If you live in the northern Midwest, you likely have been to a Supper Club at least once. The Supper Club is a Midwest tradition, but they seem to exist only in certain parts of the region. On this episode of The Recipe Box, we talk with Megan Bannister, author of Iowa Supper Clubs, about these once well-known eateries that harbor their own unique spirit.

Megan helps us explore the history, culture, and enduring charm of Midwest supper clubs, especially those in Iowa. We discuss origins and the communal atmosphere that defines these classic restaurants. Our favorite part of the conversation is all about the supper club menu - prime rib, pork tenderloin, relish trays, classic cocktails, and ice cream drinks.

Have you ever been to a supper club? Let us know in the comments. We want to hear about the relish trays, the Old Fashioneds, and what you loved most!

Olio in Iowa: https://olioiniowa.com

Iowa Supper Clubs: https://olioiniowa.com/iowa-supper-clubs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olioiniowablog/

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

Find Hosts Niki and Stephanie at: rootedinfoods.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast

SPAM. You either love it or you don’t. Either way, this little can of pork has a much bigger story than most people give it credit for.

SPAM enthusiast Veronica Barman of Hip Grandma Life joins us on this episode to talk about SPAM’s surprising history, its role in global and Hawaiian cuisine, and her family SPAM recipe.

Veronica’s SPAM and macaroni bake actually started as an AWANA recipe assignment when she was a kid, and it became what she calls a family legend. It was the first meal she ever cooked completely on her own, and years later, it became the first meal she cooked for her four-year-old stepson, a meal he still talks about today. She walks us through the recipe and shares memories of her dad's "Christmas eggs," a scramble of SPAM, eggs, and cheese that showed up on the table every Christmas morning. And she took us back to her very first solo road trip, which included a stop at the SPAM Museum in Minnesota, a quirky little detour that ended up planting the seed for what's now her project, Quirky Roadside USA, a Facebook community quickly approaching 200,000 members.

Hip Grandma Life: hipgrandmalife.com or www.facebook.com/HipGrandmaLife

Quirky Roadside Attractions Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/1270482290602713/

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

Find Hosts Niki and Stephanie at: rootedinfoods.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast

There's something truly special about recipes that get passed down with a made-up name attached. This week we talk about Lithuanian meat dumplings. The story starts with a recipe name that doesn't quite match the dish.

Our guest, Tiffany Yepsen, grew up eating what her family calls "bon-dukies." It sounds like a real Lithuanian word, and it almost is. Bandukės is a traditional Lithuanian dish. But when we dug into what Tiffany's family actually makes, the dish itself is closer to koldūnai, a dumpling made with a thin sealed dough and a seasoned meat filling.

The name stuck from one dish, and the technique came from another. Sometimes this happens when a recipe travels through generations and is adapted to what ingredients are available to the family.

Tiffany is the Executive Assistant at VisitSI, one of our local tourism bureaus. She told us about her grandmother's dumplings on a road trip to the Midwest Travel Network annual conference. We had such fun talking about this that we knew she had to be on the podcast.

In this episode, Tiffany walks us through the dough and the meatball-style filling. She tells us how her grandmother taught her to roll, shape, and seal each dumpling, and how the family serves them at the table.

If you've got a dish in your family with a made-up name or a name that doesn't quite match what's on the plate, we want to hear about it!

Website: https://visitsi.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisitSI

Production: Benjy Jeffords, SIU School of Journalism and Advertising

Marketing: Salukis AdLab

Music: MisunderStudios www.misunderstudios.com

The Recipe Box on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RecipeBoxPodcast

The Recipe Box on Instagram: @TheRecipeBoxPodcast