What It Used To Be…

For almost all of my life we have always spent the 4th in McDonald, Ohio.  No matter where we all lived my family would gather at my parents’ house to celebrate the 4th. My dad loved BBQ’s and fireworks!  He kept a refrigerator in his garage filled with sparkliers and fireworks…really big fireworks!  Den and my brother Jim would light them until our entire backyard was filled with smoke!  It was amazing!  And as much as my dad loved them…my mom hated them…she would sit inside and when anyone came in she would just say “your father”.  It was actually too funny.  Then after my dad’s fireworks we sat on the front steps and watched the McDonald Fireworks.  There was always a parade in town and rides and games and Festival Food!  Everyone had to have Fireman French Fries!  Sold in cups and sprinkled with salt and apple cider vinegar!  Yum!  One summer Den and I were in London at Wimbledon…but we still made it home for the 4th!  The call of Fireman Fries!  I miss my little town today so I put a little slide show together…the pizza place is the pizza I crave…there is nothing like a Brier Hill Pizza from Ianazone’s!  That’s my high school!  That’s my football stadium!  That’s my fire station!  That’s my pizza place, too!  That’s my park’s gazebo!  The older houses are typical of McDonald houses.  The new one is from the “new” section of town.  I think that there are no new places to build houses in McDonald now.  McDonald is sold out!  People buy and renovate the old houses.  The old ones are interesting…lots of built ins and porches and what my mom always called “ breakfast nooks”.  Now I am homesick!  And hungry for pizza!  An Ianazone’s Brier Hill!  Which is a little bit like Philadelphia’s Tomato Pie…almost!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now…tell me what you think of a Brier Hill Pizza!  I looked up the Wikipedia def…

Brier Hill pizza is prepared with a generous amount of thick “Sunday sauce”, bell peppers and romano cheese, as opposed to the more typical mozzarella. It is one of several dishes the Youngstown area prides itself upon, in much the same way New Yorkers value their distinctive thin-crusted New York-style pizza.
 

Now that’s a pizza…the dough is actually really light and kind of fluffy!  But the edges are crispy and delicious! I am not yelling with my multitude of exclamation marks…I am simply really excited!

I am off to read!  I finished this…

9AACFB69-483A-4711-868D-CDF1DCB5419B

And started this…I already can’t put this book down!

4F6BB5E6-5027-4613-845A-B15024537872

We are grilling a steak…( from SimplyRecipes ) and having either Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes ( Food Network ) or Roasted Zucchini with Parmesan and Pesto ( Kaylyn’s Kitchen )  I made a quick and easy Siesta Keys Key Lime Pie yesterday…it’s our holiday tradition plus I had a 500 lb. tub of Philadelphia cream cheese from  Costco that I needed to put a dent in…I love this Key Lime Pie…sweetened condensed milk…we found an organic one…vanilla, cream cheese and Key Lime juice…mixed in a mixer, tossed in a graham cracker crust, wrestle the beaters from Den and refrigerate…shower it with whipped cream if you wish.  And…we wish!  I found this pie recipe in a cozy mystery years ago and I have never ever ever seen it anywhere else.  Thank God I have it memorized or Den would be in BIG TROUBLE!

Off to do lots of stuff!

Patty

20 thoughts on “What It Used To Be…”

  1. Laurel-Rain Snow says:
    Reply

    Oh, your hometown sounds lovely! I do enjoy houses with porches and breakfast nooks…in some ways, your town sounds like Turlock, CA., a town where I was born. It has lots of bungalows and houses that have been around a while. My sister and her husband live in one of those: a house that has been in his family since his grandparents’ day. He grew up in that house and then his mother passed it on to him. They have done some remodeling, but have retained the original “bones” and the classic look.

    That pizza reminds me of Zelda’s in Sacramento…a place that my kids and I love to visit when we’re there. Sacramento is not a small town, but it feels more like home than my current city. Sigh.

    Enjoy your Fourth and your goodies!

    Like

  2. Kathryn says:
    Reply

    Hope your 4th is a great celebration day, the food looks very promising! I loved the photos, to me they are so very American, although of course I know there is variation! But loved seeing McDonalds.

    Like

  3. Mary says:
    Reply

    Oh yum. What a delicious meal. We grilled brats at noon after the parade. Now everyone is gone and I’m in the recliner enjoying the quiet. I love your memories of July 4ths past. Such special times.

    Like

  4. BermudaOnion says:
    Reply

    McDonald looks charming. Some of those older houses would fit right in with our neighborhood.

    We worked today so I ordered brisket and pulled pork from a guy we know who’s getting ready to open a barbecue place and then I made a couple of sides to go with it.

    I hope you and Den are having a great day!

    Like

    • Patty Magyar says:
      Reply

      That sounds wonderful! There is just something about those older houses. My parents house had tons of built ins…in the dining room and cubbyholes in the attic…is cubby holes even a word? My mom kept treasures in them!

      Like

  5. Peggy says:
    Reply

    Happy Fourth of July this fifth of July morning! Enjoyed this lovely post and trip back home, since we were practically neighbors growing up with me in Struthers!
    My Maryland kiddoes came in for the 4th! We girls spent the day in the kitchen making pies and then went to a big 4th picnic and fireworks at our church. Nice day together. I’ll be taking the grandkids home in Few weeks so I’ll get in touch and hopefully we can meet somewhere then!

    Like

    • Patty Magyar says:
      Reply

      Oh Peggy! I knew about Pittsburgh but I didn’t know about Struthers…or I did and my chemo brain made me forget! Let’s try to plan something! We would have so much to talk about! I yearn to meet a fellow blogger! I will email you my # when the day gets closer! Let’s really try…there is no snow…only heat and humidity and we can drive through that…if I remember your son is near the town that we love? Frederick? We have really wanted to go there, too.

      Like

  7. Ti says:
    Reply

    The pie sounds good. I am off to look for the recipe. Your home town looks so quaint. Everyone needs a neighborhood pizza joint. Mine was Pizza Bozo. It wasn’t called that in real life but that is what my 5 year old self called it.

    Like

Leave a comment