One Cheap Saturday Night
A Prairie Home Companion is now on WAMU on Saturday nights. This past weekend was live from the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia with Terry Gross of Fresh Air as a special guest. I loved it. He reminded me of so much of growing up in and around Philly. I remember going to the bodega down the street for penny candy. Throwing our sneakers up on the wire. Taking the subway or train downtown to the Gallery to shop. Driving to Reading for the outlets. Getting soft pretzels from the Amish ladies at Reading Terminal Market. Lining up at Tacconelli’s for pizza.
One thing he mentioned was scrapple. If you are vegan or vegetarian, stop reading now.
Scrapple is everything leftover after the SPAM has been made. No kidding. The Amish really know what it means to be frugal. Nothing of the pig goes to waste. (ok, so the Habbersett article says it’s not scraps, but Wikipedia says it is.)
I like mine really crispy on the outside with syrup, bacon and toast. I also only like it when it’s really fresh off the farm, i.e. not Habbersett’s. That will make a huge difference in your enjoyment of it. I never cook it, but some Philly friends of mine bring it out on camping trips and we like to gross out the high and mighty non-meat eaters in our delight at strange meat products.
Clever Dude wrote:
Surprisingly, it was my dietitian wife who introduced me to scrapple. I never went to a restaurant/diner that had it until we visited her alma mater in PA. She knew I liked Spam and the like, so I tried it.
I’m hooked.
Posted on 31-Jan-07 at 8:41 am | Permalink
Debt Hater wrote:
Growing in Philly sounds a lot like growing up in Brooklyn, but Brooklyn is better
Posted on 31-Jan-07 at 9:17 am | Permalink
Rob Carlson wrote:
Scrapple and grits are everything you need to get you through the day.
Posted on 31-Jan-07 at 10:00 am | Permalink
Cheryl wrote:
Long time reader, first time commenter. I LOVE Prairie Home Companion! I grew up on the Jersey Shore, we took many trips to Philly and PA Dutch Country. We were fed Scrapple all the tiem as my Father loved it! I can’t get past the “it’s made of everything else” mentality to enjoy it! I am in Florida now, and when I hanker for some northeast food, my cousin ships it to me!
Posted on 01-Feb-07 at 3:16 pm | Permalink