Southern Indiana Cooks: We need your Holiday Recipes!

Our Food Editor, D. Craig is looking for the BEST Holiday Recipes! So we are having a recipe contest!

Do you have a holiday recipe that you want to share…with the world? Send it to ericblackwell (at) insightbb.com and our food editor will give it a try! We look forward to many great eats this time of year and you can look forward to fame and fortune and credit on Southern Indiana Times in exchange for speading the cheer this season. (Well at least the credit part anyway!)

So what are the rules?

Simple.

Recipes must be original.
Send them via email, but include your contact information.
Please indicate in your email that we have permission to use your recipe on our site and that it is original.

If we choose to post yours online, we will put your name (in Santa Claus red!) on our site.

So get those

Sarah visits Southern Indiana!

The “Straight Talk Express” paid a visit to Jeffersonville October 29, with Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for VP of the United States. She spoke to a raucous crowd estimated at 20,000, along with statewide candidates, congressional candidate Mike Sodrel, and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.

photo credit: Jen

Hoosiers attending the event were also entertained by country music legend Hank Wlliams Jr.

The evening started with an brief address by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to the largely partisan crowd. Statewide candidates addressed the people, including Greater Clark County School Board Administrator Tony Bennet, who is running for State Schools superintendant for Indiana.

Local businessman and congressional candidate Mike Sodrel spoke about Freedom, liberty, and added a comment or two aimed at recent ads by his opponent and the Democratic National Campaign Committee. ” People have been trying to label me Millionaire Mike”, said Sodrel. “somethings wrong here. We take people who win the lottery and that’s great, a sports figure who gets a large contract. great….and maybe you go on “Who want’s to be a millionaire and answer all, the questions right, it’s a good thing…but if a guy works 60-80 hours a week for 30 years of his life…it becomes a political liability?”

Hank Williams Jr. entertained the crowd with renditions of his classic songs, and then Sarah Palin came in. The place went…well…nuts. Wildly popular among conservatives, she spoke on energy and economic policy and the differences between the tickets.

One of the more touching parts of the event was 20,000 people singing the national anthem, led by Hank Williams Jr.

This is the second VP candidate to visit Jeffersonville. The first was Democartic candidate Joe Biden last month who attracted about 2,000 people to Werder Park for a rally.

D. Craig takes the J Train for NY style pizza pub in Jeff

Since this is my first post as food editor I probably should explain what I do. I will visit local restaurants and order what I think will be the most difficult item for the chef to prepare. (Notice that I did not say the Featured item or the one that I may want at the time.) My goal is to see how the restaurant or local eatery does on the tougher stuff on their menu.

Today, Jeffersonville’s J Train was on MY menu. Down at the corner of Spring and Market is where this little restaurant / pub is located (think where Appleby’s used to be). J Train had it’s grand opening (according to the staff) about 5 months ago. What a great little location in the heart of Jeffersonville’s downtown district.

The menu is New York style pizza, calzones, salads and other such fare.

OK, so to the food we go… After looking over the menu, I selected the bacon, ranch, chicken, and mozzarella calzone. And since they offered the option, I asked that it be deep fried. (I know you might think deep fried is EASY, but deep fried ranch dressing can go wrong REALLY quickly )

I enjoyed the Saturday afternoon sunshine in what was a surprisingly busy place while my lunch / dinner was prepared. The setting was very much like I imagine about a million NY pizzeria’s to be. It did take a while to get served, but the food arrived in time and I dug in to the generous portions. Not bad at all given the $9.95 price tag.

The difficult part of deep frying a calzone is getting the interior cooked properly without turning the crust into carbon fiber. This calzone passed the carbon fiber test with flying colors. Probably a little bit more bacon in the calzone than I expected and a little bit less chicken. That having been said, I cannot fault them for that. Not many diners will complain about too much bacon! (And this is, after all, a people pleasing business…)

The service was terrific and the lady who served my food served up just enough conversation to make it a comfortable meal. While I don’t drink, it certainly appeared to me that the afternoon folks in the bar area were comfortably nibbling on food and enjoying the beverages.

So how many “SMILEYS” does the J Train in Jeffersonville get??? 3.5 (out of 4) !

Next time you are in downtown Jeff, give the J Train a try!

Saving Abandoned Pets in Southern Indiana - Pet of the Week

Go to almost any area of the country and you are going to find a “pound” or an “animal shelter”. While it is often unpleasant to think about the mission of such places, the fact of the matter is that they are overwhelmed with dogs and cats that will likely be euthanized.

One of the organizations that assists Southern Indiana animal shelters in aggressively finding homes for stray dogs and cats is Southern Indiana Save a Pet . They provide a website with pictures of dogs and cats available for adoption. Pay them a visit!

As the editor of Southern Indiana Times, I get to experience a lot of life here in our fair part of the state. My dog “Boston” is a golden retreiver / chow mix that was rescued from just one of these shelters. Is he “spunky”? Yes. Is he a shedding MACHINE? Of course. He is also a faithful companion and a fun member of our family.

When my daughter called me at work, saying “Please, dad! Can we keep him?” It was a tough decision. I was busy. I was not sure about it, but it has been a great thing for the family. I cannot imagine life without Boston greeting me when I walk in the door at night. It is hard to fathom that Boston was only a couple of days away from not being here.

So if you are thinking about getting a pet, drop by the Southern Indiana Times. We will post a new pet each week. If you are interested, PLEASE contact Southern Indiana Save a Pet or the specific animal shelter.

The fun starts October 16th with our first Pet of the Week!

What the financial crisis means to Southern Indiana small business

Yes, we know that financial crisis came to us courtesy of Congress encouraging people (FannieMae and FreddieMac — government sponsored enterprises) to finance people’s mortgages who were unable to pay them back. Then these same folks bundled those stinky loans and pawned them off on Wall Steet firms and financial institutions that were chasing profits (right into a mountain).

But what does that mean to MAIN STREET? (Or Court Street? or maybe Spring Street?) What does an environment where banks are unwilling or unable to lend do to impact Southern Indiana’s small businesses?

Rather than anwer that, we’d like to interview local small businesses on how it will and does impact them. Are you one of these businesses? Southern Indiana Times wants to talk to you! We will be happy to give you exposure for your business in exchange for a first hand account of how your business / hiring plans have changed as a result of this economy. Just leave us a comment to this post and we will be in touch!

Are you a HOOSIER? Take the Quiz

Southern Indiana Times has posted a quiz to find out if you are a REAL Hoosier or just a wannabee! It will be on our site soon! So take the quiz! It is only 10 questions! 9 out of 10 Correct and you get to post a Southern Indiana Times says: “I’m a Hoosier!” on your blog or site! Click the graphic above to start!

We will be looking for bloggers with the badge on their site and will send out prizes!

Southern Indiana Politics: Sodrel / Hill - A tale of two cities?

Aside from obvious Liberal vs Conservative differences between Congressional candidates Mike Sodrel and Baron Hill, there are some glaring geographic differences as well. And they could make the difference in the election.

Hill’s obvious base is in Bloomington and the surrounding area. Sodrel’s strength is in Jeffersonville, New Albany and in the Louisville metroplex. In fact Hill has made VERY little effort to campaign in this area. He is essentially relying on people voting “straight ticket” to carry him to victory by getting “just enough” from Sodrel here.

Do you think LOCAL matters? So what do you think? We want to hear from you! Below is a poll…let your voice be heard!

D. Craig joins Southern Indiana Times as Food Editor

Southern Indiana Times is thrilled to announce that Local “Foodie” and restaurant enthusiast D. Craig has joined Southern Indiana Times as our Food Editor. While he is not who you’d expect when you meet him in person, he is knowledgeable in what works and what does not in the restaurant business.

He also will be providing articles on food producers and agricultural related businesses in Southern Indiana. If you want D. Craig to visit and do a review on your restaurant, simply let us know! We will be happy to make it happen!

UofL Football- Well, at least there’s basketball season ;-)

JUST MY OPINION ON SPORTS.

Let’s face it. We have been spoiled. We have gotten used to high flying offense and nationally ranked teams. Shoot, for that matter, we have gotten used to many other things that we (as fans) are now going to have to “dial back” as we look towards the future of UofL athletics…

A few years ago (or was it only two?), I used to kid my friends who were UK fans about the future for them…”Well, at least there’s basketball season.” I’d grin, never realizing how it felt to be on the receiving end of  that  comment. Now I get my turn.

Midnight madness…Rick Pitino….prospects of actually winning…all of that.

It cannot get here soon enough.