Kitchen Excitement

Across the Parade Ground stands the Commandant's House, one of four original fort buildings. The costumed guide portraying Colonel Snelling sits with his freshly made tea, tells us about rooms upstairs and down, and remarks that the kitchen below us has his lunch already in progress. Without hesitation we're there.

We use outdoor stairs to find the kitchen in a walkout cellar. A costumed cook, a fire burning in the fireplace, a crane holding iron pots, the aroma of beef stew, everything in place. The cook opens the stew pot to add carrots and shows the rosemary sprigs flavoring the dish. Girls stretch forward and fan the scent toward their faces.

Then the cook shows us the puff dough and circles she cut to create sweet pastries for dessert. Girls beg me to replicate this treat at home and accept my suggestions for shortening the procedure.

Upon leaving, we check out the half-moon battery positioned at the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.