Season 4, Episode 7

What 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 Operations
• Jessica Harke, Registered Dietician
• Christy Ihrke, Marketing Director for Dining Services
• Robbie Hanson, Chef
• Michael Raymond, Chef

We 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 Bake
Keira Burton — Northbrook, Illinois

Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)
Zhe Yi Ng — Malaysia

Tres Leches Cake
Caden DeGlopper — Mukwonago, Wisconsin

Find 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 Crosse

Website: https://www.uwlax.edu

Dining Services Website: https://dineoncampus.com/UWLACROSSE

Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

⁠⁠RandomSweets.com⁠⁠

Website ⁠⁠randomsweets.com⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠@randomsweets⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠⁠

Facebook ⁠⁠Random Sweets⁠⁠

Pinterest ⁠⁠@staciperry⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠⁠

Recipes, links, and photos from this episode are on https://randomsweets.com/dish-tell-recipes-from-the-heart-with-sarah-peterson/.

There’s something special about a cookbook that doesn’t just show you how to make a recipe—but tells you where the dish came from and why it matters.

That’s exactly what you’ll find in Sarah Peterson's new book, "Dish & Tell: Recipes from the Heart." The Minnesota writer behind Vintage Dish and Tell blog is back with us today to celebrate the launch of her first cookbook—a collection of 75 recipes and stories from the heart of her family and 40 others.

We talk about her journey from blog to book, the stories behind the recipes, and the people who become “recipe keepers” in our lives. If you like handed-down, handwritten recipes with meaning and heart, you’ll feel right at home in this episode.

Guest Sarah Peterson

Blog: Vintage Dish & Tell https://vintagedishandtell.com

Instagram: @vintagedishandtell

Substack: https://vintagedishandtell.substack.com

Contact: https://vintagedishandtell.com/contact/

Facebook: Vintage Dish and Tell

Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

⁠RandomSweets.com⁠

Website ⁠randomsweets.com⁠

Instagram ⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠

Instagram ⁠@randomsweets⁠

Facebook: ⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠

Facebook ⁠Random Sweets⁠

Pinterest ⁠@staciperry⁠

Email: ⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Friendsgiving started as a practical solution for three families juggling hockey schedules—but it grew into a treasured annual feast and eventually a monthly dinner club.

In this episode, Ann Park, Lisa Svobodny, and Michelle Bouchard share how their Friendsgiving tradition began, who gathers around their tables, the stories that make it unforgettable, plus two recipes they bring each year—including sugared cranberries and butternut squash with bacon and spinach—and a recipe for an apple pie–inspired cocktail.

Cheers to a cozy celebration of friendship, food, and creating traditions that last.

Get the recipes and photos at RandomSweets.com.

If anyone knows how to host a cozy, joyful Thanksgiving dinner, it's my friend Leah Brink. She's been welcoming anywhere from 10 to 29 family and friends around her tables for the past 15 years. Her holiday spreads could be straight out of Better Homes & Gardens or Martha Stewart Living, yet her heart for hospitality is all about warmth, gratitude and joy.

In this cozy and practical episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens, Leah shares how she plans for Thanksgiving weeks (and even months) ahead—from scheduling her PTO and deep cleaning her home to baking desserts for the freezer. She talks about making her table welcoming with a flower centerpiece from Shari at Hand Tied Floral Boutique in Brookings, South Dakota, setting the mood with simmering cinnamon and cloves on the stove, and playing her favorite soft jazz and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack in the background.

We also dive into the heart of the meal—homemade gravy. Leah walks us through her step-by-step approach to making perfect gravy every time, plus her secret to a juicy, flavorful turkey: a 24-hour brine. You’ll hear about her signature dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy, Red Lobster-style Cheddar Bay Biscuits from scratch, and her must-have baked mac and cheese.

Leah also shares her family recipes, including:
• Her mom’s creamy fudge
• Her grandma’s ginger snaps
• Her stepmom’s Snickers bars
• Her cozy beer cheese soup
• And a link to festive cranberry Brie bites

Get each recipe at https://randomsweets.com/thanksgiving-hosting-and-homemade-gravy-with-leah-brink/, along with Leah’s hosting and gravy-making tips—including using a Thanksgiving day “cooking template,” how she journals notes for next year, and why she believes “prep equals confidence.”

So, this Thanksgiving, if you’re the one making gravy, bring someone into the kitchen to learn alongside you. Or, if you’re eager to learn, step up and take notes—you’ll be grateful you did next year.

I hope you pick up a few new ideas and feel a little more confident — and maybe even excited — about hosting Thanksgiving this year. Big thanks to my friend, Leah Brink, for sharing her warmth and wisdom around the table.

Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

⁠RandomSweets.com⁠

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website ⁠randomsweets.com⁠

Instagram ⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠

Instagram ⁠@randomsweets⁠

Facebook: ⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠

Facebook ⁠Random Sweets⁠

Pinterest ⁠@staciperry⁠

Email: ⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠

I’m joined by Darla Bakker and her three daughters—Andrea Kolstad, Danielle Brandt, and Laura Feller. Darla and her husband, Jeff, live on a farm near Ruthton, Minnesota, where they raised their girls. Today, their daughters are raising families of their own in Minnesota and Nebraska—but one thing hasn’t changed: their love of gathering around the table.

This spring, Darla published her third cookbook—Darla Bakker’s Family Favorites, 3rd Edition—and this one is truly a family project. Her daughters helped organize, edit, and contribute recipes of their own, making it a generational reflection of Midwestern cooks. Within 349 spiral bound pages, they share more than 830 recipes. What a treasure to be handed down to generations to come.

From classic Midwest comfort foods to gluten and dairy free updates for a new generation, this episode celebrates the love and laughter that fill the Bakker family kitchen. And stay tuned for a surprise message from Darla’s seven grandchildren that’s sure to melt your heart.

You’ll find all of Darla’s recipes in her cookbook, but here are a few we talked about in the episode that are on my website randomsweets.com:

• Turkey Pot Pie with Cream Cheese Crust
• Goulash
• One-Pot Sausage & Penne Pasta Dinner
• Asian Meatballs
• Darla’s Potato Salad Dressing (Cooked Dressing)
• Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

The Bakker family’s story is a reminder that recipes aren’t just about ingredients—they’re about community and connection. Whether it’s rhubarb slush on a summer day or hot dish in the dead of winter, food is how we remember, celebrate, and love one another.

And if you ever wonder whether one of Darla’s dishes made it into the book…well, just ask her: “Is this recipe in your book?”

Order Your Copy of Darla Bakker's Family Favorites

Copies are available for $20 plus $5 shipping by emailing Darla at jdbakker@woodstocktel.net, or you can pick one up at Johnson Flower Box, 155 N. Tyler Street, Tyler, MN.

Meet Your Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

⁠RandomSweets.com⁠

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website ⁠randomsweets.com⁠

Instagram ⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠

Instagram ⁠@randomsweets⁠

Facebook: ⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠

Facebook ⁠Random Sweets⁠

Pinterest ⁠@staciperry⁠

Email: ⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠

Midwest Food Podcast

In 1987, friends Patty Kratochvil and Carolyn Dotson opened Threads of Memories Antique Mall in Brookings, South Dakota, with a simple idea: combine alterations with the love for antiques—and keep them in the community. Fast forward to 2021, Carolyn’s daughter, Emily Braun, took over the shop and continues the legacy with her own modern touch.

In this episode, Emily and I talk about the journey stepping into small business ownership in the Midwest, how she curates what fills the store, and the difference between antiques, vintage, and thrifted items. She shares why she values supporting local shops that complement hers, how her mom and Patty came up with the store's name, and how her popular “What’s New Wednesday” on social media helps connect treasures with new homes.

You’ll learn about design trends—like the ever-present enthusiasm for Mid-century modern, the comeback of record players, vinyl, and green Depression glass—and which items have phased out. Emily offers advice for downsizing or inheriting family heirlooms (including why some things aren’t worth as much as we hope), and a few lesser-known suggestions for where to donate pieces you might not be able to keep.

Of course, we talk food too. Emily shares memories of her mom’s deviled eggs, her dad’s famous meat marinade, apple crisp, and Thanksgiving at the farm. You’ll find her dad’s recipes for buttermilk waffles and the meat marinade, and Emily’s modified Pioneer Woman recipe for spinach dip on randomsweets.com. Plus, Emily lets us in on a hidden gem where she enjoyed a delicious chicken salad sandwich and the best pickle spear—a cozy spot off Highway 19 in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.

If you love antiques, small business stories, Midwest living, or simply the memories tied to the things we treasure, this conversation will feel like wandering the aisles of your favorite antique shop with a couple of friends.

Threads of Memories, Emily Braun owner

525 8th Street South, Suite 1, Brookings, SD

605-697-7377

Website: threadsofmemories.com

Facebook: Threads of Memories Brookings

Instagram: @threadsofmemoriesbrookings

antiques, vintage, repurpose, antique store, South Dakota

#midwest #oursweetmidwestlife #podcast #foodpodcast #southdakota #recipes #midwestern #midwestliving

Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

⁠RandomSweets.com⁠

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website ⁠randomsweets.com⁠

Instagram ⁠@potatoesandmittens⁠

Instagram ⁠@randomsweets⁠

Facebook: ⁠Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens⁠

Facebook ⁠Random Sweets⁠

Pinterest ⁠@staciperry⁠

Email: ⁠staci@randomsweets.com⁠

Step into the heart of the home in this episode as we explore Cooking Up History: The Evolution of Kitchens and Cookbooks, a featured exhibit at the Old Courthouse Museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Host Staci Mergenthal talks with Jill Van Veldhuizen, Education Assistant, Molly Engquist, Curator of Exhibits, and Jessie Nesseim, Curator of Collections about how American kitchens—and the cookbooks that fill them—have transformed over time.

Discover the social, cultural, and technological shifts that turned kitchens from open hearths to modern hubs of the home. We discuss the rise of community cookbooks, how immigrant traditions and holiday treats influenced South Dakota’s food culture, and why vintage cookbooks were once filled with everything from recipes to stain-removal tips. Whether you’re a history buff, cookbook collector, or a curious cook, this episode is a flavorful journey through time.

Old Courthouse Museum

The Old Courthouse Museum is part of the Siouxland Heritage Museums system: https://siouxlandmuseums.com

Old Courthouse Museum Website: https://siouxlandmuseums.com/index.php/welcome-to-the-siouxland-heritage-museums/old-courthouse-museum/

Current Old Courthouse Museum Exhibits: https://siouxlandmuseums.com/index.php/old-courthouse-museum-exhibits/

Facebook: Old Courthouse Museum, Sioux Falls, SD

200 W 6th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57104

605-367-4210

Admission is free, with an option to give a free will donation.

Mentioned in This Episode

“The Buckeye Cook Book and Practical Housekeeping”

“The White Ribbon Cook Book”

“The Kitchen Front” by Jennifer Ryan

#midwest #oursweetmidwestlife #podcast #foodpodcast #southdakota #recipes #midwestern #midwestliving

Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal

RandomSweets.com

Website randomsweets.com

Instagram @potatoesandmittens

Instagram @randomsweets

Facebook: Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens

Facebook Random Sweets

Pinterest @staciperry

Email: staci@randomsweets.com

#ourSweetMidwestLife