"Good Food Ideas - Kraft Cheese Cookbook" & "Cooking in Door County [Wisconsin]" - Cheddar Meatloaf and Mushrooms and Macaroni a la Creme - Packer/Viking football

Date I made this recipe: Saturday, October 15, 2017 – The eve of the annual Packers v. Vikings game, game 1 of 2

Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook by Kraft Kitchens

Published by A Benjamin Company Book

© 1977

Purchased at Arc’s Value Village Richfield

Recipe: Cheddar Meatloaf – p. 45

Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) by Pauli Wanderer

Published by Voyageur Press

© 1985

Purchased at BCPA (Bloomington Crime Prevention Association) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Morels (or another mushroom) a la Crème – p. 51

All right then, so yesterday (Sunday) was the annual [Green Bay] Packers (my team) v. [Minnesota] Vikings game.  It is a game that is always fraught with peril and this year it was a disaster as the Packers quarterback broke his collarbone halfway through the first quarter and the backup quarterback had to finish the game.  “We” as in my Packers lost 23-10.

This was not supposed to happen.  Nope.  You cannot believe the anti-jinxing rituals I go through just to make sure we win each one our games, and as faithful readers know, these rituals extend to my cookbooks and the game day recipes I select to spur my team to victory.

This time around, I found two cookbooks, one, a cheese cookbook from Kraft kitchens, and the other, a cookbook from Door County, Wisconsin.  (Door County is a “resort” area in northeastern Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay.) Since food is love and I love my team, I felt sure that the two recipes I selected would bring good luck their way.  I even made them the night before for an extra good luck push and to free me up on game day. Both recipes even had cheese for crying out loud which is the food of the gods in Wisconsin.  It is not for nothing that Packers fans are called “Cheeseheads!”

All sign then pointed to “yes.”  Unfortunately, the recipes were good but not great and that should have been my first clue to the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017).  More on that in a minute.

So that was Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, my birthday twin and fellow Packer fan, Deb, and I went to breakfast for a late birthday celebration.  We agreed originally to meet at 11:00 and that was fine by me.  Then Deb texted me asking if we could change that to 10:00 (yes) and switch venues so she could watch the game. 

Ten o’clock was fine but watching the game was a problem for me and so stay with me while I explain it. 

In addition to trying to make food befitting a football game (not all Packers games, just some of the more important ones), I have come to believe that sometimes it is more helpful to the team if I don’t watch the live broadcast.  I always record it and will run it back no matter what, but I have found they win if I’m not watching them.  It’s crazy thinking to be sure, but it seems to work. There are also times, like this past Sunday, when my schedule doesn’t always allow for me to be at home when the game is on.  This week’s exciting task that took me away from the game grouting our new tile for our upstairs bathroom remodel. Three hours and a lot of grout dust later, we finally finished but alas, at that point, it was all over but the crying (and the last 45 seconds of the game).

Anyway, Deb said that if she watches them, they win.  I suggested to her that we just canceled each other out which was not good!  This is also foreshadowing of the debacle that followed.

Okay, so to recap, I made a Packer-related dinner, Deb and I canceled each other out on watching live/not watching live, and this brings us to the third and final nail in the coffin:  team apparel/team colors.

My unwritten rule of “game” apparel is this:  Thou shalt not wear “enemy” (i.e. opposing team) colors three days before game time.  By “apparel” I mean everything from underwear to eye wear.  I say this because for years now, I have had a pair of purple glasses and a pair that is not purple.  I do not wear the purple frames games at all three days before a game, regardless of whether it is the Packers v. Vikings game, because purple is a Viking team color and I don’t want to send any good juju their way, only bad!

You can call me crazy if you like, but all this is mild compared to some fans I know.  It’s all about not jinxing our team so that all they do is “win, win, win, no matter what!” (Thanks, DJ Khaled!)

Okay, so now that you know this, here’s what happened at breakfast:  Deb inadvertently wore a sweatshirt containing lettering in purple and yellow and yellow, the other Vikings color. Vikings colors are enemy colors and sheesh, talk about picking the wrong day to wear that outfit! I learned that Deb does not take things as far as I do but she should because look.what.happened.

In conclusion, and as I mentioned earlier, we were now up to three signs of the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017):  Bad Juju Moment #1 – Saturday dinner; Bad Juju Moment #2 – Watch/don’t watch, and Bad Juju Moment #3 – Enemy apparel.  We inadvertently doomed our team before they even took to the field.

Our sincere apologies to Packer Nation for these actions.

Let’s backtrack then to the recipes that I made and how they fared.  First up:  Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook.

This cookbook contains recipes for every type of cheese dish imaginable.  Naturally, Kraft wants us all to use Kraft cheese products, but I cheated and purchased a Wisconsin cheddar at Trader Joe’s. Now for all I know, this private label product was made by Kraft but I didn’t really care because the label said “Wisconsin” cheddar and that’s all I needed to know. 

Okay then, so let’s take a look at the Table of Contents:

• ·       Social Snacks
• ·       Hot and Hearty Soups and Stews
• ·       Feature Attractions
• ·       Zesty Vegetables
• ·       Special Salads and Salad Dressings
• ·       Savory Sweets
• ·       Wonderful Happenings
• ·       From Oven to Table – Homemade Bread
• ·       Sandwiches to Remember
• ·       Sauce Sorcery
• ·       Eye Openers – Breakfast and Brunch
• ·       Microwave Magic
• ·       Enough for a Crowd
• ·       Perfect Partners – Cheese and Wine (no recipes)
• ·       Through the Ages with Cheeses (no recipes)

 I must say that the only chapter that gave me slight pause was the “Savory Sweets,” but I shouldn’t have been alarmed because most of the recipes used other Kraft products such as cream cheese or Parkay Margarine (yuck) and only a few used cheese.  Even then, those that did, such as an apple pie crust made with cheddar cheese in the crust, made sense. 

I finally decided on the Cheddar Meatloaf from the “Feature Attractions” chapter because it had cheddar cheese in the mixture.  I pictured it as a great big cheeseburger with cheese molten like lava flowing out of the middle. Naturally, that is not at all what I got.

You can tell I’ve been watching too many episodes of Food Network’s “Chopped,” because I told Andy “I like it, but the tomato soup flavor overpowers all the other basket ingredients.” 

I am totally qualified to be a judge on that show.

Not only did the tomato soup overpower the other ingredients, but the cheese seemed to disappear in its entirety.  I’m not sure it was supposed to but it did.  This was not a good sign.

Still, we ate it because it was tasty even if it was a tad on the tomato-y side.

And then there’s the second book, Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) which looked cute and all, but I must tell you that I was hard-pressed to find a recipe in this book to my liking.  Why?  Well, because of a smattering of recipes such as these: “Smelts” (a tiny bony fish, more fun to catch than eat); “Brussels's Belgian Tripe;” “Pickled Pig’s Feet,” and “Head Cheese.”  Now if I was on Chopped, cooking with these ingredients would be one thing but I’m not on Chopped so I was free to ditch those ingredients, thank goodness, and continue my search. 

Sadly, it only seemed to get worse.  Take for instance, this chapter - Water and Shore- and some of the offerings: “Whitefish Liver Pate,” “Mud Lake Mallards,” “Wild Goose and Red Cabbage,” and “Venison Pot Roast.”

Eesh!  I suppose I could be persuaded to eat whitefish but not a whitefish liver pate, nope. As to the duck and the goose, my dad used to hunt and so I’ve eaten both but cannot get past the gamey taste and smell.  Same goes with venison.  No matter how my mom prepared it or what she added to it, I just didn’t like it which of course did not make my dad very happy.

The rest of the recipes in this cookbook was a complete mishmash.  Woods and Byways contains lots of wild mushroom recipes and it’s a shame that morel season is over because I love morels.  My dad used to go and pick them and sauté them in butter and they were delicious.  The rest of that chapter though, is dicey except for a few recipes for wild jams that sounded interesting.

Overall, Orchards and Fields yielded the most edible recipes such as “Door County Cherry Pie,” “Swedish Apple Cake,” and “Zucchini Stew.”  Alas, I just wasn’t struck by any of these enough to go ahead and make them.

Roots is the chapter that yielded some of the god-awful dishes mentioned above although thankfully, other recipes balanced that horror such as “Vivian’s Pea Soup, “and “Swedish Meatballs.”

Since I was in a cheese sort of mood, I decided on Morels and Macaroni a la Crème from the Woods and Byways chapter, only I substituted shiitake mushrooms for morels.

Just like the Cheddar Meatloaf, this recipe had potential to be blockbuster but wasn’t.  Turns out there was an unspecified amount of time to keep this on the stove top so it would stay rich and creamy and I went over that limit (apparently) by just enough to cause the cheese to coagulate.  Damn and blast!  The result was totally edible but the appearance suffered.  We’re talking minutes here people, minutes if not seconds.  Moral of the Morel and Macaroni Mixture? Keep your eye on the prize!

As with the meatloaf, the mushroom flavors got buried under the cheese and macaroni and that irked.  If I made this again, I would cut down on the macaroni, amp up the mushrooms, and definitely add a lot more salt and pepper. Oh well, live and learn.

In conclusion, all my attempts to will my Packers on to victory failed and so now Packer Nation must pick up the pieces and move on. My husband always says “It is so hard to be a Packers fan” and he is not kidding! As I said, the recipes were good, but keep your eye on both the oven and the stove and perhaps adjust your ingredients to bring out other flavors.

Cheddar Meatloaf – 6 servings – from Good Food Ideas Cheese Cookbook by Kraft

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 ¼ pounds dry bread crumbs

1 4-ounce package Kraft shredded sharp natural cheddar cheese

1 10 ¾-ounce can condensed tomato soup

1 egg

¼ chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients; mix lightly.  Shape into loaf in 11 ¾ x 7 ½-inch baking dish.  Bake at 350° F, 1 hour.

Ann’s Note:  I made a half recipe and so used half the can of soup and I still thought the tomato flavor overpowered the cheese so you might want to hold off on using the entire can if making the full recipe.

Morels (Shitake) and Macaroni a la Crème – serves 8 to 12, depending on appetites

1 pound macaroni

6 tablespoons butter

1 pound Swiss cheese, grated

4 egg yolks, gently beaten

2 cups cream

1 cup morels, chopped fine (Ann’s Note:  or substitute shitake or chanterelle)

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Boil the macaroni and drain.  Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan.  Frizzle the morels for a minute.  Add the macaroni, the egg yolks mixed with the cream, and the cheese.  Mix the cheese in gradually as you stir and life over a low heat.

When all the ingredients have reached a creamy consistency (this will be in a matter of minutes), stir in the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.*  Heap this delicious mess on a large, deep platter and garnish with tomato slices.

*Ann’s Note:  One minute, the mac and cheese was all creamy and dreamy, but I left it on the stovetop just a hair too long and that made the cheese coagulate.  What the author failed to mention is “Remove from the heat immediately and then serve.”

"The Hungry Fan's Game Day Cookbook" - Cheeseburger Soup - NFL season begins!

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, September 10, 2017 – NFL Season Begins!

The Hungry Fan's Game Day Cookbook by Daina Falk

Published by Oxmoor House

ISBN: 13: 978-0-8487-4583-7; © 2016

Purchased at: Half-Price Books

Recipe:  Cheeseburger Soup – p. 67

Already?  In these parts, we just finished the annual Minnesota State Fair, and then there was Labor Day and yet despite evidence to the contrary, such as training camps and pre-season games, it's time for our favorite teams to hit the gridiron as pro football season begins.

I'm still stuck in summer mode and even after fall commences on September 22, I'll still be stuck in summer mode.  And then I'll be stuck in "I can't wait for summer" mode for the rest of the year but that's another story for another day.

So right on schedule, high school, college, and the pros all commenced firing on the field last weekend and now we are off and running with our usual and customary hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, and finger-crossing until February when Super Bowl 52 will be played in Minneapolis.  This is not to say that my rival team, the Vikings, will be in it but it will be played here.

At any rate, faithful readers know that I am a Green Bay Packers Shareholder which is to say, Owner, meaning I wanted to start my guys off on the right foot as this season gets underway.  My goal for using The Hungry Fan's Game Day Cookbook was to find a dish befitting my team and by page 67, I found it:  Cheeseburger Soup (For "Cheeseheads" everywhere, "cheesehead" being the world's nickname for Packers fans.  Wisconsin.  Cheese.  Get it?)

What I really loved about this soup is that it included also some spinach and yes, I could be giddy about it because spinach is good for you, but the green offset the yellow of the cheese and green and gold are the Packers colors.  Signs point to "yes" to this being a good omen.

So far, I've talked about football, but this cookbook is intended for hungry fan's of any sport.  In fact, Ms. Falk's father was an NBA sports agent.  I cannot say that pro basketball floats my boat, but if I was a fan, then naturally, I might want some game day food.  At any rate, she almost followed in her father's footsteps to become a sports agent, but switched it up and created instead, this cookbook and a website called Hungry Fan (www.hungryfan.com) that includes a blog, recipes, and other tips.  She also refers to "Tailgating" as "Fangating" which I have to say is more fitting these days.

Speaking of tailgating,  I have to confess that I've only tailgated a few times, mostly when the Twins or Vikings, or even the former soccer team played in the old Met Stadium in Bloomington, MN, where the Mall of America now stands.

If you are horrified that I went to a Vikings game, you should know that all games I attended (no matter what the sport) were all company-related events and it all happened decades ago. 

In my opinion, tailgating at a company function is boring.  In fact, it's almost non-existent.  If we had food at all, it was usually under a big tent and sometimes even in a special "company"-related section and not with the other fans.  Also?  Imbibing alcohol was often frowned upon even though this was still the age of the three-martini lunch.  I found it somewhat hilarious to be whooping it up at a game with my co-workers whilst sipping a soda.  Also, when the old Met Stadium was torn down, the location of the new stadium (now torn down), the Metrodome, had little land on which to tailgate, defeating the whole purpose of going to a football game...well, besides the game itself!

Now tailgating at Lambeau is an art as the entire parking lot is filled with fans and food.  Stories are rife of tailgaters offering food to passerby's but alas, we never got a morsel.  We didn't care because it was just fun to be there and I'm pretty sure most tailgaters say the same.  For those who party at home, in some ways this cookbook is skewed towards you as some of the dishes seem to require kitchen availability which of course is hard to emulate in a parking lot unless you are a southern school in which case, nothing gets in the way of these fans' tailgating.  Nothing. 

Okay then, hungry fans, here are your chapter choices:

• Starters
• Soups, Salads, & Flatbreads
• Sandwiches & Burgers
• Barbecue & Other Mains
• Sides
• Desserts
• Drinks

Let me just say that while there is nothing wrong with salads at a tailgate or game-day party, I expected to see at least one coleslaw "salad" recipe in this book and there weren't any; that's a demerit, folks.

And Flatbreads?  No.  Flatbreads on game day are just too precocious.  In my mind's eye, I'm trying to picture a bunch of hockey fans eating flatbreads but my brain just won't go there.  Yet another demerit awarded.

Okay, so let's back up a bit to see what fare she features in these categories.  In the Starter chapter, we have  "Shepherd's  Pie Quesadilla Bites" (Hmmm....not sure about that one); "Wisconsin-Style Fried Cheese Curds  ("On Wisconsin!")," plus your basic wings and things, some of which though, are prefaced with the word "healthy" in front of them, as in "Healthy Jalapeno Poppers."

Healthy?  On game day?  Surely, she jests?  Demerit!

In the Soup, Salads, & Flatbread category we have this dish:  "Bacon Brussels Sprouts Soup."

I want you to let that sink in for a minute.  Bacon = good.  Soup ("is good food") = good.  Bacon + soup = tasty!  Even Brussels sprouts on their own = mostly good (depending on how they are prepared), but in a soup?  Never.  Never!  Takes some kind of balls to put that recipe in this book, that does!

Can you imagine hosting a party at your house and offering up "Bacon Brussels Sprouts Soup" to a group of hungry fans?  Aside from the fact that Brussels sprouts are green and the Packers' colors are green and gold, this dish has zero appeal and then there's the smell.  I'm definitely going to have to ding the author for this; we are now up to four demerits.

Happily, she has other recipes of interest:  "Baked Potato Soup" (Now that's more like it!); chili, or even "Kentucky Tomato Bourbon Soup," (When is bourbon in something not good?) but then she goes off-road again with recipes for "Chilled Avocado Soup," which is no doubt delicious unless it is -10 outside; lentil salad (Merciful heavens...no), or my favorite (not really) "Kale Quinoa Salad."

Let me explain something to you:  I have plenty of friends who would love some of the above recipes, and would probably celebrate the "Brussels Sprouts Soup," but you are as unlikely to find these people in my house at game day as you would seeing a moose waltzing down my city street. (Alaskan cities though, are another matter.)

Moving on, in the Sandwiches & Burgers chapter, we have a recipe for a "Bologna Cheesesteak" which honestly sounds pretty good, some hero sandwiches and some decent burgers and then this:  "Bite-Size Cucumber Sandwiches."

Hahahahahahahahahahaha.....Might as well have friends over for high tea if you're going to make that crap recipe.  Total demerits:  five.

Let's see how we fare in our next category, Barbecue & Other Mains, shall we? 

I am happy and relieved to report that she was back on track with recipes for ribs, more ribs, pork, pulled pork, and even fish and chips, not that I ever associate a sports event with fish and chips, but whatever.  (Exception:  sporting events in England and the rest of the British empire.)

The Sides chapter is not bad although my eyebrows raised at the inclusion of "Cassava Pie," a Bermudan recipe that calls for 4 pounds cassava which is apparently, a "woody shrub," similar to a potato or carrots although don't quote me on that.  I just have to say this though: "shrubs?") This dish might have been okay, except it called for 2 cups sugar, some nutmeg, and some vanilla extract.  Thank you, no.  Also?  How is this a side dish? 

 Finally, I do not have any complaints for the last two chapters, Desserts and then Drinks except again, I'm not picturing most sports fans sipping a "Watermelon Cooler" unless they are at Wimbledon, or a polo match.  Just sayin'.

This brings me back then, to the perfect choice for my Packers and hopefully your team as well:  Cheeseburger Soup.   What is not to like about cheese and burgers?  (Well, except for those who are vegetarian or vegan in which case, you are exempted from this quiz.)

Assuming you are a person with whom this recipe resonates, let's continue on.

For once, I decided to make a full recipe (Serves 6) and was glad I did because the leftovers were great.  As you might imagine, you cook ground beef, add in some other things, make your creamy broth and ta-da!  Just think of this as a deconstructed cheeseburger and you'll be good.

Let me just observe that I don't think you need a sporting event to make this soup as it was mighty tasty, game or no game.

Cheeseburger Soup – Serves 6

1 ¼ pounds ground beef

4 slices bacon

4 tablespoons butter

½ medium onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

8 ounces sliced baby portobello mushrooms

2 cups tightly packed baby spinach

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley, plus more for garnish

¼ cup all-purpose flour

6 slices Monterey Jack, cheese (Ann's Note:  I substituted Havarti.)

¼ cup ketchup

1 cup half-and-half (Ann's Note:  I had milk and cream on hand so I mixed them together.)

¼ cup sour cream, optional

1 ripe tomato, chopped for garnish, optional

Cook the beef in a large Dutch oven over medium-high until it browns evenly, about 6 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a plate.

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium until it gets crispy, 5 to 7 minutes.  Transfer to a cutting board to cool, and drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan.  Chop the cooled bacon into small, crunchy bits, and set aside.

Using the same Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the remaining bacon fat (reserve the other 3 T), and stir in the onions and celery.  Sauté until the onions become translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.  Add the spinach.  (It will start to wilt amid the hot veggies.)  Pour into the broth; add the beef, salt, pepper, and parsley, and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium.  Add the flour, and cook for 1 minute while stirring.  The roux should start to bubble, signaling that it's ready.

Add the roux to the soup and bring to a boil for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring well to incorporate the roux.  Reduce the heat, and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add the cheese, ketchup, reserved bacon, and half-and-half.  Stir well, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat, let sit for 3 to 5 minutes, and then stir in the sour cream, if desired.

Serve with a sprinkle of additional parsley and the chopped tomatoes for a little color, if you like.

"Gridiron Cookery" & "Gourmet Game Night" - Chili and Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip - Super Bowl 51

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, February 5, 2017 – Super Bowl 51

Gridiron Cookery – The nation's most resourceful hostesses – the wives of football coaches – skilled at taming (and feeding) victory-mad mobs – or reviving a few low-spirited losers – break out 250 and more of their treasured recipes for wonderful food – Edited by Frances S. Daugherty and Aileen C. Brothers

Published by David McKay Company, Inc.

© 1960

Purchased at Barnes and Noble (Used) for a whopping dollar!

Recipe:  Chili – recipe submitted by Mrs. W. W. (Woody) Hayes, [The] Ohio State University – p. 75

Gourmet Game Night – bite-sized, mess-free eating for board-game parties, bridge clubs, poker nights, book groups, and more by Cynthia Nims

Published by Ten Speed Press

ISBN: 978-1-58008-088-0; © 2010

Purchased at Powell's Chicago

Recipe: Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip – p. 22-23

Okay then, the Super Bowl was played two weeks ago, and I am obviously behind on all my reporting, but I am happy to say that I managed to make some awesome dishes for the big day (or any day, really):  Chili (what football game would be complete without chili) and Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip.  Think "back-to-back" touchdowns."

And of course, the winning recipes came from two winning cookbooks, one old and one new:  Gridiron Cookery, published in 1960, and Gourmet Game Night, published in 2010.  Both books need a bit of explanation and so let's get right to it.

I've heard the term "gridiron" my whole life, usually in the context about talking about college football, but didn't really know what it meant until now.  According to Google, a "gridiron" is a "field for football, marked with regularly spaced parallel lines."  Please file this away for future use.

Gridiron Cookery is a compilation of recipes submitted by (primarily) college coaches' wives, all of whom are referred to in the book as Mrs. [insert husband's first name here] Coaches' Wife, for example  "Mrs. W. W. "Woody" Hayes, [The] Ohio State University," or "Mrs. Hugh Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State University."

This rankles.  Look, I know this was a sign of the [1960's] times, but 160 women submitted recipes for this book and not a one of them was listed by her first name/given name.  Not a one.  And here's a little tidbit of interest:  back then, and for many, many years later, the only time you ever learned that a woman had a first name was when she was widowed or divorced (gasp!) in which case she went by Mrs. Betty Jones.  Ridiculous!

At any rate, so coaches' wives from all over the U.S. and Canada (with a smattering from NFL coaches' wives] submitted recipes and you would think that a book about the college gridiron would feature some of the more prominent football schools but you would be wrong.  As a for instance, and please shout out if you recognize these teams from a Bowl Game appearance:  Furman University; Ferris Institute; The College of the Holy Cross; Springfield College, and Susquehanna University. 

You can't, can you?  No worries, reader, because neither can I.  I have never heard of any of these colleges much less of the prowess of their football teams.

On the other hand, I am well acquainted with these college football powerhouses: 

• University of Alabama coached by Paul (Bear) Bryant, with recipe submitted by Mrs. Paul Bryant, no first name given!
• University of Mississippi (a/k/a "Ole Miss" and by the way, "ole" is not the Spanish "ole" but rather "old" as in "Old Miss.")
• University of Nebraska
• University of  Wisconsin
• University of Michigan (Patriot's quarterback, Tom Brady, is an alum)
• Michigan State University
• [The] Ohio State University coached by Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes

And this is just a short list! 

Other interesting cookbook tidbits:

• Today's Super Bowl battle pitted University of Michigan graduate, Tom Brady, against Boston College graduate, Matt Ryan but only the University of Michigan was featured in this cookbook.  Hmmm...foreshadowing of the game results? (Hint:  Matt Ryan got creamed.)
• The proper way to talk about Ohio State University is to say The (pronounced "thee," never, ever "thuh.") Ohio State University because that is the official name.  I'm serious.
• Speaking of The Ohio State University, Head Coach Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was a household name during my prime college football-watching years.  In fact, he was the enemy to my Michigan State Spartans and the University of Michigan Wolverines.  Woody was a great coach which is why I recognized the name right off the bat and I was happy to make the Mrs. Woody Hayes' (given name is Susan) most excellent chili recipe.
• This is odd:  throughout the book, I would see often a listing such as "Mrs. Henry R. (Red) Sanders" then on the next line "Formerly University of California at Los Angeles."  Now kids, there is no such thing as a "former" University of California at Los Angeles.  The school continues to be called UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), just as Harvard was, is, and will always be Harvard University and not "Formerly Harvard University," perish the thought!
• Also:  Seems to me that a book that includes a list of Contributors in alphabetical order and a [recipe] Index in alphabetical order should also include a list of "contributing" colleges and/or NFL in alphabetical order but they didn't because that would be too easy?  Had such a list existed, I could have ascertained quite easily that Boston College was not on the list rather than flipping through page after page to see if I spotted the name. 
• There are a handful of recipes submitted by NFL coaches' wives and I learned the following:
• The Los Angeles Chargers (as listed here) started as the Los Angeles Chargers, then they moved to San Diego where they played for many years, and are now on deck to become the Los Angeles Chargers again this coming season.  (Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there are also the Los Angeles Rams who started in LA, went to St. Louis for many years, and are also back in LA.  I cannot keep up with this stuff, I cannot.  To this day, I will always think of the Colts as being the Baltimore Colts and not the Indianapolis Colts because that is just wrong and it messes with my head!)
• The current-day New York Jets went by the name "New York Titans" from 1960-1962.  I did not know that and so there goes the theory "Once you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way from your first cigarette to your last dying day!"  (Lyric from the Jet Song, from the musical/movie West Side Story).
• And then there's the Cleveland Browns and this is hilarious:  the Browns' head coach from the 50's to the early 60's was Paul Brown, no relation.

You know, I've remarked several times that reading cookbooks is like reading history books as I learn so much about the time and place and football!

And now on to our second featured cookbook and recipe, Gourmet Game Night and the fan-tab-ulous recipe for Oven Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip.  Damn, was this good.

Now some of you may have surmised from the title that this cookbook is intended for game nights that include card games or board games.  But since betting figures in mightily for the Super Bowl, I included it here and do believe that was a most excellent play call on my part. 

The thing I liked about this cookbook is that it features all kinds of bite-sized and non-messy bites to be eating while game playing because who wants something messy? For that matter, who wants to watch a game while eating messy food that might plop all over the floor or sofa, causing one to take a break in the action during which time, the "home" team almost inevitably scores and of course you will have missed it because you were doing cleanup on Aisle 9? (My problem isn't necessarily food but with drinks that seem to upend themselves at the worst time!)

This book's Table of Contents is broken into categories that make it easy to find a recipe in a snap.  The Table of Contents categories are:  Dips and Spreads; Skewers and Picks; All-Edibles; Sandwiches; Pastries; Small Dishes, and Drinks.  And the author also includes suggested menus for all kinds of game nights and that is fun.  A sample Game Night for Two to Four Menu includes "Rosemary Martinis;" "Salmon Poke in Endive Leaves;" "Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip;" Lamb and Olive Kebabs," and "Nutella and Banana Galettes."  The author notes also games that you might be playing that evening such as Canasta, Mah-jongg, Scrabble, Bridge, or Pinochle.

Now I have never been a game player as I can't stand to sit still that long, but I do love food and must say that this onion dip recipe was so freaking good that I'm including it on my annual holiday party menu from here on out!  That said, there is no game night, football, baseball or other, during which I would ever serve "Salmon Poke in Endive Leaves" as I am not fond of salmon and is that dish just a tad precocious, or what?

So there you go folks, a game-winning Super Bowl menu.  In case you missed the game and care about these things, all good things came to an end for the Atlanta Falcons who were leading the New England Patriots at the half by a large margin, and then they weren't.  The Pats came back, tied the game, sent it into overtime and won.  This was definitely not my hoped for outcome but so it goes and hey, at least I had good food to take the sting off! 

These two dishes are great fare any time of the year so never mind that I posted them too late for the Super Bowl or any "bowl," really.  By the way, I was "this" close to making "Jackpot Casserole" from Gridiron Cookery just because I loved the name but in the end, it had to be chili or bust.

Chili – 6 servings – from Mrs. W. W. (Woody) Hayes . [The] Ohio State University

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 pound ground beef

1 No. 2 ½ can tomatoes (Ann's Note:  27-29 ounces, or 3 ½ cups)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

3 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon (more or less as desired) chili powder

1 No. 2 can kidney beans, drained (Ann's Note:  20 ounces, or 2 ½ cups)

Fry onion and green pepper in melted butter in Dutch oven or deep skillet.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Add tomatoes and seasonings.  Simmer about 2 hours, adding water if necessary.  Just before serving, add kidney beans.

Oven-Baked Potato Chips with Onion Dip – Makes 8-10 Dips with Chips

Onion Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried

½ cup beef broth, preferably reduced-sodium

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

¾ cup top-quality mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon Tabasco, or more to taste

Salt

Potato Chips

2 russet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

To make the onion dip, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender and nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes.  The onions shouldn't brown too fast; reduce the heat to medium-low if needed.  Add the broth and garlic and cook until the liquid is completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, stir in the mayonnaise, sour cream, Tabasco, and salt to taste.  Transfer the dip to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.  Set 2 oven racks at the centermost levels.

To prepare the potato chips, half-fill a large bowl with cold water.  Peel 1 of the potatoes and cut it crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices, preferably using a mandoline slicer.  Add the slices to the water and repeat with the second potato.  Use your hands to swish the potato slices around in the water to remove the excess starch. (Ann's Note:  I hand cut these and despite best efforts, my slices were thicker than the 1/8-inch thick slices as noted in the recipes.  That said, I rather liked our thicker chip that wasn't really a chip but a nicely-baked potato slice.)

Dry the potato slices well on a clean kitchen towel.  Rinse and dry the bowl and return the potato slices to it.  Drizzle the olive oil over and toss to evenly coat the slices with the oil.  Arrange the potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheets and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Bake until the slices are lightly browned and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes, turning the slices over and switching the baking sheets about halfway through for even cooking.  Keep an eye on the progress near the end; some slices may be done sooner.  Transfer them to a wire rack to cool.  Ann's Note:  my chips were definitely not crisp but they were great nonetheless.  To "serve," I put some in a bowl and then spooned the dip on top and ate them as I would a baked potato.  Shall I just say that my dip ration was far, far greater than the potato?

To serve, spoon the dip into individual dishes and set them on a platter or tray.  Set the chips in a bowl alongside for your guests to serve themselves.

It is best to make dip at least 4 hours ahead, but it can be made up to 1 day ahead and kept covered and refrigerated.  The chips are best made not more than 2 hours before serving.

"A Good Day for Soup" - Chunky Chicken Soup with Green Beans and Rosemary - NFC Championship Game and a cold winter day

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, January 22, 2017 – NFC (football) Championship Game and a cold winter day.

A Good Day for Soup by Jeanette Ferrary and Louise Fiszer

Published by Chronicle Books

ISBN: 0-8118-0467-4; copyright 1996

Recipe:  Chunky Chicken Soup with Green Beans and Rosemary – p. 113

Today was indeed a good day for soup.  It was cloudy and gloomy and a typical winter day here in Minnesota which calls for something warm and comforting. 

And it was also a good day for football – Packers football.  Well, at least until the game got underway and then it was absolutely not a good day for football and so that left me with soup.

An "anti-jinx" soup, if you will and of course you're wondering what the heck that is all about so let me explain.

During a normal football season, and on any given Sunday, I often celebrate my love for my Green Bay Packers by making food from a Wisconsin-related cookbook or a sports/football-related cookbook, and this quite often spurs them to victory.  I feel it's the least I could do for my team, you know?

But then this year, everything changed and my Packers started losing and by mid-season, had racked up a 4-6 record.  Well this was not good, was it? 

Prior to this, I had not yet cooked for my team, the fans, or my blog readers, and thought, well maybe I should just get on with it already?  But then folks, I got nervous because what if I made something for them but the losing streak continued?  How could I live with myself?

And so it was decided:  no Packers or football or Wisconsin-related food until we were out of the woods which is to say, back in the "W" (win) column. Could we do it?  Hell yeah, we did it, just ask Aaron Rodgers!

Poor Aaron.  Year after year, week after week, loss after loss, he has to stand in front of a roomful of reporters to tell everyone what went wrong, to explain himself to us as if he was a naughty little boy, and to tell us all, in the words of the immortal Vince Lombardi, "What the hell is going on out there?"  Because Packer Nation is very demanding.  Very.  If our guys aren't doing well, we freak the freak out.

Two years ago, after the Packers started a season going 1-2 (wins/loses), Packer Nation freaked out (ridiculous, really) and so Aaron took to the airwaves to tell us all to "Relax."  And we did and they did and they went 12-4 that season and were the NFC North Champions and then went off to the playoffs and then went on to play the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC Championship and it did not go well at all and that is all I will say about that horrible game.

This year, when the Packers started racking up the loses, Packer Nation again hit the ceiling and once again, Aaron took to the airwaves.  When asked about the rest of the season, he said "We're going to run the table."  Translation?  We're going to win all our remaining games. 

And [Oshkosh] B'Gosh (a clothing brand founded in Oshkosh, WI), they did! And by the end of the regular season, they had nothing but wins and then won the NFC North Division. And so of course I couldn't mess this all up for them and cook something, could I?  Don't be ridiculous.

So it was time to hunker down because as NFC North Champions, we were off to the playoffs and not only did my team run the table, they set it!  And to do my part, I made sure that I did not jinx my team by a) cooking something "inappropriate" or b) wearing enemy colors, right down to the underwear, during the playoffs.  Some of you sports fans will understand this (think "lucky socks" x 1,000) and some of you will not, but trust me when I say that this is practically a rule:  "Thou shalt not do anything – anything – to jinx thy team during playoff time."  So with that in mind, let's take a look at the schedule and the food I made.

On January 8, my Packers played the New York Giants in the first round of playoff games.  That evening, the Golden Globes were awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to actors and actresses from TV and film.   I gave a slight nod to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with my cookbook selection that night, making a[n] [international] recipe from a Swiss cookbook because the Swiss are known for their neutrality, and my team won! And okay sure, likely not because of my cookbook and recipe choices but it still counts.

On January 15, my Packers played the Dallas Cowboys in the next round of playoffs and beat them in a nail-biter (I hate when they do that to me), and I made food from an Asian slow cooker cookbook  Actually two dishes – lemon chicken and classic fried rice and they were delicious and apparently good luck charms to boot seeing as how we won.

And then folks.  And then.  With that win behind them, my Packers advanced to the NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta (though how I wish the game would have been played at Lambeau).  The winner of this game advanced to the Super Bowl to be played in Houston on February 5^th  and so everything was now on the line.  And I and all of Packers Nation was on the edge of our seat and how unreal was it anyway that we were here with an 11-6 record after being practically down and out at 4-6 besides "very" unreal?

So game day was now upon us and the pressure was really on not to screw this whole thing up with my food but folks, I was tired and I think I let the team down because the best I could come up with was soup.  Soup for a championship game.  I know, right?  And the only reason I went with soup is that the cookbook was at the top of a pile to be shelved and I was just too exhausted to look through all of my shelves to see if I could find a better option.

In fact, I Googled "food holidays" to see if there was anything going on that might require another choice of cookbook but here's what I found:  January 15^th was National Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Day (nope) and also National Strawberry Ice Cream Day (what?  In winter?) and so those two were out.  And then I swear to you that some website also said it was National Southern Food Day and that was way out:  we were playing the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta.  And so you get a soup recipe by default because sometimes that's the way it goes.  Besides, as Campbell's likes to say "Soup is good food." 

Okay then.  I made my peace with my decision (sort of) and now just had to get on with it, already, because the morning of the game, I still had no idea what to make.  This is so unlike me I cannot even tell you but at this point, I was more focused on the game than what to eat.  It happens.

As always, a good starting point for any cookbook is the Table of Contents and here were my options:  "Soups for Starters;" "Dinner in a Bowl;" Entertaining Soups (soups for special occasions, not to be confused soups that make people chuckle); "Cold and Cookless Soups (not at this time of year);" "Slendersoups (nah);" "Recycled Soups i.e. soups made from leftovers;" "Folksoups;" and finally, "Soupçons" which are accompaniments to soups like breads and crackers.

It is not a good sign when you start eliminating more categories than you are keeping but nothing was leaping out at me.  Actually, that's not quite true as the dishes that stood out were either way too healthy (so many vegetables!) for a football game, or they triggered my "ew" factor.  In fact, here's a list of soups I definitely did not/would never make:

*Corn and Zucchini Chowder for a Crowd (p. 115).  First, we didn't have a crowd, second, I'm not that fond of corn and third, Andy is not that fond of zucchini  so that's a three-strikes and you're out recipe right there.

*Red Pepper and Brussels Sprout Soup (p. 123).  A soup made out of Brussels sprouts?  No.  Newp. 

*Cream of Mixed Lettuces with Chives and Chervil (p. 154).  How is this even a soup?  The thought of lettuce in a soup gives me pause, as does this "sister" recipe, "Cesar Salad Soup (p. 196).  As my mother would have said "Well now you're just being silly."

*Cream of Mussel and Saffron Soup (p. 127) earned a "Oh hell no" because while I like mussels, that combination did not sound good at all. Cream and mussels?  Noooooooo.

*Red, White and Blueberry Soup intended for the 4^th of July is ridiculous.  I'm no expert, but I just don't think fruit in a bowl with some kind of liquid constitutes a bona fide soup so that one is out, apologies in advance to 4^th of July fans.

At this point, I was reminded of a little chit-chat I had with a friend of mine who is herself a cookbook author and a food writer, and that is that there are a ton of cookbooks out there and a lot of them are crap and should never have been printed.  Or words to that effect!  And I am not suggesting to you that this is an awful cookbook, but what I'm saying is that many of the recipes seemed...precocious and I don't like that.  In other words, just because you can combine some ingredients, doesn't mean you should or that the result is a soup.  We'll leave the discussion of whether they are even tasty for another day.

Perhaps we can and should chalk up a lot of my fussiness over what to make to my own ennui about the upcoming game and the day in general (remember:  cold, gloomy, winter) but I was just having fits on what to make but since I'm no quitter, it was either going to be this book on this day or no food at all! 

So at last folks, I narrowed my choices down to two:  "Fennel, Potato, and Garlic Soup" – p. 59 (from the "Soups for Starters" chapter), and the one I made, "Chunky Chicken Soup with Green Beans and Rosemary," – p. 113 (from the "Entertaining Soups" chapter) and so let's discuss.

Option one – "Fennel, Potato and Garlic Soup" sounded tasty, especially as the garlic was roasted, but in the end, I decided I wanted chicken in my soup and so this left option two – "Chunky Chicken Soup with Green Beans and Rosemary." And I tell you what, it is not often that a recipe looks exactly as described but this one did:  it was "chucky" with chunks of potato, chunks of chicken, "chunks of" green beans and  rosemary, with some broth thrown in for good measure.  And this is not to say it was bad, but I felt like I was eating a soup straight out of my Catholic grade school kitchen which is to say, diced vegetables + water was their idea of soup.

And if I had to make this again, I think I would use a fresh, whole sprig of rosemary so I could remove it, rather than using the leaves which I could not remove and which made me feel like I was eating a tree branch.

Now the soup was tasty but the whole time I was eating it, I felt like it was missing something,  maybe cream?  Yeah, that's it!  If it would have had cream in it, I think it might have been a touchdown but it didn't so it was a field goal and not a game-winning one at that.

Because at the end of the day, my Packers lost by a lot and so there ended my "anti-jinx" ("double toe loop") food roll that I was on and the end of running the table as well. My Packers won't be going to the Super Bowl but they had a great year and they did the Hokey Pokey and turned their season around and that is all that matters.

And so this then concludes the story of how I made the soup and how my Packers game went all to hell and so we pouted and drank (always have a cocktail on hand for these occasions.  Always.) and put it all behind us and got up the next morning and at least speaking for myself, started thinking "Summer training camp."

Until next time and next year, Packers Fans and Soup Fans everywhere!

Chunky Chicken Soup with Green Beans and Rosemary – serves 8

2 tablespoons mild flavored olive oil

1 red onion, diced

2 clove garlic, minced

1 sprig rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

1 pound skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 pound red new potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

8 cups Chicken Stock (page 20)

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

Salt and pepper

Rosemary oil (page 272)

Ann's Note:  I opted against making rosemary oil which is really just a mix of dried rosemary and olive oil.  And as I mentioned above, I think I would use a sprig of rosemary which can be removed, as opposed to the dried rosemary that does not soften well.

In a large heavy saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Cook onion, garlic, and celery until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in rosemary and chicken and cook until chicken turns white.  Add potatoes and stock, simmer 12 minutes, and add green beans.  Simmer another 8 minutes.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Remove rosemary sprig and drizzle each serving with rosemary oil.

Ann's Note:  As I mentioned above, I think if this recipe would have been a Creamy chunky chicken soup instead of a broth based one, it would have been great. I have no idea how to adjust this recipe, but I bet if you search the internet, you're bound to find something that comes close.