Question — what do you call sloppy joes? You know, the sandwiches made with ground meat, onions, ketchup, etc.?

My family calls it “hamburg barbecue.”

Neal thinks we crazy. He always says “What the hell is hamburg?”

Neal and I grew up a little over an hour apart. But sometimes, it seems like we grew up on opposite ends of the country, I swear. The regional differences are pretty funny. I’m opening Neal’s eyes to the PA Dutch world, and I don’t think he’s excited about it. He shudders at the mere mention of mince meat pie.

But anyway, Tad and Amanda invited Neal and I and Mom and Dad over to their house for dinner last night (I’m pretending that the “big game” didn’t happen. I’m not a fan of the team that scored the most points).

Tad made killer hamburg barbecue and we were treated to fresh french fries.

I made dessert, Smitten Kitchen’s cinnamon chocolate chip coffee cake.

It was really moist and not too sweet. I loved it. The recipe calls for whipping egg whites until stiff. I was actually excited to do this by hand, since I have not done it before. My wrist got really tired from wielding the whisk. I already have a sore wrist and wear a wrist brace at night to prevent carpal tunnel (actually, so does Neal and I know you are getting hot just thinking about how sexy we are; try to calm yourself). But anyway, I managed to whip those egg whites into shape. Literally!

I’ll definitely make this cake again. I would be perfect for a party, and was pretty easy to put together.