February 1, 2025

WEEKLY MENU 02.02.25

There’s a rodent on the Weekly Menu 02.02.25, hopefully peering out and NOT seeing his shadow.

We’re not consuming the rodent on the Weekly Menu 02.02.25. We’re just including a cute, very chill picture of same. But guess what? You can eat them, and they’re quite a delicacy—excellent news for us, not so good news for Phil.

The first Groundhog Day celebration wasn’t such a picnic for Punxsutawney Phil’s progenitors. When Punxsutawneyans gathered on a hilltop known as Gobbler’s Knob on this day, Feb. 2, in 1887, they did so not just to celebrate the weather-forecasting wizardry of the groundhog — the rodent was also on the menu.

Predicting the length of winter based upon whether or not an animal saw its shadow was nothing new to the German immigrants who settled Pennsylvania, although in the old country they relied more often on badgers and bears. Europeans had long marked winter’s midpoint on Feb. 2 by celebrating Candlemas Day, a festival of lights that also included a formula for predicting the arrival of spring.

It also became a regional delicacy, with a flavor described by locals as “a cross between pork and chicken,” according to Pennsylvania historian Christopher R. Davis.

In the 1880s, per Davis, groundhog was the cuisine of choice at the Punxsutawney Elks Lodge. Devotees later formed the Groundhog Club, which hosted both the annual Groundhog Day ceremony and a summertime groundhog hunt followed by a picnic featuring a variety of groundhog dishes and a “groundhog punch” that sounds equally appetizing — a combination of vodka, milk, eggs, orange juice “and other ingredients,” Davis writes.

Time

I bet groundhog jerky was in the mix somewhere. Yeah. We’re not going there. We DO look forward to seeing Punxsutawney Phil and the roughly 40,000 people crowding into the relatively small (Population 5,562) hamlet to cheer him on.

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund’sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day)^[1][2][3] is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. In 2024, an early spring was predicted.^[4]

Wikipedia

No Shadow = Early Spring

Shadow = 6 More Weeks of Winter.

The good/bad news? Phil’s not very accurate. So, you don’t have to worry if you don’t like the results.

NOAA study grades Punxsutawney Phil, and his record is not so good

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Phil has a 35% overall accuracy rating over 135 years. Of the 128 recorded times Phil has predicted the weather, he has now seen his shadow 107 times (or 84% of the time).

USA Today

I wonder how that compares to our meteorologist?

Weekly Menu 02.02.25

If Groundhog is off the menu (and it definitely is), what are we having during the Weekly Menu 02.02.25? Affiliate links follow. See Disclaimer Page for details.

I’m experimenting with a recipe I found on Instagram for our big Sunday dinner. It’s called “Scalloped Potato & Chicken Rollup”. A sheet pan is covered with shredded cheese, and then a layer of thinly cut (like mandoline food slicer thinly cut) potatoes are placed on top, with the edges overlapping. It bakes for about 20 minutes before being stuffed with cooked protein (we’re going with chicken) and some more cheese.

Then it’s rolled up, jelly roll style!

Holy moly. If it works, I’ll take a couple of pictures. If it doesn’t, we’ll eat it in bowls. Our appetizer is Whipped Ricotta Dip, and we’re finishing Sunday dinner with super easy Klondike Hot Fudge Sundaes, which are exactly as delicious as they sound.

We’ve got another guest chef~

D doesn’t often cook. So when Baby Boy took over cooking duties last week (The SLOP was excellent, in case you were wondering), he decided he’d throw his hat in the ring for comparison’s sake. He’s making Gnocchi & Sausage Parmesan. And yes, I anticipate that it will also be as delicious as it sounds.

Bert suggested Taco Salad for Tuesday, so that’ll be a make-your-own salad night with all the fixins. Taco meat served in the cast iron skillet, cheese, beans, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, corn, Chili-Ranch Dressing, and, yeah, some lettuce will all be on the big chopping board for mix and match. The Chili-Ranch Dressing is simply Ranch Dressing doused with chili powder and maybe some cayenne. Weirdly wonderful.

We’re taking pork chops, butterflying them, pounding them, and sauteing them in a bit of butter. Even the non-pork lovers like this one. The fact that it’s ready in 20 minutes is why I love it.

Don’t be fooled by the recipe name: Tomato Rice Soup is not vegetarian. It has stew meat in it. This is another recipe from Instagram, and it looks like a simple, old-timey soup. We’re having that with cheesy toast (just like last week) because that makes such a good side.

We could honestly care less about the teams in the Super Bowl (no offense intended to any of the real fans out there), but we do care about the food. We have a complete city-themed menu for the big day.