As the trees begin to change, it tells me some of my favorite weekends are quickly approaching. I always grew up with fall parties at my Pap and Gram Liddick’s house. (Floyd & Lois) I will share about these parties another week, but as I got older, got married, and had a home of my own, I knew I wanted to carry on these traditions.
When Chris and I first got married, we had Halloween parties for years. Everyone dressed up, and we had different categories of costumes in which you could win — the scariest, funniest, most original, and a few others. We did that for years until we changed it to a hayride party.
My husband had our big garage built, and this is when we had the idea to start a hayride party. This will be our ninth year having it. Usually, between sixty to seventy people come, and we have a hayride before it gets dark. We then come back to hot soups and fall desserts with a warm, cozy campfire and hot cocoa bar.
Instead of a costume contest, we now have a soup cook-off. We typically have between eight to ten soups, and everyone can vote for their favorite soup. It makes it so fun! Two years ago, I even did a pie contest! I try to switch it up a bit each year, but the soups will always be a part of the famous McElroy Annual Hayride Party! Each year, this kicks off fall for everyone, being the first Saturday of October each year. Everyone always looks forward to it, and we love having it for everyone. This is coming up in another week.
We had to push our hayride up to September 30 this year because, like our hayride, our annual fall cabin trip also falls on Columbus Day weekend. We have been going up to our cabin over that weekend for as long as I can remember. Some years, it’s warmer; some years, it’s cooler, and some years, it even snows up on the mountain. We never know what the weather can be, but let me tell you, you don’t see me complaining if my brother gets that cozy stove that sits in the middle of the cabin living room going. Everyone brings up winter hats, rocks their flannels, and just enjoys being all together.
The leaves are extraordinary! We take rides around our paths on four-wheelers and dirt bikes and even hop in the bed of trucks to drive up to the lookout. What a view that is during peak season in the fall.
Some of my best memories of the cabin are going out spotlighting for deer. You bundled up and never knew what you would see out there. I always grabbed a blow pop that Gram always made sure she had for us, and out to the truck I went.
Bear, coyote, lots of deer, skunks, raccoons, and a porcupine named Chuckie have been some of our sights over the years. Years ago, my cousin Tony Shumbat was with us spotlighting when we saw this porcupine. He gave him the name Chuckie. He would yell, “Chuckie Baby!” For years, when we spotlighted, we teased Tony, saying, “Tone, will we see Chuckie!?” Chuckie was never seen after that. My cousin Tony is a trip.
That’s another great part of the cabin. At night, when we all come in, we gather around the stove in the cabin living room, where there are many recliners and couches. But, there are so many of us; some of us sit on the floor with our backs against our spouses, listening to stories. Tony always has the best jokes, and if we can get him on a roll, most of us are in tears from laughing so hard by the end of the night.
These are bittersweet moments I have always cherished, and why going to the cabin as a whole family this time of year gets me so excited. There are so many of us, and we are all so busy that when we all get to gather for an entire weekend, it’s pretty special.
These are the things during fall that make the season so special. What do you have to look forward to this fall season?
Steak Bites & Gnocchi
Ingredients:
• 1 pound beef sirloin steak or beef tenderloin
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pounds dried packaged gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions:
Dice steak into bite-sized pieces. Trim off any excess fat or sinew. Place steak bites into a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag or a shallow bowl for marinating.
Add in lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat, cover or seal, and refrigerate. Let marinate 1 to 8 hours.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook gnocchi in the boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, use tongs to add half of the steak to the skillet, leaving the marinating liquid behind. Some liquid is okay, but you don’t want to steam your steak. Cook, stirring occasionally, until steak bites are seared and browned. Remove from skillet, set aside, and cook the remaining half of the steak being sure not to crowd the meat. Return previously cooked steak to the skillet.
Add butter and crushed garlic to the skillet with the steak. Let garlic toast 1 minute. Add in gnocchi and saute 3 to 5 minutes until gnocchi is lightly browned.
Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling (optional).
