About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2022)
Wednesday, September 21,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B Dust off your slow cooker to welcome fall Now that fall is here, the days and nights will hopefully be cooler—or at least not so unbearably hot. In the kitchen, that usually means it is the perfect time to dust off your slow cooker and get used to using it on a weekly basis. Slow cookers are great for so many reasons. Sure, you might have to wake up a few minutes earlier in order to get ingredients prepped and everything into the cook er, but oh how great the rewards are. There is something so amazing about getting dinner on in the morning and then going about your day, all the while knowing dinner will be ready when you need it. It is also nice to not have to dirty a bunch of pots! So many slow cooker recipes are truly one pot wonders. Add some already cleaned salad, and dinner is served! Here in the south, we all love good barbecue. When it comes to making it at home, however, barbecue is an all day business. Guess what? You can now make pulled pork sandwiches on a weeknight—just use your slow cooker. You don’t have to use liquid smoke, but it really makes the sauce so smoky tasting, I highly recommend it. You can find it at any grocery store in the condiment section. Slow Cooker Pulled Pork • 1 onion, finely chopped • % cup ketchup • 3 tablespoons tomato paste • 14 cup apple cider vinegar • 1 teaspoon paprika • 1 teaspoon dry mustard • 1 teaspoon cumin • 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional, but recommended) • 1 (3-pound) pork shoulder (pork butt) • 1 Vi teaspoons salt • Vi teaspoon pepper • Hamburger buns • Pickles • Coleslaw In a slow cooker, combine onion, ketchup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, paprika, dry mustard, cumin and liquid smoke. Season pork all over with salt and pepper. Place pork in slow cooker, and turn the meat to coat all over. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Remove meat to a cutting board and using two forks, shred the meat. Add the meat back to the slow cooker, tossing with the juic es. Serve the meat on warm buns with pickles and coleslaw. If you like Chinese take-out food, get ready to absolutely love this reci pe—it is delicious over rice. I have seen cooked, frozen rice, but I have never had it so I am not sure how it is. I love to use my rice cooker—it makes perfectly cooked rice every single time. Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli • 1 Vi pounds sirloin steak, thinly sliced • 1 cup beef broth • Vi cup soy sauce • Vi cup brown sugar • 3 tablespoons sesame oil • 1 tablespoon sriracha • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 3 green onions, minced • 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water • 3 cups broccoli florets • Garnish: • Sesame seeds • Green onions, sliced • Cooked rice In slow cooker, combine steak, beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, sriracha, garlic and green onions, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Combine corn starch and water. Add to slow cooker along with the broccoli. Cover and cook another 20 minutes until broccoli is tender. Serve over rice garnished with sesame seeds and green onions. Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sub Sandwiches • 1 (3-4) pound beef top round roast • 1 teaspoon salt • Vi teaspoon pepper • 4 teaspoon olive oil • 'A cup water • 2 cups beef broth • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning • Vi teaspoon garlic powder • Vi teaspoon onion powder • 1 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced • 14 cup brine from pepperoncini peppers • 8 sub or hoagie roll • Softened butter for the sub rolls • 16 slices provolone Sprinkle the roast with salt and pep per. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Sear roast on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes total. Remove to slow cooker. Add water, beef broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, pepperoncini peppers, and brine. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, or on high 4-5 hours. Remove meat to a cutting board. Let rest a few minutes and then slice across the grain as thinly as possible. Spread sub rolls with softened butter. Place on baking sheet and top each roll with 2 slices cheese. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 5 minutes, until buns are browning and cheese is melt ed. Top with sliced meat and some of the cooking liquid. Serve the sand wiches with a little bowl of the sauce for dipping. K \ ADLEN ROBINSON Columnist Layne Bailey started the game at pitcher against West Hall, throwing five strike outs. Rio White Dawson County News FROM 1B Softball contact that led to some scoring chances. Despite out-hitting West Hall nine hits to five, the Lady Tigers could not get a run across until the fifth inning. Meanwhile, the hosts opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in the first inning before a close-call two-out infield single in the third inning gave way to another RBI hit. Even with the score relatively close, the early missed chances put the team in a tougher spot than it could have been. “We just didn’t do a good job in those situations of hitting the ball where we could score a run,” Rickett said. “We’ll work on that next week and try to get better.” Later on, Kurtz showed her speed to put Dawson on the board at long last — hitting a line drive that was fumbled by the West Hall left field er and allowed Kurtz to come all the way around the bases to score. A third run from the hosts came in the bottom half of the fifth through a throwing error by the Lady Tigers after fielding a bunt. Soon enough, Dawson had more players on base in the sixth inning. Starting pitcher Layne Bailey helped her own cause with a single before Reese Moore hit a double that was fielded just in time to pre vent Bailey from trying to score. But the momentum quickly ended after a sharp line drive by Micah Burruss whizzed right into the glove of the third baseman. Two strikeouts after that would end the inning’s efforts. One final chance to rally present ed itself after a seventh-inning solo home run by Dotson cut the deficit in half. Dotson — who had three hits on the day and now leads the team with a .364 batting average — watched her arcing missile clang off the scoreboard before she ran into the arms of her teammates at home plate. Though the Lady Tigers managed one more hit after that home run, the offense could not complete the comeback. Dawson will pick back up next week with a trio of games, visiting Pickens on Tuesday, Sept. 20, before hosting Mill Creek on Wednesday and Rabun County on Thursday. The life-enhancing power of friendships It happened the other day. I was reminded of the richness of my life because of the treasure trove of long, lasting friendships. Kim called to tell me about running into a mutual friend. Bridget called to ask for a small piece of advice. Karen called to ask for prayer for her mother who had fallen and was hospitalized. Myra called to ask a detail about our second London trip together. The other was after the first Christmas that she was widowed. These are all friends who knew me when I had freckles and long, wavy hair. They filled the pews when Daddy and Mama died. And, many, many times over the years that are scattered to the dust behind me, they have called out my name in prayer. I have done likewise for them. It’s unusual to talk to all of them in a day’s time or even in the same week. But when we talk, the time disap pears. “You know, Ronda, here’s what’s so great about our friendship,” Karen will often say. “We can go a month without talking and then we just pick up where we left off.” Karen and I went to school together. Then, after college, we were roommates sharing a two-story duplex that was old and had a porch that squeaked noisily. To her grave, she will carry my secrets. I can count on that. Back in those days, we were snoopy, young girls watching the neighbors who lived in the sweet cottages on that tree-lined street. We were always peeping out the front window and report ing on what we saw. There was a character on a television show, Bewitched, that we grew up with. Mrs. Kravitz was always snooping on her neigh bors, trying to figure out how Samantha, a lovable witch, was always making things happen magical ly- In those early days of our young adulthood, we giggled and called ourselves “Mrs. Kravitz.” To this day, when one of us has a piece of gos sip, we will either text or call and begin with, “Mrs. Kravitz here.” Then we giggle like the joy ful hearted girls we were back then. When I was 14, Myra sold me the first lipstick I bought with my babysitting money. She worked at a department store and, during college, I spent Christmas working with her behind the cosmetics counter. We stood in high heels — and always dresses or skirts — for seven or eight hours, our legs aching by the end of our shifts. Bridget worked with us, too. She was the Estee Lauder lady and everyone knew that Estee Lauder always hired the prettiest, most glamorous women. Oh, my. It’s hard to describe how pretty she was or how perfectly dressed in her size three clothes. I don’t even think they make size three clothes any more. Kim came into my life as a gift of the utmost inspiration. In a cafe in Paris, years ago, she told me how the recession had wiped away everything she had made — investments, rental properties, a beloved mountain home, and even a plane. She was so honest. So transparent. She hid nothing. “It’s all gone. Everything.” Then, calmly but confidently, she said, “But that’s okay. With the Lord’s help, I’ll make it all back.” And she has. Plus plenty more. It’s a bit like the Biblical story of Job — wiped out but the Lord returned it all plus heaping measures of more. She is a real estate agent. “Every morning, I get up and tell myself that I am working for God and I have to give the best I have.” Someone told me years ago that you can judge a person’s character by the length of their friend ships. “A person who is not a good, honorable friend doesn’t keep friends. I always ask people, ‘How long have you been friends with your longest friend?”’ That’s a lot of truth to that wisdom. And a lot of blessings, too. Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should). Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter FROM 1B Gilmer runners finishing in the top 10. Junior Tyler Tangel led the way by finishing third overall while Luke Lowe finished fifth. Bailey Swafford, Emory Lail, Cael Hand and Aaric Muilenberg rounded out the top 10 finishers to give Dawson a close victory over Lumpkin County. “The boys push and encourage each other. They compete with each other daily but are such a close group,” Tinsley said. “They know that each week and each race they have to show up against other teams as well as against their teammates.” The overall performance is a posi tive sign for Tinsley as the season heads into its final four races before the region championship. The Tigers later traveled to Cherokee High School to run in the Warpath Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17. “This is a special group of athletes that are a lot of fun to coach,” Tinsley said. “I can’t say enough about the work they put in each and every day.” FROM 1B Elliott As for Elliott, these issues com bined with some quick maneuvers moved him from a difficult passing position early in the race to fourth position by the end of Stage Two. But plenty of patience was needed, as he spent around 150 of the first 500 laps outside the top 20. The next hundred laps would prove to be crucial, with Elliott gradually moving up and then using a strong restart late in Stage Two to help secure track position. While his position was temporarily affected after getting caught up in the largest crash of the night, he was quickly back into the top 10. Late in the race, leader Brad Keselowski became another flat tire victim and gave Elliott a chance to move up. While that incident did not cause a caution flag, a later yellow flag with around 60 laps to go gave him one final push to contend for the lead. The remainder of the race would see Elliott battle Buescher for lead, coming as close as three-tenths of a second behind before settling for a second-place finish. The four eliminated drivers were Kevin Harvick, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch. Before the playoff standings offi cially reset for the Round of 12, Elliott’s finish put him in fourth place. Now, the regular-season cham pion will be back in front of the field with the points reset at 3000 heading into the next round. Elliott spoke after the race about the many mechanical issues wit nessed at Bristol, which also included another blown engine for Busch and power steering issues for pole winner Aric Almirola, Martin Truex Jr and Chase Briscoe. “It was exactly what we thought it might be,” Elliott said. “Power steer ing problems have been a topic of conversation and there were some tire issues as well. We just tried to make it through and we ended up having a shot to win the race.” Elliott and the No. 9 team will now head to Texas Motor Speedway to open the Round of 12 at the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Sunday, Sept. 25. FROM 1B Grace close friend of Sheer’s, the race turnout and the scholarship achieve ment serve as evidence of the community’s sup port. “Seeing everybody who still comes out really goes to show how much of a legacy she has,” Bagley said. “Ask anybody who’s from here that knew her, they’ll tell you. They love her.” As for the scholarship itself, there is more than one layer when it comes to what attributes are sought for a prospective recipient. While the qualifica tions include being a female student-athlete planning on going to college with some amount of community service experience, there are also character traits that are important to consider. “Somebody kind [and] always going out of their way to do some thing good for another person,” Bagley said. “That’s what Grace always did.” The most recent recipient was Emma Pelfrey, a former Dawson County volley ball player currently attending Reinhardt University. Now that the endow ment goal is nearing, Bagley is joyous that her close friend’s legacy will be passed down to Dawson County High School students for many years to come. “It means that her memory — the memory of my friend — is going to live on,” Bagley. “Something good is coming from it. She would love that.”
