On Opening Day, April 4th 1994, Orioles fans had high hopes and looming apprehensions. Optimists were focusing on the belief that the Orioles were “finally ready to win,” but the season ended prematurely with the unforgettable strike.
In the days running up to Opening Day, the Sun ran its usual stories about food and beer.
Smoked Salmon Lasagna was on the menu in the club boxes. Down below, 40,000 lbs of hot dogs were ordered for opening week. It was announced that the stadium had added coffee kiosks for the specialty coffee drinks that “are so popular these [those?] days.”
The Sun caused a minor scare by reporting that National Bohemian would not be served, which is weird because the exact same mistaken freakout happened this year (2016).
Oriole Park has never been the most innovative food-wise, so there’s not too much humor and nostalgia in the stadium food news of the past.
A better look at the times is the 1994 edition of “Gourmet Bird Feed,” a cookbook occasionally published by the “Orioles Wives” to benefit Johns Hopkins Children’s center.
The book lists the favorite meals and Baltimore restaurants of all of the players, and provides players’ favorite recipes. Brady Anderson’s is the most 90s to me with “Smoked Salmon and Avocado Salad”, because I think the early 1990s were just a real Southern California time to be alive.
Cal’s answers are more sparse than the other players, although his mom Vi shared Cal stories and recipes for Gingersnaps and Turkey Pot Pie.
I ultimately decided on making both of the recipes shared by outfielder Mike Devereaux. One was his mother’s recipe for “Cheese Macaroni Medley,” an appetizing casserole of ground beef, vegetables and macaroni.
The other was dog biscuits for his Chocolate Lab, Hershel.
The latter recipe was far more fussy and fancy, but luckily for me the MOM’s in the Rotunda is FINALLY open. They had almost everything I needed except for “cracked wheat.” I opted for a different Bob’s Red Mill hot cereal that had oatmeal and other things, all of which I researched for dog safety. Definitely not for the grain-free dog diet but all full of fiber. If you are a dog owner, you probably know whether or not your dog needs more fiber.
“Gourmet Bird Feed” doesn’t appear to be the most thoroughly-proofread cookbook, and the casserole recipe confusingly listed green onions as an ingredient but called them green peppers in the recipe instructions. I’m sure either would do just fine. If I made this again, I would use two cups of macaroni instead of one. For the sake of full disclosure, I added some dried chipotle powder at the sauce stage. No regrets. Delicious meal.
Although I remember Devereaux well, his decade-long major league career offered only brief glory, much of it during his time with the Orioles. By the time the strike began, it was already in question whether he would ever play for the Orioles again.
He did so in 1996, but it was only for a year within a series of one-year contracts with various teams before his final season in 1998. He went on to field coach for the Delmarva Shorebirds and the Frederick Keys.
According to Wikipedia, “he is the second all-time career leader for
home runs by a player born in Wyoming.” I love unnecessary baseball facts like that.
In
a 2009 article in the Baltimore Sun he diplomatically said “The people
[of Baltimore] were the greatest. They cheered me in the good times and
booed me when they had to. Every time I come back there, the fans recall
things that I don’t even remember.”
Recipes:
Cheese Macaroni Medley
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup green onion (or green pepper), chopped
- 1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
- 2 tb butter
- 2 tb flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups shredded cheddar, divided
- 14oz can of sliced baby tomatoes, drained (I could only find diced)
Cook
macaroni in boiling salted water until almost tender. Drain well. In a
skillet, cook beef with salt and pepper until about 2/3 browned then add
onion, [green thing] and mushrooms. Stir and continue cooking until all
beef is browned. Drain excess fat, set aside.
In a saucepan, melt
butter and stir in flour and ½ tsp salt. Add milk gradually, cooking
until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 2.5 cups of the cheese.
Combine with meat mixture and then gently fold in macaroni. Pour into
11×7 casserole dish and top with tomatoes and remaining cheese. Bake at
350°
until cheese is melted.
Hershel’s Dog Biscuits
- 2/4 cup flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ½ cup nonfat dry milk
- 4 tsp salt
- 1 dry yeast package
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups cracked wheat
- 1 egg and 1 tb of milk beaten together, for brushing tops
Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup of warm water. Add stock and set aside.
Combine
all dry ingredients, then mix in the stock/yeast. Roll out on a floured
surface & cut with a cookie cutter. Place on un-greased cookie
sheets, brush each with beaten egg mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 300°.
“Leave in oven overnight to get bone hard.”
Recipes adapted from “Gourmet Bird Feed” produced by the Orioles Wives
Maple looks concerned because the cat is out of frame to the left.