Recipes, Rhubarb Muffins, Roseville Restaurants and Mississippi River Road Trips
This is a classic story of two Midwesterners becoming friends over a grandma’s handed-down rhubarb muffin recipe.
It happened after I posted a photo of fresh-cut rhubarb from Sanderson Gardens. Shannon Thomasser sent me a message saying, “I have a wonderful rhubarb muffin recipe from my Grandma if you want the recipe. Delicious!” I said yes, invited her on my podcast, baked the muffins and now we’re friends. We’d never met before.
Growing up in New Richmond, Wisconsin, Shannon’s grandmothers, aunts and mom were great Midwestern cooks. Even so, she didn’t watch or pay attention to how they worked their culinary magic in the kitchen or with recipes. Her job was to set the table and clean up after dinner.
Eventually, they rubbed off on her.
But it wasn’t until Shannon made strawberry chocolate shortcakes with fresh whipped cream to share with her coworkers at the office that she realized how fun it was fun to bake. They loved the dessert, Beverly highly complimented her, and from then on, she was hooked on making delicious food and sharing it with others.
Meet Shannon Thomasser
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Shannon Thomasser on Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens season 2 episode 26, available anywhere you listen to podcasts, including YouTube (audio only).
Shannon lives on an acreage near Prescott, Wisconsin and works just across the Mississippi River in Minnesota as the Director of Sales at Visit Roseville.
What we talk about in this episode:
I made a dessert and our neighbor tried it and he said, ‘my mom used to make that.’ It brought him back to when his mom would make those things and to me that’s the ultimate compliment. If you’re able to trigger some of those memories and it’s happy memories.
shannon Thomas
Now it’s nothing for Shannon to whip up sweet dishes like baked donuts, carrot cake, lemon tarts, Frazier strawberry cake, strawberry rhubarb jam, and here’s a photo of her first time making a yule log.
Meet the Family
Shannon and her husband, Tom, have three children, Amber (and husband Lucas), Jack, and Jonah. Jonah has a few years of high school left before Shannon and Tom are empty nesters.
Family-favorites
Although it’s not the only topic, Shannon and I talk a lot about food on this episode. Thankfully, she took the time to share a few of the recipes with us. Some are listed below in a link, photos and printable recipe cards.
Grandma Bechel’s Rhubarb Muffins
This is the recipe that started it all! Shannon was gracious enough to offer to share her Grandma Lorraine Bechel’s rhubarb muffin recipe, and to share it with everyone here. I made the muffins and I can see why her family likes them so much.
I diced my rhubarb pretty small so it sort of melted into the muffin batter as it baked. As a result, instead of it adding more texture, the rhubarb added surprise little pockets of tartness that you hope to get in each bite, along with the cinnamon streusel topping.
The printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Her printable rhubarb muffin recipe is at the end of this post.
Delicious Ham and Potato Soup
A note from Shannon: UW-La Crosse asked for recipes from the families that they could recreate and share with the students in the dining hall. Jack’s college friends saw it the day it was being served, along with his name and hometown next to the soup. They texted Jack to show him that the University made his soup for the day!
Ham and Potato Soup recipe submitted by ELLIE11to All Recipes. A note from Shannon: Personally, we left the salt out due to the salt in the ham… I would say taste before serving!
Many Years of Ho Ho Cake
A note from Shannon: Tastes just like the Ho Ho’s in the store but BETTER! This cake is something my mom would make for get togethers and now it is considered the “Birthday Cake” by my boys. You can make it as a sheet cake or as a two-tiered round cake.
For the Ho Ho Cake, Shannon uses her Grandma Bechel’s Red Devil’s food cake recipe.
The white filling is made with the Pioneer Woman’s best frosting recipe.
To finish it all off, here’s the chocolate topping recipe.
Shannon also shares her method for making roasted spaghetti sauce. The printable recipe is at the end of this post. It’s nice because it’s not an overwhelmingly large batch.
When I asked Shannon what dish she would bring to share at an outdoor party in the fall, she said pumpkin bars. I like her handwritten notes (see recipe below) about a time she made this cake and a reminder about the frosting.
If you want another pumpkin bar recipe, here’s mine with maple cream cheese frosting. Make the fun squiggly lines by dragging a fork back and forth with a little zigzag motion, turning the pan after each line.
Ribbons at the Pierce County Fair, Ellsworth, WI
Shannon enters multiple categories at the Pierce County Fair, including knitting. She came home with six ribbons this year.
2024 Blue Ribbons
- Baby blanket
- Angel Food Cake
- Sourdough Bread
2024 2nd and 4th Place Ribbons
- 2nd place for raspberry jam
- 2nd place for strawberry rhubarb jam
- 4th place for French bread
Shannon’s Road Trip Recommendations Along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin
Shannon is definitely in the right career as a hospitality professional. She loves sharing ideas like this so much that she keeps a list on her computer to share with people.
Great places for one-day road trips from the Twin Cities
Prescott, WI
- Kitchen Table: Breakfast:
https://www.facebook.com/TheKitchenTableWI - Muddy Waters: Sunday live music outside
https://www.facebook.com/muddywatersbarandgrill.biz - Lucille’s: we love her appetizers. Great unique food!
https://www.facebook.com/LucillesHouse - No Name Bar/Monkey Bar:
https://www.facebook.com/NNSMB - Two Rivers: American Food: https://www.tworiversbar.com/
- Prescott Tap: Great pizza! https://www.prescotttap.com/
- Some cute shops in Prescott on Main Street
- Great River Road Visiting and Learning Center: https://www.freedomparkwi.org/
- Art in Prescott: https://www.orangedragonartgallery.org/
- Also, from Prescott, you can take Highway 10 to Ellsworth and the cheese factory (if you bring a cooler, they have awesome pizzas that are frozen for taking home to bake): https://www.ellsworthcheese.com/
Down the River Road—Highway 35 heading south
- Highway 35 and 63 stop sign—take a right and you end up in Red Wing. LOTS to do and experience there.
- If you go straight on 35…Bay City: Chef Shack is very popular.
https://www.chefshackbaycity.com/
Maiden Rock, WI
- Smiling Pelican Baking Shop: Open in am and items are yummy and go quick! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057302626418&paipv=0&eav=AfatLTz1lHB9xoNDIWbHoWhRH5JGOczZDpm3cPERbCvaLSgTNeLARnkmNN0IfkeXK0w
- Six String Saloon: Burgers and such.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063628776911&paipv=0&eav=AfZcvKx6di4rao0h3NFZEgKDAmr0sMUtyZXaKyH4CylPvMqOXZb-Lts8UXwD1vBlzxQ
Stockholm, WI
- So many great little shops and food ~ Including Stockholm Pie!!
https://www.stockholmwisconsin.com/
Pepin, WI
- Villa Bellezza Winery – like being in Italy! Great cheese platter. Wine tasting. Restaurant.
https://www.villabellezza.com/ - https://www.visitpepin.com/
- Great park and view! https://www.visitpepin.com/directory/buena-vista-park-overlook/
Nelson, WI
- Nelson Cheese Factory! YUMMMMM! Pizzas, sandwiches and ice cream.
https://www.nelsoncheese.com/ - At Nelson you can cross into MN to Wabasha
- Eagles: https://www.visitpepin.com/directory/national-eagle-center/
Shannon’s Twin Cities Recommendations
Shannon gave us a few food recommendations in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. My sisters and I are ready to try a few of these places on our annual trip to the Twin Cities in the fall.
Hidden gems/only the locals know about: Coney dogs at The Gopher Bar, 241 7th St E, St Paul
Bakery or patisserie: On the edge of Roseville, Maplewood and St Paul on Rice Street and Highway 36 is La Delicious Bread. Baker Brandon Vang is Hmong who was born in Paris and moved to the U.S. when he was a baby. They have amazing French pastries and more. https://ladeliciousbread.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/LaDeliciousBread
In Red Wing, MN, just 15 minutes from where I live we love to go to Hanish Bakery and then over to the Farmers Market along the Mississippi. It is a tradition! So many wonderful donuts and breads to try. https://hanischbakery.com/
Mexican food: I JUST tried yesterday Centro in Roseville! They opened on Friday of last week in the former Good Earth Restaurant. They have wonderful tacos, salads, crunch wraps and more! Some unique items on the menu and great for meat lovers or vegetarians. Wonderful atmosphere and I can’t wait to go back. https://centrompls.com/locations/roseville/
You can’t go wrong with La Tapatia https://latapatiamn.com/ or La Casitahttps://www.lacasitamn.com/location/la-casita-roseville/ in Roseville too. They all serve different styles and so delicious!
Vietnamese: Mi-Sant, Roseville, MN https://www.mi-sant.com
Crazy Chicken Lady
Shannon will crack you up with personality descriptions and stories about her chickens in this podcast episode. Eleven teenagers! And one tattletale.
A note from Shannon: I am the crazy chicken lady. 9 older hens (8 Ameraucana, 1 Polish Sizzle and 10 teen Ameraucana and 1 French Salmon Faverolle with feathers on her feet named Simone (after Simone Beck who published Julia Child’s cookbook). We had a chicken names Zsa Zsa that lived in the garage for a month and a half while getting better! She was really a he and he learned to crow! Zsa Zsa liked coffee or to share your beer. Popcorn or any snacks. He was a great rooster!
Cocktails
A note from Shannon: My husband is the king of trying to make different cocktails! He is our mixologist! I usually leave that up to him so we can try different things. We have a cocktail cookbook that gives a history of where the cocktail came from and that is always fun to learn about as we enjoy our drinks. If he were to ask what I would want, it would be a French 75! We do live in Wisconsin so there is also some beer consumed from time to time.
Connect with Shannon
Once you meet Shannon Thomasser on her Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens podcast episode, you’ll likely feel compelled to connect. Lucky for us, she loves meeting new people. Here’s where to find her.
A note from Shannon: I’m just a regular person… no blog or anything but I love to follow other bakers and cooks and make friends! And if you want more information about the Twin Cities and things to do and see, I am always happy to share that information!
- Instagram: @shanphotos17
- Email: sthomasser@visitroseville.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonthomasser/
I’m thankful for strangers who share treasured family recipes and their home-baked goodies. I bet Grandma Lorraine Bechel would be happy we’re all enjoying her rhubarb muffins. Thank you, Shannon!
Sweet wishes,
Grandma Bechel’s Rhubarb Muffins
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup chopped rhubarb
- ½ cup chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325℉. Spray 12 muffin cups or line muffin tin with cupcake papers.
Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, stir together ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ cup chopped nuts. Set aside.
Muffin Batter
- Whisk together the vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Whisk in ¾ cup brown sugar until completely dissolved.
- Stir in salt, flour, and soda just until mixed in and you can still see some of the flour.
- Gently fold in the rhubarb just until incorporated throughout.
- Add batter to ¾ full per muffin cup. Top with streusel topping mixture before baking. Bake at 325℉ for 25-30 minutes.
- May want to double the recipe. I always do. DO NOT FORGET TO ADD THE TOPPING PRIOR TO BAKING! THEY ARE NOT AS GOOD WITHOUT IT.
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Jen G.’s Cheesy Potatoes
Equipment
- 9×13 cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen diced hash browns, approximately 32 oz.
- 1 onion, diced fine
- 10.5 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 10.5 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 oz sour cream
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) salted butter, cut into pieces
- finely crushed Ritz crackers to cover the dish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375℉. Grease 9×13 pan.
- Mix hash browns, onion, soups, cheddar and sour cream together in a 9×13.
- Top with crushed Ritz crackers. Scatter butter pieces over the top of the crackers.
- Bake uncovered at 375℉ for about 1 hour until it's bubbly and golden.
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Everyday Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
First Step
- 1½ cups warm 105–115℉ water
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
Second Step
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt, (I use Himalayan, French or Kosher Salt)
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
Instructions
Step One
- Pour the water into a very large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Add the yeast, honey, and 2½ cups of the flour, and mix to combine. This will almost look like pancake batter. Thick but not like bread dough. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in a warm area.
Step Two
- Add the additional 2 ½ cups flour, salt, honey and melted butter. Stir to combine. You will want the dough to start to come together where it doesn’t stick to the side of the bowl. If you need to add small amounts of flour until you see this happening, do so a couple Tbsp at a time. Turn dough onto floured surface, sprinkle dough with flour and knead by hand for 5 minutes. You may need to add additional flour if you feel it is sticking to the table. The dough will start to come together and you will feel it is a nice, soft, smooth dough.
- Spray a bowl with cooking spray or grease the bowl with butter. Add the kneaded dough, flipping twice to cover the dough with the spray or butter from the bowl. Cover dough in the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray so when the dough rises it doesn’t stick to your plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Step Three
- Generously grease 2 9×5 inch loaf pans and set aside. Punch down bread dough, turn out onto a slightly floured surface. Cut in half and knead a few times, shape into a loaf. Place dough into the prepared greased loaf pans. Cover with the sprayed plastic wrap piece from before and let raise for 30 to 40 minutes. During this time, preheat your oven to 350℉. The dough is ready to bake when you press down slightly with your finger and the indentation remains.
- Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes. Immediately remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack. Butter the tops of the bread using a pastry brush. Cool and enjoy! Or if you are like my family, enjoy warm with cold butter and jam!
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Roasted Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
- food processor or electric hand blender
Ingredients
- 27 Roma tomatoes – or a mixture of what tomatoes you have. We use enough to fill a 9×13 cake pan that covers the bottom of the pan to about ¾ of the way up the side of the pan.
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- ⅛ cup fresh basil leaves
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- sprinkle of granulated sugarWash and stem tomatoes. Cut them in half and remove seeds. Save seeds and strain the juice from the seeds.
Instructions
- Wash and stem tomatoes. Cut them in half and remove seeds. Save seeds and strain the juice from the seeds.
- Place the tomatoes in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Add onions, garlic, and basil leaves to pan. Pour a good quantity of reserved tomato juice over vegetables. Sprinkle all with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with your hands to combine.
- Roast in the oven at 425 degrees F for 50-60 minutes. Remove and cool for about 10 minutes.
- Remove vegetables and herbs with a slotted spoon to a food processor or large bowl. Whir to a fine texture in the food processor or with a hand blender (we have a KitchenAid). Add tomato paste and balsamic vinegar. Whir to combine. Taste. If the sauce is a little acidic, you can add just a touch of white sugar to balance the sauce. Start small! It doesn’t take much!!
- Transfer most of the sauce to a separate bowl and blend with an immersion blender to a smooth texture. Taste to test for the right texture. Add back in the reserved sauce, and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately or freeze for later. From Shannon: We can it in glass quart jars in a hot water bath. 40 minutes in the boiling water, 4 minutes with the heat off just sitting in the water. Take jars out and let cool overnight.
Notes
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
