Nostalgic food. What comes to your mind?
For each person, a different cherished taste memory may bring a smile to your face. Often, our food memories may be connected to a pleasant event, be it a visit to a grandparents’ home, a holiday with family, the annual beach vacation or a trip to the amusement park or fair.
Other times, a food memory becomes embedded from an early age, like a comforting dish it seems as though we’ve been eating all our life. Or there is a diner, restaurant or snack that we’ll always go back to, even after we’ve moved far away. Food memories are often cultural or regional, so many of the distinctive foods featured
in this publication are unique to our part of the world, country and even within our state of Pennsylvania. For example, scrapple or Lebanon bologna are not as popular or even known in Western Pennsylvania as they are in the central and southeastern part of the commonwealth. We hope you enjoy this little “slice” of Juniata Valley food nostalgia!
LEWISTOWN – Central Pennsylvania loves its whoopie pies. You know, the chocolate cakes with a frosting filling are fixtures at bakeries, fairs and farmers markets across the mid-state.
Whether you call them whoopie pies or gobs, one thing is for certain – everyone has their favorite recipe.
There are dozens of twists that veer from the standard white cream filling sandwiched between two cookies. Some prefer peanut butter, red velvet or pumpkin.
“My family’s favorites are either chocolate or pumpkin,” said Bev Kauffman of Lewistown, who operated a catering business in Juniata County for nearly 20 years. She has authored the cookbook, “Preserving the Past: In the Kitchen with Bev
Kauffman” in 2013 and is currently working on a second cookbook. Her “Bev’s Kitchen” recipes routinely grace the pages of The Sentinel’s Cuisine section.
The cookies are traditionally chocolate, but experimentation in the kitchen has resulted in sightings for other flavors, such as red velvet and pumpkin.
Kauffman said it’s important to make certain the filling matches the cookie flavor. “Pumpkin gets a cream cheese filling,” she cautioned. “Once I made shoofly whoopie pies. Extremely time consuming.”
She’s also made a raspberry cream filling, along with a Nutella/peanut butter cream chocolate whoopie pie.
Despite Maine claiming the whoopie pie as its creation and official state treat, many say whoopie pies originated in the Keystone State, where Amish women baked them and
put them in farmers’ or school children’s lunches.
Those who discovered them in their lunch pails would shout, “Whoopie!”
Cooking historians have linked whoopie pies in Lancaster County to the 1960s and ’70s.
Kauffman agreed, “I believe the whoopie pies –not gobs – represent Dutch food culture.”
Whether considered a New England classic or a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, whoopie pies are increasingly sold throughout the United States. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia and, of course, Pennsylvania all claim to be the birthplace of the whoopie pie.
Gob – a term indigenous to the Pittsburgh area –has been trademarked by the Dutch Maid Bakery in Johnstown. The owner bought the rights to the name and the process in 1980.
Kauffman considers whoopie pies to be on an iconic level. “They’re up there with shoofly pies and moon pies,” she said.
Whoopie pies are so revered, the Pennsylvania State Farm Show hosts the annual Pennsylvania’s Greatest Whoopie Pie Contest every January.
The world’s largest whoopie pie was created in South Portland, Maine in 2011, weighing in at 1,062 pounds. Pieces of the giant whoopie pie were sold and the money was used to send Maine-made whoopie pies to soldiers serving overseas. The previous record holder, from Pennsylvania, weighed in at 200 pounds.
“It’s been a PA treat for many years,” said Kauffman of whoopie pies which just celebrated its 100th birthday. “My kids like them because it’s handheld and easy to eat. There’s no cutting or plates needed.”
BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com
LEWISTOWN – Helen Laskaris enjoyed cooking for and spending time with her friends and family.
For more than 50 years, she got to do both as she owned and operated Laskaris Restaurant on Monument Square in downtown Lewistown. The restaurant was established in 1921 by Helen’s father-in-law, James. She decided to sell it more than 20 years ago to focus on taking care of her son, Jim.
Laskaris died in 2017 at the age of 93, but the landmark restaurant remains and carries on as a bucket list visit when in Mifflin County. Hot dogs with
onions, mustard (patrons suggest ordering extra sauce), hand-cut fries and rice pudding are the go-to at Laskaris.
The food is considered old-school-diner with an ambiance to match. Many visitors must go to Laskaris at least once during their stay.
Others come with stories, “I used to come here with my grandmother,” one posted online. “A few years back while home for a visit, my mom and I stopped in. Today, I came by myself and it’s the same as ever! It’s just a basic diner/lunch counter with plenty of dark wood booths. They are known for hot dogs and rice pudding, and I used to love their pulled pork sand-
wich, too.”
Another raved about the hot dogs, “which comes with mustard, onions and special sauce (don’t ask, just do it); a pulled-pork platter, which includes fries and a rice pudding. All that and a soda for less than $10. Awesome.”
And don’t forget those fries, a third added, “The hot dog and pulled pork are as good as ever. I love their fries too – real, honest-to-goodness hand-cut French fries with the skins still on. These things were super-hot from a fresh frying and tasted 95 percent like potato and five percent like fresh vegetable oil. Darn good.”
Lastly, there’s the rice pudding, which is just as one diner remembered. “It’s a bit runnier than most, but the quality is superb. Somehow, they
got big puffed-up grains of rice; it’s not like the hard little bits you end up when you make rice pudding at home with Uncle Ben’s.”
After ordering Laskaris’ onion rings, a patron called the restaurant, “a must-eat place.” Prices are found democratic here. It’s a pleasant place with the homey atmosphere.
So have a good-time here, and share your tasty eats with your friends. Plus, some good coffee is among its drink offerings.
This place is famous for its great service and friendly staff, that is always ready to help you. When you’ve finished your meal, loyal patrons encourage you to tip the servers well. “They work hard,” one patron said.
LEWISTOWN – Whether you’ve grown up on Gus’s Pizza, eaten it super hot or super cold, patrons agree the Valley Street, Lewistown pizza joint is a Mifflin County legacy.
A great Mifflin County Classic. Gus’s Pizza Shop has been there for decades when you need a cheap and fast dinner. The time for pickup is always about 10- to 15-minute wait. “Best local pizza around, hands down,” one diner claimed.
Local pizza places are common in every small town. Cheap pizza made New York style with a semi sweet sauce.
One patron recalled just having moved to Lewistown and his neighbors were having a party. Some of them pitched in to help move some of the heavy stuff that they saw him struggling with. They invited him to join their party and he said he didn’t have anything to bring.
They told him to go down the street to Gus’s Pizza and pick up some pizza they ordered for them and that would be good enough.
Gus’s was busy when he got there, and the people there smiled and were friendly. He picked up the pizza and went back to the party. His first Gus’s pizza was awesome – hot flavor-full crestfallen of toppings and stringy cheese.
The cook staff was making
subs and they looked great, too. The place was really busy, so that should have been his first clue.
Another diner on social media said, “If what you seek is good pizza then this is the place. Every time we visit my folks in the area, we have to stop and get some pizza.”
Gus’s might be a hole in the wall, but it’s always been that way. Locals look beyond that to find great pizza.
Some remember walking over to Gus’s after American Legion Sweetheart band practice, boasting, “Was the best then and still is today.”
Others remember their dad surprising them and bringing Gus’s along when he would visit. This particular patron claimed Gus’s is pretty much
the same exact way it was from the beginning.
After all, they’ve never changed the recipe or add extras like calzones or stromboli or hoagies.
Don’t plan to dine-in; there’s no sit down in this place, just a place to pickup and pay. There’s prompt service when you order by the pie, sheet or slice.
Who knows, you might even get an unexpected history lesson.
“Hole in the wall pizza joints made pizza famous in Italy with Americans during World War II,” said Seth Yocum of Harrisburg. “They still make the best pizza today. I love Gus’s Pizza.”
BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com
REEDSVILLE – If you want good and hearty American food designed to hit the spot, the Bel-Vue Inn in Reedsville is worth the trip, or maybe two.
“We are passionate about making food that has substance to it, try our mouthwatering desserts,” the owners state on restaurant review website. “We don’t skimp on anything, and we ensure your food is perfectly made.”
That’s not a news flash. The Bel-Vue Inn has been making food and feeding diners this way for years.
“Love the small-town friendly atmosphere,” one said after a particular visit. “Excellent service and care for the customers.”
And then there was the food, which also drew rave reviews.
“A great out-of-the way place to eat, with great food and service,” another patron said. “We stopped by for dinner and had veal parmesan, stuffed flounder and a bowl of their great bean and bacon soup. They offer a multitude of sides, and we selected a tossed salad, spaghetti and creamy slaw.
“All was fresh, tasty and perfect,” they added. “Can’t say enough about this great place to eat. We’ve been here before and always make it a point to stop here when we’re traveling in the area. We highly recommend it and give it a grade of A+.”
There’s also their customary fish and chips. The perfect entrée for “good food, good friends, good setting
for a get together of friends.” The chips are thinly-sliced potatoes.
Another patron also chose the fish and chips, saying, “I ordered the fish and chips as it was it was the house special. .... My husband ordered a burger, and it was cooked to perfection.”
The Bel-Vue has remained a tradition at all hours of the day. The lunch and dinner crowds sometime mix.
One patron said, “We stopped for a late lunch –about 3 p.m. – on a Friday. By the time we left the place was packed. Our waitress was quick and attentive. I ordered the beef vegetable soup which was excellent with big chunks of beef. I ordered the pickled egg and red beet. It was average. My grilled chicken sandwich was great ... freshly cooked on a brioche-type bun and cus-
tomized as I wanted with no problems.
“My husband had the ham and bean soup, which was fine and a BLT which was good. Now the best part –their homemade coconut meringue pie, which was out of this world. We will definitely stopw when we are in the area,”
The Bel-Vue has gained a reputation as a cozy, back country restaurant, which it has come to embrace. The menu features food that is basic Pennsylvania rural, like fish and chips, but the portions are on the hearty side.
“This restaurant has pretty much the same appearance and mood as it did 30 years ago,” an online reviewer said. “But why would it change? It has what it has, and no change of any kind is needed.”
We asked readers to submit “Grandma’s Best” or other family recipes that bring back nostalgic memories. Here are a selection of those submissions. We also drew a random winner to receive a $50 Sal-lee’s restaurant gift certificate and the winner was Kathy Reed of Lewistown.
Submitted by Charlene Swineford, Lewistown
1 stick butter
1 can condensed milk 12 oz.
1 16 oz. 10 X sugar
Cook together stirring constantly until you can form a soft ball in a cup of cold water.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme and 1 - 17 oz. jar smooth peanut butter. Stir together until smooth. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and let cool.
After it cools cut into squares and enjoy.
6 oz package lemon Jell-O (sugar free is fine)
1/2 cup melted butter (or margarine)
3 cups graham crackers
13 oz can evaporated milk
8 oz can crushed pineapple
10 oz jar maraschino cherries
Bring evaporated milk just to boiling in saucepan, then chill. Drain cherries, reserving liquid. Dis-
solve Jello into 1 cup boiling water. Add to Jello reserved cherry juice plus cold water to make 1 cup. Chill Jello until just just barely set. Chop cherries. Drain pineapple. Prepare crust: make fine crumbs from graham crackers, add in melted butter. Reserve 1/3 of total amount of crumbs for topping. Press remaining crumbs into bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Whip chilled evaporated milk until frothy. Whip set Jello. Combine whipped milk and Jel-
lo in large bowl. Stir in pineapple and cherries. Pour entire mixture of milk, Jello and fruit over prepared graham cracker crust in 13x9 inch pan. Top with reserved crumbs. Chill 4 hours.
Helpful hints: Prepare evaporated milk the day before, allowing to chill thoroughly. Prepare Jello several hours before use, giving it time to set in the refrigerator. DO NOT substitute evaporated milk with any already prepared whipped topping (such as Cool
Whip). Best eaten within 24-48 hours of preparation.
Family history: My paternal grandmother made this recipe. Neither my sister nor I have a clue what she called it, other than “Mamaw Jell-o”. The recipe is from a time before prepared whipping toppings were available, hence the boiling and whipping of the evaporated milk. Its use gives the dessert nice flavor without being overly sweet. The dessert is delicious and light.
Vanilla Sauce:
½ cup milk
Ingredients:
Pudding
4 cups soft bread cubes
2 cups peeled and sliced apples
¼ cup raisins
1 ¾ cups milk
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup margarine
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup margarine
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 7x11-inch baking dish.
Make pudding: Combine bread, apples, and raisins in a large bowl. Com-
bine milk, brown sugar, and margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until margarine is melted. Pour over bread mixture in the bowl; mix until evenly coated. Pour bread mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Whisk together eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small bowl. Pour egg mixture over
bread mixture in the baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven until the center is set and apples are tender, 40 to 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, make vanilla sauce: Mix together milk, margarine, white sugar, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Serve over bread pudding.
Submitted by Kathy Reed, Lewistown
1 lb. lean ground
Beef
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup diced yellow onions
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg beaten
2 TBS ketchup
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried parsley
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
TOPPING:
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBS packed brown sugar
1TBS red wine vinegar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 In a large bowl, mix all meatloaf ingredients well
Place in a greased loaf pan
Mix topping ingredients and place on top of meatloaf
Bake 60-70 minutes.
Submitted by Janelle Zook, Belleville
11/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Icing:
6 Tbsp. butter
2 c. 10x sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
hot water
Cream brown sugar and butter; add eggs and sour cream. Mix dry ingredients together and add to mixture. Add vanilla. Bake at 375 until lightly browned.
Icing: Brown butter; and sugar, vanilla and hot water to right consistency.
Since 1935, Hartley’s Potato Chips have been a staple in the homes of chip lovers across Pennsylvania. The local family-owned business has been dedicated to providing their customers with the same great ‘kettle cooked’ taste for over 80 years.
Hartley’s founders, Mr. and Mrs. J. Irvin Hartley and their six children started the business selling their potato chips door to door. The business has been passed down generation to generation and has expanded greatly through the years.
Today, the family business is co-owned by great-grandchildren, Daniel and Kellie Johnson.
To meet high demands, the business has modernized their equipment to increase production. Hartley’s operates from their 25,000 square foot facility that allows potato chip production to accommodate distribution throughout Mifflin County, State College, Altoona, Williamsport, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Scranton, and parts of New York.
Hartley’s prides themselves on their consistent quality through the years. Co-owner Kellie stated, “We have never strayed
from the original way of our kettle cooked chips that started the company. We are proud to say that we are the original family through the generations.”
With consistent quality and dedication, customers are guaranteed satisfaction with every bite. “Our customers are the greatest!” said Kellie, “When people move from the area, they stay true to our product and order online or call the factory to place their orders. Our secretary enjoys the phone calls and meeting people over the phone. It’s always nice when they are in town and just stop in to buy chips or to just put a face to the phone calls we
have had.”
Hartley’s extensive product line includes the fan favorites, Plain and Waffle Bar-B-Q potato chips, and has added No Salt, Sour Cream and Onion, Salt & Vinegar, Flat Bar-B-Q, and Plain Waffle Cut. Additionally, additionally offers other snack items such as Superthin Pretzels, Nuggets, Broken Sourdough Pretzels, and Cheese Curls.
Hartley’s Potato Chips is proud to provide Pennsylvania communities with over 80 years of quality service, taste, and customer relationships.
Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted from the 2019 Favorite Foods of the Juniata Valley magazine published by The Sentinel. Scrapple is often fondly remembered as a special breakfast treat by many Pennsylvanians, so the inclusion of this article is fitting in a food nostalgia publication.
Amy Strauss has tried over 100 variations of scrapple, so she definitely has some opinions on one of our state’s quintessential Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast staples. Strauss tasted whitefish scrapple and even had a vegan mushroom-based version while researching her 2017 book, Pennsylvania Scrapple: A Delectable History.
For many Pennsylvania residents, the sound and smell of slabs of scrapple sizzling, evokes childhood memories of family breakfasts, pig butcherings or hunting camp mornings. Strauss, a Boyertown native, who likes to say she was raised “110% Pennsylvania Dutch”, has those fond remembrances of her father making scrapple from scratch.
fuzzy feelings about this porky breakfast meat. The mere mention of scrapple can elicit looks of disgust and fright, so what exactly is scrapple? And why does it cause such polar-opposite reactions?
Scrapple is basically pork trimmings that are stewed until tender, then ground up or finely chopped and then blended together with the original broth, as well as cornmeal and some other flour, such as buckwheat. It’s then formed into slabs that can be stored or frozen, and then cut into slices and pan-fried. Some families have long-held recipes, but scrapple can also be purchased commercially at any grocery store in the same section where bacon and sausage is sold.
Not everyone has warm,
According to Strauss, the first recipes for scrapple date back to the 1680’s and the food helped sustain early German settlers here in Pennsylvania through the harsh winters. Strauss calls Pennsylvania scrapple “the marriage of German sausage-making with the Pennsylvania crop of corn.” She hypothesizes that scrapple probably wouldn’t have had a Keystone state connection if the soil here wasn’t so conducive for growing
adding small amounts of water (if needed) to make a workable dough that is dry and stiff. Roll it 1/2” thick and cut into 1/2” squares Place on cookie and bake until hard, about 40 minutes.
You can use any cookie cutter for fun shapes!
You can also dip in carob for an iced cookie that’s pet friendly!
corn, and therefore an abundance of corn meal that could be mixed with meat.
Strauss admits that she gets strong positive and negative reactions to the iconic breakfast meat at the various speaking events she has gone to statewide while promoting her book. “It does have the word ‘crap’ in the name,” she laughingly notes, and wonders if a name change would help. Others imagine that things like the eyeballs and brains of the pig are in it, even if that’s not really true today. And the fact that scrapple’s appearance is that of a grayish/brown block probably doesn’t help its cause.
Nonetheless, scrapple’s fandom seems to be increasing, in part due to the “nose-to-tail” food movement of recent years. Many high-end chefs are introducing scrapple into their menus in places like Philadelphia, where Strauss sampled deepfried scrapple balls with a hot pepper jelly, describing the dish as “so good.”
Whether scrapple is eaten fried crispy with nothing on it, smothered in ketchup or syrup, or on a breakfast sandwich with egg, it seems that scrapple has a passionate following even though it’s in the same basic format it was centuries prior. There are even regional festivals in Pennsylvania and Del-
aware dedicated to the breakfast meat. Strauss thinks we should appreciate the scrapple’s heritage, opining that some of us potentially “wouldn’t even be here” if scrapple hadn’t helped our ancestors through brutal times in early colonial life. And Strauss muses when thinking about its detractor’s refusal to even try it, that scrapple “really is just delicious, crispy pork with a creamy interior, and what’s not to love about that!”
Buckwheat Scrapple recipe, as reprinted from PennsylvaniaDutchCookbook:FineOldRecipes
Prepare meat as for Scrapple (Ponhaws), us-
ing one-half hog’s head, the liver, heart and sweetbreads. When cooked, chop finely and weigh the meat. For every 3 lbs. of meat, use 2 lbs. of meal (2 parts yellow corn meal and 1 part buckwheat flou 8r), 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground sage and 1 teaspoon ground mace. Cook slowly over low heat about 1 hr. Pour into pan and cool. Cover and store in refrigerator. To serve, cut into slices and fry in hot fat until golden brown.
RecommendedReading: Pennsylvania Scrapple: A Delectable History, by Amy Strauss, published by Arcadia Publishing and available on Amazon.com and other book sites.
