Bison Celebration Day with Asleep at the Wheel

Hotel Matador Bed and Breakfast Saturday, September 15, 2012 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The public is invited to see and photograph the magnificent, free-roaming bison in their natural environment and enjoy activities like living history encampments, geocache challenges, a BBQ benefit dinner (11:00-2:00), area vendor booths, and more. $4.00 per person park entrance fees apply to adults ages 13 and older; children ages 12 and younger are free for Saturday's event. Visitors may also donate directly to the Texas State Bison Herd Restoration Project or purchase merchandise that supports the project. Sunday, September 16, 2012 Vendor area 8:00-5:00 Concert 2:00 p.m. Asleep at The Wheel Nine-time Grammy award-winning Asleep at the Wheel will be performing Sunday afternoon to benefit the Texas State Bison Herd Restoration Project. The concert will be held just south of the park entrance, approximately 3 miles north of Quitaque on 'FM 1065. Beverage and food vendors will be at the venue. Tickets on sale starting August 1 for $20 in advance and $25 at the door. We are less than an hour from the venue and would love to serve as your hostesses. Hotel Matador Bed and Breakfast Marilynn Hicks, Linda Roy, Caron Perkins Innkeepers

Check us out in September issue of Texas Highways

When the reporter from Texas Highways magazine was in town a couple of months ago, we gladly shared our vision for Motley County as a destination and are proud that he agreed.  There is a multiple page article in the September issue about sites such as Bob's Oil Well, the Museum, and the building murals.

We are especially grateful for the coverage for the Hotel Matador. Pick up your copy and look what you can find in the "new hill country of Texas."

I forgot to tell you that Tumbleweed Smith also had some interviews on his radio broadcast, "Sounds of Texas," with several people from the county.  He talked with Marisue Potts, Randy Hicks, and of course, the people at the Hotel Matador.  If you go to his website, you can listen to the interviews.

mrh

Sugar/Butter Pie

When we were growing up, many of our weekends were spent in Matador, Texas, where one set of our grandparents lived for their whole lives, and our other grandmother spent many years.   Nannie and Daddy John (aka Olive and John Russell) lived in a small, shotgun home with a single bedroom and an enclosed sleeping porch for the children.  The cabinets in the kitchen had been specially built for Nannie who stood on tiptoes at about 5'2", so even as teenagers we had to stoop a little when working alongside her in the one small wall of cabinets and about 24" of counter space on either side of a sink.  Nannie never loved to cook, she preferred to be outdoors in her yard or garden, but that didn't keep her from turning out some wonderful culinary creations.  

She made ice cream from a cooked custard and froze it in her ice trays, taking them out to stir several times so that ice crystals wouldn't form.  It was a wonderful treat after a hot morning working cattle.  I intend to share this and several of her other creations in the days to come, but the most outstanding treat to me was the sugar/butter pie.   It was actually the left-over pastry crust from cobbler.  I don't ever remember her making pies, but she turned out cobblers that were sweet and had the most luscious crust. 

I think she probably made extra crust to line the pie pan and slather with butter and sugar and cinnamon and then pop in the oven.  As you walked in the back door and passed Daddy John in his rocking chair in the kitchen, in front of you was the range and sitting there would be a cobbler and a sugar/butter pie to be enjoyed on the spot.  We would just break off pieces and scatter crumbs all over the kitchen.  I can't even remember getting fussed at for making a mess.  Our love of this confection would always bring a shy smile to the face of our grandmother. 

As adults we have talked about the freedom we had to explore at their house and the extra things they would do to create new experiences.  There are books of stories from that little house.

Recipe of the day:

Sugar/Butter Pie

1. Pastry for a 9 inch pie pan.                                                                                                         Use scraps mashed together and folded over at the edges to complete the crust.
2. Melt enough butter to thoroughly coat the sides and bottom of the crust
3. Sprinkle liberally on all surfaces with sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Bake in a 375 degree oven until barely brown.
5. Enjoy and Share.....

Family Gathering at Hotel Matador and Beyond

Cox/Russell Reunion 2012 

Swimming in Perkins pool



Each one teach one....

Every family needs a water feature

Time for movies



Cousins...Generation 1 with Mom

Cousins...Generation 2

Cousins.....Generation 3

The Hotel was shut down to the public June 22-24th so we could visit with family....and what a family gathering we had.  Our first intention when we purchased the hotel was that it would be a place for familyto stay during holidays, and it was finally used for that purpose. Everyone was relaxed, and the cousins from the Russell side all stayed at the Hotel so the talking went on late into the night.  It reminded me of the days when they all were relegated to Mom's basement at Christmas.  Another time we will talk about the wild stories that came from that basement.

We missed Jeremy and his family as well as Luke, but trust they can join us next year.   Maurice's children were not able to come in from Missouri and Huntsville, but they sent emails and good wishes.  Perhaps next year they can be here as well. 

We had some sad moments as we reflected on our loss of Don, but his spirit was there amongst us.

The food was outstanding.  I am going to share several of the recipes in the next weeks, and some of them will probably make it into our next cookbook.(Do you have one of current cookbooks, Conversations from the Kitchen?)

This time, however, I am going to award the Outstanding Culinary Award to Ron Cox for his beans and brilliant wit when sharing a recipe.   You have got to try these.


Smoker Beans


1 1/2 lb peppered bacon
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 white onion
6 cans Bush's original baked beans
1/2 C Adams brisket rub
6 bottles or cans of Shiner Bock

Dice bacon and onion ( I prefer larger pieces of onion)
(Add one beer to the cook.)
In a large cast-iron dutch oven brown hamburger and bacon.
Add onion and cook until it starts to become translucent.
(Add one beer to the cook.)
Pour off most of the grease.
Add beans and 2 T of seasoning.
Place uncovered in smoker at low heat (between 150 and 225) for up to six hours. Stir and taste regularly to make sure smoke flavor does not become too intense
(Add 3 beers to the cook during this time.)
Toward the end of cooking (30min to 1hr form end) add more seasoning to taste.
Cover and keep warm in smoker until time to serve.
(Add remainder of the beer to the cook.)

If using mesquite a long smoke time can make things bitter therefore as little as two hours may suffice.
For oak, plan on smoking longer. Some say that mesquite is too harsh too smoke with. I say they need to learn how to cook.

I found beer makes you a much better cook. Either the cook drinks enough they do not care no one likes the food, or better yet the guests drink so much they will eat anything. The later can be more expensive but you will waste less food.

Non-paying guest

We had an interesting guest on Saturday night.  I was checking in a late arrival and then heading back to the kitchen when I heard a scratching on some posterboards in the hallway.  My immediate reaction was, "Oh no, we have a mouse!" So I tapped on the boards with my foot and out hopped a frog.  You wouldn't think that a dribble of rain would bring out the amphibians, but evidently it did.  Anyway, he disappeared into the dining room, and I went to bed.  Grandkids had been here for several day,s and I was sure he had found an open door and an opportunity for a cool nap.

Next morning, Bill and Jo Mabe from San Angelo were having breakfast and out hopped Mr. Frog.  He escaped our mutual efforts at capture one more time.  However, due to the vigilance of Bill, when he poked his head out from behind the china cabinet, he was at last captured and set free in the courtyard.

We have often been amazed at the home towns and countries of our guests, but this one was truly unique.  The song to go with this story is "Froggy Went A' Courtin'".  There is a song for nearly every occasion it seems.  m

The city of Matador is turning 100 this weekend.  It has been a century since the town was incorporated and became official.  There will be a parade, activities and vendors, stage coach rides, motorcycle run and antique car show.   On Saturday night CPR (Country, Pop and Rock) band will play for street dancing.  Come join us for the fun.

Quanah Parker Decendants Gather for Arrow Dedication and Delta Sigma Pi Hosts Reunion

 Lou Diekemper, Anna Tahmahkera, and Ardith Parker-Leming

Patron of the jail project with ancestral ties to Motley County, Lou Diekemper and her daughter, Diane Burchard, drove down for the arrow sculpture dedication, making Matador as part of the Quanah Parker Trail. At breakfast they got to visit with the descendants of Quanah Parker: Ardith and Glen Leming, Anna Tahmahkera (granddaughter of Chief Quanah Parker), and Paul and Linda Davis. Lou and Anna decided they would like to be neighbors so they could share stories and each other’s company.


If you heard a rowdy crowd from the Hotel courtyard it was probably the reunion of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity from Texas Tech. They graduated from Tech in the early sixties. The meeting was hosted by Harry Hamilton with the help of Ed D. Smith and Tom Edwards. Here is a list of the ones who attended that I know about and where they are from: Joe Hargrove from Buffalo, Texas; Tim Stephens from Phoenix, Arizona; Fred and Marsha Pearce from Pecos, Texas; Allan Malone from Houston, Texas; Kirby Campbell from Wellington, Texas; Bruce Loughridge from Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sonny Choate from Granbury, Texas; Noble Hunsucker from Lubbock, Texas; Stan Treanor from Abilene, Texas; Robert Gardner from Vigo Park, Texas; Sandy Tolbert from Pelican Bay, Texas; Jerry Partis from Odessa, Texas; Tony Clayton from Coppell, Texas; Bob Fuller from Sneads Ferry, North Carolina; and Phil Worley from Burnet, Texas.

Melissa Meikis from Round Rock stopped Saturday night as a part of a motorcycle tour of Texas. On this jaunt, she is riding the Caprock escarpment of the Panhandle.

A nice surprise was a visit with Susan Hunter Smith, a former student from my teaching days at Motley County. She is an attorney in Austin and works with the Texas Education Agency. She and her husband, Steve, were in the area visiting with family and friends and garnering signatures so that he can be on the ballet in March. He is planning to run for the Texas Supreme Court after a career as an attorney working with the Texas legislature. Don’t you love it when you see people who are willing to step up and serve.

Others who came to relax in Matador last week were Dusty and Wanda Dupree of Lubbock, Betty Haisten, Tiffany Tobey of Lubbock, and Clay Wagner from Kendalis.