dsmWeekly - September 4, 2024

For the win: Casey Halder's barbecue chicken sliders are the perfect tailgating treat. (Photo: Duane Tinkey)

FOOD & DINING

This tailgating season, try a taste of victory
Writer: Hailey Evans

Forget “fall.” Casey Halder marks “tailgating” as a literal season on his calendar. And why not? The swirl of team colors and energy of stadium crowds signal autumn in Iowa as clearly as any changing leaves.

Through the sea of jerseys and the resounding chants, there’s another unmistakable hallmark of the season: the food.

When Halder, a chef at Casey’s corporate headquarters, thinks about tailgate food, two essentials come to mind: It should be easy to make ahead and portable. For a dsm issue last fall, he crafted three upscale dishes that are as convenient as they are delicious for your next game day gathering. So, gear up (grab your apron) and get cooking.

Pull-Apart Barbecue Chicken Sliders
These melty, savory sliders are tiny but mighty. You can easily fit one or two on your tailgate plate, but they’re so tasty you’ll probably come back for three or four. Halder picked up a rotisserie chicken from Gateway Market to keep assembly quick and easy.

Makes 24 sliders
Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 1 1/2 pounds of meat)
1 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
4 ounces low-moisture shredded mozzarella, divided in half
4 ounces smoked gouda, shredded and divided
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
Parchment paper
1 24-count package of King’s Hawaiian slider rolls, cut in half lengthwise
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tsp. black sesame seeds
1 tsp. white sesame seeds

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, lightly toss to combine shredded chicken, 1 cup barbeque sauce, and 2 ounces of each cheese. Set aside.

2. Mix butter, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

3. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place the bottom half of the sliders. Spread chicken mixture evenly over the bottom half. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, drizzle with remaining barbecue sauce, top with red onion and cilantro. (Pro tip: Halder suggests submerging the sliced onions in ice water for a few minutes beforehand to reduce their sharp bite.) Place the other slider half on top. Brush tops of buns with garlic butter mixture, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the tops of the buns are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with additional cilantro, if desired. Serve warm.

ONLINE: Check out Halder’s recipes for grilled panzanella skewers and goat cheese bacon-wrapped dates with hot honey.

Topgolf's new venue features 60 hitting bays for golfers of all levels. (Photo: Topgolf)

BEST BET

Tee time in West Des Moines

Golfers, the big day is almost here: Topgolf opens at 9 a.m. Friday at 7655 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines. The popular golf entertainment chain’s first location in Iowa will feature 60 outdoor climate-controlled hitting bays spanning two levels, plus a full kitchen and bar serving up favorites like injectable doughnut holes and cheesy macaroni bites.

If you’ve noticed an uptick in driving ranges popping up across Iowa — literally, the huge roadside nets rise up like mountains as you drive by — don’t worry: You’re not imagining it.

Iron Tee opened in Bettendorf at the end of 2023, PinSeekers in Tiffin in early 2024, and Bombers in Johnston is expected to open in summer 2025. Clearly, golf entertainment venues like these are having a moment in Iowa. Facilities that offer golf alongside restaurants and other amenities are driving this change.

“Golf entertainment venues have popped up and are popular because they give people another avenue to play,” Clint Brown, the Iowa Golf Association’s director of communications and marketing, said. “They’re a great introduction to the game for people just getting started.”

You’ll find more details about next-gen golf spots in Central and Eastern Iowa in next month’s edition of ia magazine.

The Week Ahead

“Beautiful Land” (4:30-7 p.m. Thursday): Ken Buhler and Kim Uchiyama, two New York-based artists with Iowa roots, celebrate our state’s land and wide-open sky with a new exhibition at Drake University’s Anderson Gallery. Uchiyama leads a tour at 4:30 p.m., followed by the reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The paintings remain through Oct. 20 before moving to a second iteration Nov. 1 through Dec. 20 at the Maharishi International University in Fairfield.

Ruth Harkin’s book release (5 p.m. Thursday): In her new memoir, “When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories,” Harkin recounts stories from her early life, her career as an attorney and her enduring partnership with her husband, Tom, the former senator. She and former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Marsha Ternus will offer brief remarks at the release party at the Harkin Center. The event is free, but registration is required.

Five Floors of Fashion (5-8 p.m. Friday): This month’s First Friday at Mainframe Studios showcases some sartorial splendor with more than 20 clothing designers, fiber artists, jewelry and makeup artists, plus a fashion show at 7 p.m.

Jodi Picoult (6:30 p.m. Friday): The best-selling author comes to town to discuss her latest novel, “By Any Other Name,” and various other topics in a Q&A with Iowa author Heather Gudenkauf at the Franklin Event Center. Tickets to the event, organized by Beaverdale Books, include a pre-signed copy of Picoult’s new book and a turn in a photo line with the author.

Kurt Elling and Joey Calderazzo (7:30 p.m. Friday): The Grammy-winning jazz singer (with a golden four-octave baritone) joins the prolific pianist to kick off the the Civic Music Association’s 99th (!) season. Tickets for the concert at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium are still up for grabs.

Gamer jazz (2 p.m. Saturday): The Des Moines Gamer Symphony Orchestra wraps up its outdoor summer series at the Jamie Hurd Amphitheater in West Des Moines. The free concert features a few big-band renditions from “Super Mario Brothers,” “Cuphead,” “Plants vs. Zombies” and other classic video-game scores.

Porchfest (11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday): During a single afternoon, two dozen musicians perform 45-minute sets on some of the Union Park neighborhood’ picturesque front porches for anyone within earshot. No tickets, no pyrotechnics, no hassle. Just come as you are, with a lawn chair and some cash for tips.

Together Through Sound (1-8 p.m. Sunday): The community-centered music festival takes the stage at Riverview Park with a diverse lineup that includes Soten Taiko (Japanese drums), DJ Loose and R.A.W. (Afrobeats), Son Peruchos (Latino folk fusion) and more. The free festival includes food and drink vendors, plus tents for exhibiting artists.

William Wagner's drawing of Grand View University’s Humphrey Center, built in 1895. (Photo: Duane Tinkey)

ARTS & CULTURE

Des Moines historic preservation award builds on a solid foundation

Writer: Michael Morain

The city of Des Moines’ Historic Preservation Commission was recently named the Commission of the Year — the best in the country — by the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. The award committee singled out the local commission’s ambitious preservation plan, ReflectDSM, for developing new approaches to recognize, support, preserve and protect the city’s historic properties wherever possible.

That’s quite an honor, and it builds on a legacy that the late William “Bill” Wagner established over the course of his career, from the 1940s till his death in 2001. He worked for the prominent local firm Wagner, Marquardt, Wetherell and Ericsson, which put its fingerprints on some of the city’s most prominent buildings: Lincoln, North and Roosevelt high schools; the old YMCA; the Scottish Rite Temple and dozens more.

Iowans of a certain age may remember Wagner best from the sketches he drew — 360 in all — for the wall calendars the American Federal Savings and Loan Association published from 1960 through 1989. Each year’s edition featured a dozen detailed pen-and-ink sketches of notable buildings across the state, rendered in Wagner’s confident hand.

“He was always sketching. It was how he described the world to other people,” said Martha Green, who worked as a drafter for Wagner’s firm in the mid-’70s.

The firm had an extensive statewide client list, so Wagner often sketched buildings during his travels. Each sketch took him only a few minutes — and reinforced his motivation to save the state’s best old buildings for the ages.

Known as Iowa’s “father of historic preservation,” Wagner championed the cause decades before the Legislature established tax credits to fix up and maintain old buildings. His personal list of projects included Terrace Hill, Salisbury House, the courthouses in Adel and Marshalltown, and the relatively humble homes of famous Iowans like Carrie Chapman Catt, Mamie Doud Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover and the Wallace family.

Wagner helped found the Iowa Society for the Preservation of Historic Landmarks and for years organized bus tours to many of the state’s architectural highlights. Over the years, he won a pile of state and national awards, including a fellowship from American Institute of Architects.

And everywhere, he sketched — in Iowa as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, the Soviet Union and across Africa and Europe. Sometimes he painted watercolors, too, to tuck in with his annual Christmas letters. He also made wedding rings for his friends, including Green and her husband, Jack Porter, another preservation advocate.

“Bill was a renaissance man — architect, painter, jeweler, historian,” Porter said. “He did so many things other than architecture.”

READ MORE: Learn more about Wagner’s sketches, drawings, paintings, presidential autograph collection and more on display at the Forest Park Museum in Perry.