For more than 30 years, our local dairy service unit has hosted an annual dairy twilight tour. Well, it didn’t happen last year, for obvious reasons, so this year, it is happening and people are excited. I jokingly tell people that everyone should be on some type of a tour about every five years because you get stuff picked up, cleaned up, spruced up and painted up. Landscaping gets done, driveways get graveled, and walls get washed and whitewashed. 

This year the tour is scheduled for July 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. and is hosted by RMD Dairy Ltd located at 10052 Easton Road, Rittman, Ohio. RMD Dairy is owned and operated by Richard, Mark and Matthew Dotterer and families. The Dotterers have 600 cows and 550 replacements. They farm 2,000 acres with other family members working as Dotterer Brothers.  In 1995, the current milking parlor was constructed and the free stall barn was built in 2000. But in 2015, the farm took a different direction as they began construction on a facility to house six robotic milking units. The first milking in the completed robot barn was in January 2018 and in June of this year, two more robots went online. 

During the twilight tour visitors will have a chance to tour the farm, meet the Dotterer family, visit with more than 30 vendors and thanks to the generous support from the sponsors, meal tickets will be available for a variety of food trucks. Milk, cheese, and ice cream will also be available. The event is free and open to the public.

As the Dotterers are opening up their farm, Mrs. Dotterer opened her recipe box to share a few family favorites. Breakfast burritos are a favorite of the milkers, as they make a quick and hearty snack. The monster cookies and chocolate chip cookies are family favorites and also earned praise from Mark Dotterer’s teammates when he took them to football practice. Mark added the cookies are particularly good with a cold glass of milk. So until next time, simply cook.

Breakfast Burritos

1 pound of sausage, browned and drained

Mix together

12 eggs

6 tablespoons milk

½ cup salsa (optional)

2 cups chedder cheese

20-24 flour tortillas

Scramble eggs, stir in sausage and cheese. Warm tortillas in microwave to soften until flexible. Place ½ cup egg mixture into the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

You can also wrap them in foil and freeze for a quick snack during busy times. If you are using frozen burritos, remove them from the freezer and wrap them in a paper towel and microwave for 1 minute. (Mrs. Dotterer says she keeps a supply of breakfast burritos in the farm freezer for a quick snack for their farm employees.)

Breakfast Sandwiches

12 Bagels

18 eggs

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

18 slices of bacon, fried, drained and cut in half

12 slices of American cheese

Butter spread

1 stick butter, melted

1 tablespoon spicy mustard

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper, thoroughly. In a large (10 x 15 inch) baking pan, melt ¾ stick of butter. Bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes or until firm. Cut the egg mixture into squares to fit the bagels.

Prepare the butter spread by mixing the butter spread ingredients together.

Making the sandwich: layer the egg mixture, cheese slice and three half strips of bacon on the bagel half. Spread the butter mixture on the bagel top. Wrap the bagel in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sandwiches can also be refrigerated overnight. If they are refrigerated, remove from the refrigerator and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup soft butter

½ cup butter flavored Crisco ™

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

3.4 oz dry instant vanilla pudding

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 ¼-2 ¾ cup flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 12 ounce bag chocolate chips

Blend butter and Crisco ™ together. Add sugars, pudding and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add flour and baking soda. Add chocolate chips. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 360 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Monster Cookies

½ cup butter

1 ½ cup Jif Peanut Butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon white corn syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 ½ cup oatmeal

1 cup chocolate chips

3 Eggs

Beat butter and peanut butter together. Add sugars, vanilla and corn syrup. Beat in the eggs. Add the baking soda and oatmeal. Don’t over add oatmeal or the cookies will get dry. Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Drop by spoon fulls on to baking sheets. Bake for 8 ½-9 minutes.