Oh no, the hash is gone (and other laments)

We've been on a roll lately of having pancakes as Saturday lunch. Nothing goes better with sweet pancakes than something salty and savory. Since we hardly have bacon or sausage in the house, the coveted cans of Broadcast Corned Beef Hash have been pulled from the pantry to accompany the cakes of pan.

Today, the last can has been consumed. Waaaaah. The cans we had were so generously brought to us by our friend Bob (not to be confused with Bawb), on one of his first forays to his new home here in Florida. Broadcast is a brand found in the northeast, and I have yet to to find a brand that measures up. Every other brand I have tried has discovered the flavor is all wrong and the hash, soupy.

It is a common refrain from transplants. We've got brands of food that we grew up and preferred. Once we venture forth to other areas of the country, we beg friends to bring the foods when visiting. My laundry list contains:

Broadcast Corned Beef Hash (immortalized in Dad's "Navy Breakfast")
Pindar blush wines (we can get the reds now, yay)
Utz Crab Chips
Utz Carolina Barbeque Chips
Quahog Clams
Fresh Apple Cider
Drake's Funny Bones (I ate the last one last month)
Zweigle's or Wegmans White Hots
Rainbow Cookies (down from Black and Whites and Black Forest Cherry Cake on the list)
Hard Rolls (preferably with poppies on top)

Each transplant has a list is as unique as they are.

For many years, my list was much longer, and the distance to acquire them much shorter. It was a mere five hours back to Long Island for some Wise Potato Chips and Entenmann's Banana Crunch Loaf. There was always room in the trunk for some hash and other favored consumables.

Nowadays, many favorites have sprouted up in our local Publix. Wise Potato Chips, Drake's Cakes and the incomparable Boar's Head deli meats. We are fortunate that the bakery department produces some fine Black and White Cookies and cakes. Wal-Mart carries the beloved Seltzer's Lebanon Sweet Bologna, which Gameboy will consume by the pound. Here and there, we'll discover another favorite and snatch up some for the pantry. I think a Fox's U Bet made it home once.

Ask any transplant if they miss where they grew up and you'll probably hear what we say. "Yeah, I miss it, but I miss the food the most."

Thanks Bob, the hash was yummy.

Prosecco

For a while now, Ed and I have been enjoying all different varieties of wine. Over time, we've developed a preference for the red wines that have crossed our path.

However, I kept hearing about the italian sparking wine, Prosecco. It had been reported to give a headier buzz than most wines, due to the 'frizzante' that was more pronounced than its cousin, champagne.

I picked up a bottle for our anniversary, but due to work schedules, we didn't get to it until tonight. A coworker suggested a particular brand, but the ABC didn't have it. A note about the ABC stores here: depending on the knowledge of the staff, you can get a very good selection, or a passable one. The local one is blessed with a staffer with a passion and excellent knowledge of the wines. Alas, they only had four different Prosecco's for purchase.

I picked up a bottle, and once home, realized it was based on the Chardonnay grape. This didn't bode well: we do NOT like the dry white wines. Ed's comment was that now he understand the italian trait of putting a sugar cube in their glasses of bubbly.

We popped the botttle and poured. Smells good. Taste was very dry. We got the bright idea to make a bellini alternative and pulled out the peach schnapps. (though maybe the Mango syrup would have worked better). The schnapps made it much more palatable, and it wasn't long before we both felt quite giddy. They are not joking on this one-it packs a different buzz than wine and even champagne. It was a lot of fun to drink that bottle!

The scary part is that of course, we had to have more when the bottle was gone, so we opened a bottle of wine. Could get pricey when you consider the wine in our house averages about 20 bucks a bottle! :)

I think we'll give the prosecco another try, but the brand recommended. I'll be prepared and get two bottles.