living our sweet midwest life

From “too much social talking” to podcast host.

Welcome to Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens podcast, a show for people who embrace the warm and cozy spirit of everyday living in the Midwest. Whether you cook, bake, or have food delivery on speed dial, everyone has a comforting recipe or story to share. We bake cookies for our kids’ hockey teams and bring cheesy hash browns to funerals. Lefse and krumkake are in our DNA. Candy bars and apples make a salad. We’ll ditch work for a lake day, drive an hour for an old-fashioned bakery, and don wool mittens at -20°F and shorts once it’s 50°F. 

A Taste of Home: When Family Recipes Find a New Home on Campus Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens

Season 4, Episode 7What if a family recipe could make a college student feel a little more at home?In this episode, I’m taking you inside the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse’s Recipes From Home program, which began in 2009 and gives first-year students—including international students—the opportunity to share meaningful family recipes. The UW–La Crosse dining team then turns those recipes into meals served in the Whitney Center Main Dining Room, sometimes feeding 1,200 to 1,500 students.In this episode, I’m joined by members of the team who make the program happen:Lizzy Haywood, Associate Director for Business & Dining OperationsJessica Harke, Registered Dietician Christy Ihrke, Marketing Director for Dining ServicesRobbie Hanson, ChefMichael Raymond, ChefWe talk about where the recipes come from, what happens when a home recipe enters a professional food-service kitchen, how the chefs scale recipes for a crowd, and some of the student favorites—including Street Corn Chicken and Rice Bowls and Homemade Chicken Nuggets.I also talk with Keira Burton, a psychology major from Northbrook, Illinois, whose family’s gluten-free Chicken Alfredo Bake was selected for the program.Keira shared what it meant to see a family recipe served on campus—and why that connection between home and college can be so meaningful.I’m sharing three student recipes from the Recipes From Home program:Gluten-Free Chicken Alfredo BakeKeira Burton — Northbrook, IllinoisMee Goreng (Fried Noodles)Zhe Yi Ng — MalaysiaTres Leches CakeCaden DeGlopper — Mukwonago, WisconsinFind all three recipes on the companion post at RandomSweets.com.I want to thank my friend and previous Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens guest Shannon Thomasser, who first told me about Recipes From Home. Her son attended UW–La Crosse, and his family’s soup recipe was served in the dining hall. That little story stayed with me—and eventually led to this episode.Because sometimes one person shares a recipe, and it leads to an entirely new story.Thanks for listening to Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens!University of Wisconsin-La CrosseWebsite: https://www.uwlax.eduDining Services Website: https://dineoncampus.com/UWLACROSSEHost and Producer, Staci Mergenthal⁠⁠RandomSweets.com⁠⁠Website ⁠⁠randomsweets.com⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠@randomsweets⁠⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠Random Sweets⁠⁠Pinterest ⁠⁠@staciperry⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠⁠
  1. A Taste of Home: When Family Recipes Find a New Home on Campus
  2. Fried Cranberry Pies, a Dusty Laptop & Stories of Hope and Forgiveness with Author Shelia Stovall
  3. Dish & Tell: Recipes from the Heart with Sarah Peterson
  4. A Feast of Friendship: From Friendsgiving to Dinner Club
  5. Thanksgiving Hosting and Homemade Gravy with Leah Brink
  6. “Is this recipe in your book?”—Darla Bakker’s Family Favorites
  7. Threads of Memories Antique Mall with Emily Braun
  8. Cooking Up History: The Evolution of Kitchens and Cookbooks at the Old Courthouse Museum
  9. Junking Angels and Vintage Finds: Meet Sharon Hohler of Homeless Treasures, Tracy, MN
  10. Fishing, Foraging and Exploring: Midwestern Alice’s Alaskan Adventures