Week 11 - Cincinnati @ Arizona

I  hate when the Cardinals have a Sunday night game. Try googling ""foods Arizona is famous for." After prickly pear cactus and Navajo-Churro sheep, you get a bunch of other people asking the same question. Google "Arizona cuisine" and the answer is Arizona-style Tex-Mex.

Not that Cincinnati is much better.* All you get then is a list of different chili place. Don't get me wrong. I like Cincinnati chili. I just don't want to make it again.

Mostly, I'm just mad because I missed Erica's chili party. My plan was to go up to her party, collect the leftovers, and use them in my dish.** But my car froze in the wet snow and didn't thaw in time to make it up for the game. So not only did I miss the party, but I had to throw everything together a pot of Skyline chili.

Whatever. The end result is Skyline Chili burritos. With margaritas. Lots of margaritas.

I used the Authentic Cincinnati Chili recipe for the slow cooker from All Recipes. It was good, but I was kind of grossed out that it didn't brown the meat before adding the liquid. That just strikes as a little too British for me, so I browned it first. I also didn't put it in the fridge over night (obvi) so I didn't skim of the fat.

If I were to do this again,*** I would melt the cheese and maybe make an enchilada sauce. Enchilada sauce makes everything better.

So do margaritas.

*I know I'm going to catch hell from at least one person for saying this.
**Totally not cheating.
***God, I hope not.

Week 10 - Arizona v. Seattle = Southwestern Salmon Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream

YUM.

Of course, this helped:

It's from Washington. It totally counts. 

As did this:

Grilling makes everything better.

The recipe comes from The Splendid Table. It was very simple, but I still messed it up. Nothing major, but somehow I grabbed a can of chipotle salsa instead of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce. I don't know if it made any difference because that sour cream was delicious.

The one thing I might change is seasoning the salmon. The recipe called for just salt and pepper, which makes sense. You don't want to cover up the flavor. I just wonder if some cumin or chili powder would up the southwesterniness of the meal.

Catching Up - Weeks 7-9

I've got no excuse, so let's just get through this.

Week 7: Eagles @ Panthers = North Carolina BBQ Cheesesteak

I was hesitant to make this meal because I'm pretty sure I make cheesesteak every single time Philadelphia plays on Sunday night. I also use the same recipe from Bobby Flay every single time - not because it's particularly good, just because it's the first one that shows up when you google it. But as my friend Tony pointed out, "Who gives a fuck? That sounds delicious."*

Tony was very, very right. This meal was AWESOME! 

Carolina barbecue may be my favorite because it's very vinegar,  at least the Eastern-style ones are. That might be the most interesting part of this recipe. Apparently, Carolinians (?) are  divided between Eastern-style and Lexington-styled barbecue. I think the Lexington kind has tomatoes? 

Anyway, if I remember correctly, I used this slow cooker recipe from Taste of Home, in part because the one of the reviewers who loved it says she's from NC "where swine is divine." Who can argue with that?

One last thing - Rob wanted to take part, so he made a crab cake appetizer with some vinegary cucumbers. He says North Carolina has crabs (Anyone else find that funny or am I the only one who has the sense of humor of a 12-year old boy?)so it totally counts. I totally disagree. However, the crab cakes were even better than the sammies.

Week 8: Green Bay @ Denver = Bison Burgers w/ Cabernet Onions and Wisconsin Cheese

I'm still angry about this one. Packers lose on my birthday? How rude! The meal, however, was FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!** 

The recipe came from Epicurious, so really, that shouldn't be a surprise. I guess the surprise is how easy it was. I used to use Epicurious recipes all the time, but they tend to require either 20+ steps or pain-in-the-ass ingredients. Thanks, but I have football to watch.

Here are the mistakes changes I made:

• Despite looking for and finding Wisconsin cheddar, I came hope with smoked mozzarella. I have no idea why.  
• The onions got maybe a third of the cook time the recipe calls for. You know how people say, "If you can read, you can cook"? This is not true for me.
• I totally forgot to think about sides. Luckily, I had some carrots, and since I love this recipe on from The Spice House, I figured I would make it. Here's how it turned out...

Oh, well.

Week 9: Eagles @ Cowboys = Tex-Mex Stromboli

Seriously? The Eagles again??? Thank God Lori Farkas Gillespie suggested stromboli. 

So smart, right? But here's the thing - I had just come back from Detroit. I had no groceries, and I was really tired. The result? I used this lazy recipe from Pillsbury but swapped fajita fixings for the Italian stuff. Whatever - it wasn't like I was going to make my own dough anyway. That's just insane. 

Also,  I didn't have time to marinate the steak (flank, I think) so I basted it with butter while grilling. This is also insane, but in a good way. 

I almost forgot - in Detroit I bought Jar Head Salsa, so I didn't even really make fajitas. Still, I'm calling this one very good, mostly because it was so easy. Definitely a recipe I would make again - only I would put a bit more effort into it. 

*I may have added the "fuck."

**Surprisingly, that's only one step above AWESOME!