Newman Singers – A Treasured Tropical Day In SoFlo

The University of Iowa Newman Singers will always hold a special place in my heart. 

I have enjoyed their music for years during Mass at The Newman Center near the University of Iowa campus. And I have served them breakfast on several occasions on Sunday mornings between those services. Those college “kids” are truly some of the most wonderful young people I’ve met. Nobody has ever been more appreciative of my cooking than those young adults have been!

Rolling Out Our Welcome Mat In SoFlo

Early this year we had the pleasure of hosting the singers for a day at our winter home in Fort Lauderdale. Remember those carefree days before Covid19?  Those days seem a million miles away as I now stay hunkered down away from everyone and everything that used to feel normal. While looking through photos on my phone I realized I wanted to recapture my feelings of that carefree day filled with food and friends and FUN. And a surprise concert under the stars…filled with the beautiful music that has made that group famous all across America.

The Newman Singers are led by their amazing director and music composer Joe Mattingly. The group had left Iowa City shortly after Christmas and had toured and performed at many Southern locations on their way to Florida. I had been hoping our paths could cross since they were performing about an hour North of us during their tour.

Joe and I worked out the details. We decided the group deserved a day of rest and relaxation during their hectic road trip and performance schedule. And what college kid doesn’t want some free food and a day at the beach in January!?  And nothing is more fun for me than watching people I care about chowing down on foods I’ve prepared with love.

Preparation Is Key – Cooking For Days

I planned to prepare both lunch and dinner for the group, and I made the noon meal the BIG one for the day. (Although some argued that both meals were bigger than they ever expected.) It took a LOT of ingredients to put together those meals, and I was more than happy to fill my Aldi cart for those talented Hawkeyes!

Those January days were the GOOD OLD DAYS…when I did MY OWN grocery shopping. These days I must rely on InstaCart and Aldi curbside pickup.

Let’s Head To The Kitchen…And Start Cooking!

The day before the Newman Singers arrival I began to prep for both meals.

I chose whole pork loins to grill and carve for lunch, and a bought some inexpensive chicken legs for their evening meal, along with lots of ground beef for sandwiches.  I coated both the pork loins and chicken legs with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then added my special blend of herbs and spices I call Meemaw’s Magic Dry Rub.

Lucky for me, our next door neighbor had not yet arrived for the winter. She gave me permission to use her almost-empty refrigerator to store many of the BIG bowls of food I would be serving the next day.

It would be almost sacrilegious to visit South Florida and not enjoy a piece of Key Lime Pie. So I whipped up three of them! Want my recipe? Click HERE.

Next I made a BIG bowl of my “almost world famous” Potato Salad.

And how about some of my Coleslaw?

I decided a big pan of my Banana Bars would also hit the spot…but I’ll save that photo for later.

And a plate of my Hawkeye Deviled Eggs is ALWAYS a hit! I boiled the eggs and kept the yolk mixture separate until it was time to serve them.

My Compound Herb Butter can turn an ordinary piece of bread into something special, so I made some of that too. I just heated some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and added some minced garlic and simmered for a few minutes. Then I cooled that mixture and added two sticks of softened unsalted butter and added kosher salt and a variety of chopped fresh herbs that grow outside our back door.

I also got a head start on their evening meal by prepping my five pounds of ground beef for Loose Meat Sandwiches.

The mixture was then cooled quickly to avoid bacteria growth. Then I put it in the refrigerator until the next afternoon when I put it in a slow cooker on LOW until it was time to eat.

The next day panned out to be a PERFECT beach day…and Peepaw and I were both excited to welcome our Iowa friends to our winter paradise!

Several hours before the Newman Singers arrived I headed out to the grill. It was time to cook those Pork Loins that had been marinating in our neighbor’s refrigerator overnight. HERE is that recipe.

While those pork loins cooked I headed back to our condo to set up a serving table right outside our front door by the pool. No need to buy decorations since Mother Nature provided enough beauty!

The Newman Singers – Welcome!

Our small, art deco condo building has assigned parking for our 32 units.

We don’t have extra parking spaces for visitors. And since we are located so near the beach it can be very difficult to find free places to park. So I scrambled to find three spaces for the caravan of vans to park when the singers arrived to spend the day. Luckily, several of our snowbird residents had not yet arrived for the winter, and they gave me permission to use their spaces for the day.

I had to laugh as we escorted the group into our condo where they dropped their towels and backpacks. I’m pretty sure this was the biggest group to ever congregate in our tiny living room!

We gave the kids free rein to explore our winter home. And they all gravitated to the heated pool and the sunny deck right outside our front door.

It was HOT that day…and the shade from our umbrellas provided some protection for that sensitive skin!

While the gang gathered for photos I got busy setting up for the “serve yourselves” lunch.

Lunch Is Served – Come And Get It!

Our Lunch Menu?

Grilled pork loin with homemade horseradish sauce, fresh bread with my herbed butter, potato salad, coleslaw, tomatoes topped with extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil, my deviled eggs, a huge relish tray, and fresh clementines. I hid my key lime pies until later. Heck, there wasn’t any room on the table for them anyway!

I didn’t have to call those singers twice when everything was in place. But I was not surprised that they all took a moment to give thanks first.

Then the line formed very quickly.

Such wonderful human beings!

Their plates were filled in no time…

My heart was filled with joy and gratitude as I watched them dig in. They deserved it!!

Those plates quickly emptied and I begged them to go back for seconds.

I will admit I didn’t have to beg very hard.

When the main course had been sufficiently devoured I cleared the serving table and brought out that traditional SoFlo dessert. The surprised look on their faces was as priceless as I had hoped!

Key Lime Pie? Oh MY!!

After those folks polished off their dessert, some decided it was time for a dip…and we didn’t even make them wait an hour after they ate! (That old wives tale is still going around.)

While others chose to just sit back and enjoy the tropical breeze and the abundant sunshine.

Off  To The Beach!

But wasn’t long before the group decided it was time to hit the beach. So we made sure they all had plenty of sunscreen to protect them from the hot sun that had been missing for months back in Iowa.

Peepaw rounded up some beach chairs and our helpful neighbors pitched in with some extra beach towels and sunscreen. 

I walked them over toward the drawbridge out our back door. And I watched as they climbed the cement to cross the bridge and walk the block to the beach.

“Our” beach was just waiting for them…just like this photo I took on one of MY beach days.

While the kids were gone we had a great visit with director Joe. And while we chatted I prepared a pot of my Bacon Baked Beans.

It was also time to add the finishing touches to a huge Pasta Salad. It was sure to fill up those hungry musicians after an afternoon in the ocean. I added sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, fresh spinach to make it a rainbow in that bowl. And I added a rinsed can of cannellini beans beans to bump up the protein for our vegetarian diner. 

The pasta salad was dressed very simply. I just poured on a bottle of this delicious Three Cheese salad dressing from Aldi.

(Try it…you’ll love it!)

I also talked Joe into eating one of the only remaining pieces of that key lime pie when he told me it’s his favorite kind of pie.

The musicians began to straggle back as the afternoon turned to early evening. But they did not return empty handed. I’m not sure how far they walked to find them, but they presented me with this gorgeous bouquet!!

(Have I convinced you yet that these are some of the most wonderful young people on the planet??)

Time To Eat…AGAIN!

Our Dinner Menu?

Baked chicken legs, “loose meat” burgers, pasta salad, another relish tray, bacon baked beans, chips, and the coleslaw, potato salad and deviled eggs left over from lunch. (Waste not want not!)

Those smiles were priceless to this old Meemaw.

In spite of sunscreen you can see those folks got a little sunburn in our tropical climate!

A Concert…Under The Stars!

When dinner was over, Joe asked if we’d all like a little taste of the music the Newman Singers had been sharing on their tour. I told them I didn’t want them to go to any trouble but Joe said they would love to do it. And before I knew it they headed to their vans where they grabbed ALL of their instruments and gear! They quickly set everything up on the deck, and some of our neighbors pulled up chairs to listen.

While second floor condo neighbors came outside and leaned over the railing to soak in the music.

Words can’t describe my feelings as these amazing humans shared the music I’ve loved for years. But this time those melodies rang out under starry skies…with boats slowly cruising by.

From show tunes…

to songs and hymns written by Joe Mattingly, the music touched the hearts of so many that evening.

It was an absolutely perfect ending to the Newman Singers tropical day in our snowbird paradise.

And as we hugged farewell I made sure to send them off with every last piece of my banana bars. (I had hidden them during dinner.)

It truly was the icing on the cake of our special day spent with the Newman Singers.

And one I will never forget.