Minimally Invasive

If your email inbox was anything like mine last week, you learned that there’s no easy route to planning a Super Bowl menu. I was bombarded with ideas to make my feast special! To add some zip to the game! To stay healthy and still enjoy my favorite football foods! Some missives advocated the tried and true — hot dogs, wings, burgers — while others sought to elevate the whole day by encouraging more complicated fare. Me? I’m a true believer in the KISS principle when it comes to sporting events; the most complicated thing I ever made for a Super Bowl party was a big pot of red beans and some pimento dip for snacking.

This year, I had trouble deciding between a roasted pork shoulder and chili, but came down on the side of chili, mostly because I got started late in the day and didn’t have time to properly marinate and braise or smoke the pork. Keeping with our mostly (red) meatless tradition since the new year, I decided on a turkey chili. I do have a soft spot in my heart for veggie chili, but watching the home town team play in the big game was no time to wimp out and go completely meatless.

But turkey chili can really be blah and lifeless, can’t it? Honestly, it’s never won me over enough to be my go-to chili, so I decided to make a few changes this time to add some character and depth of flavor. For starters, I dug deep in my pantry and pulled out two bags of dried mystery mushrooms I bought on my last run to the Asian food market. One bag was “Chinese Black,” but I really have no earthly idea what the other bag contained. All I know is they smelled earthy and smoky and were practically begging to be part of the meal.

With that part of the equation out of the way, I dug even deeper in the pantry for some dried New Mexico chilies I knew had to be in there. Lucky for me, the bag was still sealed and the peppers still pliable rather than desiccated ghosts of peppers past. So I tried my hand at making my own chili powder! I just threw things in at random, but I was really, honestly, pleased with the results. Next time, I’ll look up a few recipes and buy different types of chilies for a more customized blend, but even my shot in the dark was better than bottled chili powder.

As always, this chili was a boozy affair, liquored up with a bottle of ale and splashes of tequila and whiskey (Jack Daniel’s this time). And, of course, I stirred in some dark chocolate at the end; it elevates the dish to something special without anyone being able to put a finger on what magic you worked, exactly.

Oh, I almost forgot! The Frito Pie part! Many months ago, I was tagged by Jennifer of Last Night’s Dinner to do a writeup of my most embarrassing favorite foods. I’m more embarrassed at not doing the post than by any of the foods it would contain, but Frito Pie would have to be at the top of the list. Properly prepared in a roadside snoball stand in a humid southern state, it features beanless Hormel Chili poured into a split snack-sized bag of Fritos, and topped with cheese (nacho, natch), lettuce, and tomato. Some might add mayonnaise, but I can take it or leave it. Since snoball stands, humidity, and proximity to southern states weren’t available Sunday, we did the best we could and were quite pleased with the results.

recipe after the jump

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In honor of LSU’s appearance in the BCS title game tonight, I’m reposting this entry from a year ago — mostly as an excuse to share these awesome pictures of my brother-in-law, Tommy (with his son in the second picture). He scored tickets to the Sugar Bowl last year and gave us a preview of his game-day attire, but will be watching from home this evening with the rest of us.

Geaux Tigers!

When I started at LSU 20 years ago this fall (gulp), basketball games were an enjoyable enough way to spend an evening. Ricky Blanton was the big draw and rumors hadn’t started yet about the 7-foot crime fighter with the secret identity, so these events were really easy to get into. Football games were another story.

Game day seemed to double the population of Baton Rouge and most of the imports ended up in the stadium parking lot … early. It was a great time to be a starving college student because you could fill up on all kinds of grilled meats, jambalaya, red beans & rice, and even find a beer to wash it down just by wandering around the tailgating area and taking advantage of Tiger fans’ largesse (which leads to large ass). It was clear you didn’t need to attend the university to bleed purple and gold (and I’d argue that many of those who did, don’t).

The football team had a few good years in the mid-80’s, then headed downhill pretty quickly after the 1987 season. I’ll testify to the excitement of the 1988 Auburn game that registered on the seismograph across campus, but by the time he graduated, “Heisman Hodson” wasn’t much more than the butt of a joke. Still, those games were awfully fun. My roommate and I would head down to the stadium, the excitement curing our still-aching heads, and start milling around until the gates opened and we could rush to the student section to stake out our seats. I remember some miserable losses (44-3 against Miami, and anytime the team lost to Alabama…grrrr), but we always stuck it out to the very end to show our support.

I’m happy my Tigers have turned it around in recent years and wish I could be at the Dome tonight to see them play in the Sugar Bowl, but I’ll be cheering from our living room instead. And I’ll be on the lookout for this guy, hoping he doesn’t continue to embarrass Mason by wearing those white shoes:

It was certainly an inauspicious start for my boys.

But oh, how happy I am that the NFL season has officially begun! If you need me on a Sunday from now until January, just try:

Amy Roth
c/o Large Sofa, Living Room
Roth Manor
Ringwood, NJ 07456

Of course, it’s likely I’ll be spending some time with Terrence Howard as well — smoked meats pair so nicely with the pigskin, after all.