Next week, we will be in glamorous Muncie, IN for a football game. Since the game is conveniently scheduled on a Thursday night, that means that we will be driving down that afternoon and staying the night. So, since we have to take Friday off anyway, what fabulous tourist attractions should Leo and I visit? The Ball Glass factory? The Clabber Girl baking powder factory? There's also a baseball bat factory somewhere, but I try to limit myself to one baseball bat factory per year.

I came up with a few things for us to do on Friday, all in Ft. Wayne (they are having a Carols Santana tribute on Friday AND the circus is in town). Then there is some sort of Amish theme park that we might go to. I'm sure the attraction itself will be lame, but I have high hopes for the restaurant. I love restaurants like that. Check out this menu:

Iron kettle of thick ham & bean soup
Amish Acres freshly baked hearth bread
Fresh yellow butter
Crock of locally made apple butter - Amish apple butter, nothing better
Seasonal relish
Sweet & sour cabbage salad
Green beans with smoked side meat
Beef & noodles
Mashed potatoes
Bread dressing & giblet gravy

Your choice of two meat entrees per table:
Festive roast turkey
Broasted country chicken - seeing as broasting is pressure frying, I'm thinking its not too terribly "Amish" as one cannot broast without a big fancy machine and big fancy electricity
Cider-baked hickory smoked ham
Tender roast beef

Choose one dessert per person:
Tins of fresh fruit pies - I don't really understand the "tins" part
Shoofly pie - I heart shoofly pie
Vanilla date nut pudding

Coffee, Hot tea, Milk, Lemonade, and Iced tea

It almost sounds tastier than Zehnder's in 'Muth.� Gosh, now I'm thinking about those super trashy and buttery noodles that they have at Zehnder's.� Oh look!� I just found a recipe for them:

Buttery noodles like Zehnder's

John Zehnder , executive chef at the restaurant, wrote me the nicest note about his family's noodle recipe. The gist of it was, there really isn't a recipe. But he offered some tips, which I've used to develop a recipe.

Zehnder's buys their noodles from the Greenfield Noodle and Specialty Co. in Detroit. These handmade, kosher noodles are unavailable in Louisville. However, any quality, homemade-style noodle can be substituted.

According to Zehnder, his family adds real butter (not margarine) as soon as the noodles are drained. This allows the butter to "absorb into the noodles."

6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
1 pound homemade-style egg noodles
2 tablespoons chicken base (see note)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter (saving the remaining 4 tablespoons for the noodles) in a saut� pan set over medium heat. Add cracker crumbs and cook, stirring often, until they are brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to boil. Add noodles and chicken base. Cook noodles until they are almost soft, but still have a bit of chewiness (different brands will require different times; check the package for instructions). Drain noodles in a colander and return them to the cooking pot. Immediately add butter, salt and pepper (it's easiest if butter has been diced). Stir gently, allowing the noodles to soak in the butter. Serve quickly, topping each serving with cracker crumbs.

Serves 6, as a side dish.

Chicken base: A thick paste that comes in 1-pint plastic tubs. Flavors include chicken, mushroom, shrimp, lobster, beef and turkey. Available in Louisville at specialty stores and at some supermarkets.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal

Just as trashy as I had suspected.� I'm thinking about doing a "trashy comfort food" theme for Thanksgiving, maybe I'll make them then.� It looks like the fancy noodle company does not sell direct to individuals so I'll have to make the noodles myself.� I mean, it's the noodles that make this so good.

Let's see...what else? Oh, I had a dream that Leo died (he was eaten by a bear while camping). I woke up crying. LOVE these hormones, I tell you.� I watched some terribly disturbing movie last night about people having their heads bashed in with lead pipes (Wonderland).� Daryl is arriving in Richmond today.� Katie is having a going away dinner tomorrow.� Leo is leaving to get eaten by a grizzly bear in the Rockies on Thursday.� I take off to hurricane central on Friday to see Wendy and family.�

Yeah, my social calendar is PACKED.