Friends of the Menard Home: February 2010

The Pierre Menard Home

This early 19th Century French Colonial Home was the home to the first Lt. Governor of the State of Illinois, Pierre Menard. The home is a true jewel in the history of Illinois and is the only remaining shred of the village of Kaskaskia. Built in the early 1800's it's gleaming white edifice is a magnificent piece of history which everyone should visit. Prominent politicians, local Native Americans as well as General Lafayette all visited here and were welcome.

The Friends of the Menard Home are a small but dedicated group of volunteers who volunteer at the home and help out where we can with our time and skills. Many special events take place at the home on a regular basis and everyone is welcome to attend.

The Pierre Menard Home is located at 4230 Kaskaskia Road, Ellis Grove, Il 62241, just off of Illinois State Route 3. Phone the home directly at (618) 859-3031 for more information or hours of operation.

Apple Torte or Cake Receipt

APPLE TOURTE OR CAKE (GERMAN RECEIPT).— Take ten or twelve apples, sugar to taste, the rind of one small lemon, three eggs, one-quarter of a pint of cream or milk, one-quarter of a pound of butter, three-quarters of a pound of good short crust, three ounces of sweet almonds. Pare, core, and cut the apples into small pieces; put sufficient moist sugar to sweeten them into a basin; add the lemon-peel, which should be finely minced, and the cream; stir these ingredients well, whisk the eggs, and melt the butter; mix altogether, add the sliced apple, and let these be well stirred into the mixture. Line a large round plate with the paste, place a narrow rim of the same round the outer edge, and lay the apples thickly in the middle. Blanch the almonds, cut them into long shreds, and strew them over the top of the apples, and bake from one-half to three-quarters of an hour, taking care that the almonds do not get burnt; when done, strew some sifted sugar over the top, and serve. Time, one-half to three-quarters of an hour.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Unacceptable!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our apologies if you were unfortunate enough to have tried to get into the Menard Home last week and were greeted with this sign.

Due to poor management and lack of resources the Pierre Menard Home was closed when our Site Services Specialist contracted a nasty case of the flu. Because of budget issues the home has one full time employee and when he’s ill or on vacation the “campus” approach is supposed to take over. This means someone from Fort de Chartres or Fort Kaskaskia is supposed to come and work at the home on those days. However management didn’t do their job and would not return our phone calls or emails pleading with them to get someone to cover the home.

If you find this as unacceptable as we do, PLEASE call Senator Luechtefeld and Representative Reitz and Governor Quinn. Their contact information can be found in the left hand column of this Blog.

A Huge Thank You!!!!

We would like to thank everyone who came out and made our first Eagle Watching Day such a huge success. We had friends, fellow birders and history lovers from a vast area come to the home to look for American Bald Eagles and lots of the song birds too.

We could not have done this without your support and we are very grateful.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Reminder about the Eagle Watching Day

We just wanted to send out a quick reminder that we're hosting an eagle watching day this coming Sunday, February 7th from 9am-5pm. Please feel free to bring out your cameras, spotting scopes and binoculars. Dress for the weather and if you get chilled we'll have hot coffee available to warm you up.

Baked Whole Pumpkin

1 (5-7 lb) pumpkin
6 Whole eggs
2 Cup Whipping cream
½ cup Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Molasses
½ teaspoon Fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Ginger
2 tablespoon Butter

This dish was a favorite of George Washington. While it was called a pie in the old days, it's certainly not what we call a pie now. Here the custard pie is found inside the pumpkin and the whole thing is to be served up with a bit of anticipation for a very different pumpkin dessert. Cut the lid off the pumpkin just as you would for a jack-o'-lantern. Remove the seeds and save for toasting later. Mix the remaining ingredients together with the exception of the butter. Fill the pumpkin with this mixture and top with the butter. Cover with the pumpkin lid and place in a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until the mixture has set like a custard. Serve from the pumpkin at your table, scraping some of the meat from the pumpkin with each serving. This is an interesting substitution for the usual pumpkin pie.

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