Hershey Bears Wives & Girlfriends Cooking Up Success
When I heard that the Bears Wives & Girlfriends were putting together a cookbook to raise funds for the Penn State Children’s Hospital, it seemed worth a look. As a group, the HW&G tend to be well-organized and well-connected. Their charity efforts are always in high demand when they set up shop in section 119 at Giant Center – Valentine’s weekend, their “Grab a Puck” bags sold out in 13 minutes.
The books went on sale last Saturday, and the concept was intriguing enough that I stopped by to pick one up before the game. Recipes from Bears and former-Bears (going back up to 20 years), with a whole slew of different ethnic backgrounds? There was bound to be something interesting inside.
It was a few days before I had a chance to crack it open, but color me pleasantly surprised. The W&G have again done a fantastic job with a project, 140 pages filled with both recipes and common sense cooking notes. While all recipes came from the players, Cristina Mink (the organizational force behind the cookbook, though perhaps best known for her jewelry work via BellaMink) acknowledged that many came from hockey moms as much as the hockey players themselves. Unsurprisingly, the dessert section has more entries than any other.
The cookbooks will be on sale this coming weekend as the Bears play their final home games of the regular season. They’re $20, and proceeds will be going to the Penn State Children’s Hospital. A total of 800 were printed (200 for this past weekend, another 600 available as of April 7). If you have a chance, stop by the table in section 119 and take a look. There’s some fun content, the money goes to a great cause, and a lot of work went into pulling the books together.
Contributors Include (but are not limited to)…
Current Bears:
Keith Aucoin (honorary, since he’s in Washington until the Caps finish their season) – Chicken Pot Pie
Chris Bourque (AHL Scoring Leader, by 17 points) – Rigatoni “Nonna”, Shrimp Scampi, Cheesy Mac & Cheese, American Chop Suey (clearly, he likes his pasta)
Andrew Carroll – Pepperoni Garlic Knots
Cody Eakin (on recall to Washington) – Pierogi Bacon Casserole
Kyle Greentree – Death By Garlic; Polish Casserole
Tomas Kundratek – Traditional Czech Garlic Soup; Skillet BBQ Chicken Pasta; Czech Crepes Filled w/ Berries & Cream (I’ll be honest, all of his contributions looked good)
Patrick McNeill – PMac had an entry in just about every category – Johnny McNeill’s Pork Chili, .
Graham Mink – Peanut Butter Blossoms, Ricotta Cookies
Matt Pope (also listed on the South Carolina Stingrays‘ Playoff Roster) – Baked S’mores, Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips, Ham & Cheese Sliders
Ryan Potulny (AHL Player of the Week)- Turkey Chili
Joel Rechlicz (Hershey Bears AHL Man of the Year, also leading the league in PIM with 237) – Kung “Pow” Chicken
Patrick Wellar – Porcupines (modified meatball & rice dish)
Former Bears:
Karl Alzner – Maple Mustard Glazed Chicken, Fudge Walnut Brownies (sadly, no cupcake recipes)
Jay Beagle – Sweet Potato Burritos
John Carlson – Crab Cakes & Baby Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette
Frederic Cassivi (2006 Calder Cup winning Goalie, who filled in Tuesday morning for Matt Tendler) – Beef, Macaroni & Tomatoes
Eric Fehr – BBQ Chicken (Texas Style)
Alexandre Giroux – Stuffed Salmon
Andrew Gordon – Moroccan Stewed Chicken
Dave Steckel – Cheesy Potatoes
Brian Willsie – “Baby Shower Punch;” Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, & Smoked Mozzarella; Banana, Nutella Crepes
Coaches, Trainers, et al:
Mark French (Head Coach): Quick & Easy (Mark) French Toast Casserole, Butter Tarts
Justin Kullman (Equipment Manager) – Poppy Seed Chicken
Troy Mann (Assistant Coach) – Troy Mannicotti (the coach name puns, they are bad), Chinese Spare Rib Sauce
Dan “Beaker” Stuck (Head Trainer) – Chicken Diva, Pear Salad, among other things – he also contributed to just about every section of the book.