome!! They give that poor groundhog, who probably just wants to be left alone, alcohol? And people talk about the south 😂😂😂

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