Heartburn

The news from yesterday's loss was an odd mish-mash of punting, kicking, defense and turnovers. The defense was the main course - they played really well. Robbie, once again, served up the you can count on me to be excellent side dish. But the turnovers were what caused the heartburn. Overall Hanie looked pretty good. Perhaps with this game under his belt he can relax and make better decisions next week.

Who will Hanie face when the KC Chiefs come to Soldier Field next week. Will it be Palko or ex-Bear Kyle Orton? Will the quarterback choice affect your menu choices? Let's explore that as we prepare for Sunday's game.

By the way, Coach Ditka not only produces some delicious Hall of Fame Salsa but he's now added a line of California wines. They are quite delicious. Another TD Coach - Congratulations!

The Eclectic Game

Tomorrow's Bears vs Raiders game may be as eclectic as the Oakland 9th Street Market. Without Cutler, all systems have to be at the top of their game but not to worry, we do have a capable quarterback. Caleb Haine is no schlep.

So Bears fans, think about the Oakland 9th Street Market. It's an international, open farmers market offering Asian, Hispanic, Italian .... just about everything there is to enjoy in the food world. What will you bring to the table?

Holiday Treats!

Da Bears kicked off the holidays with their 5th win! Now that's something to be thankful for. The game began as a battle with each score being met by points from the Chargers. But Special Teams, interceptions and Fun-Tastic play resulted in a 31-20 win!

Today's winning menu was Menudo - an uber traditional Mexican soup using an unusual ingredient - tripe. This blogger visited my local Mexican grocery store to purchase tripe. During my purchase I consulted with another customer who owns a local Mexican restaurant - Cactus Grill. This charming and helpful young man was Chinese - the diversity in Champaign truly Rocks!. Anyway, apparently tripe is also popular in Chinese cuisine.

Mexican lore has it that Menudo is a hangover cure. I expect this is due to the combination of spice and a slight greasiness. As I put my soup together, the color was wrong. It was too clear. Usually Menudo has an orange color to it. I punted by adding some canned Menudo. Here's the recipe without the canned Menudo.

Menudo
Ingredients:
2 Lbs honeycomb tripe - cut in 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 Lbs Veal knuckles (or pork cut in 1 inch pieces)
3 Cups water
3 Cups beef broth
3 chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1/4 tsp crushed oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
15 oz can hominy

Directions:
1.  Add everything but hominy in large pot
2.  Simmer covered at least 3 hours
3.  Remove veal knuckle, discard bone and add the meat back into the soup
4.  Add undrained hominy, cover and simmer 20 minutes

A Team to be Thankful For

Da Bears and their recent streak will be on my list of things I'm Thankful for this holiday season. It has been a blast watching them have a blast!

To begin the Thanksgiving holiday, the San Diego Chargers are coming to the Windy City. With the beginning of all those holiday events, putting together a menu from this Mexican influenced Southern California community has taken some thought. For those of you who would like to keep it light, this blogger suggests a soup or a ceviche.

Ceviche is a method of cooking fish using citrus rather than heat. Shrimp or any fish meat can be prepared as ceviche.

One possible soup is Menudo which is traditionally made with tripe. However, chicken or turkey can be substituted..

Whatever you decide, grab a nice bottle of California wine and toast our Bears on a 4 game - hopefully 5 game - winning streak.

Special Teams Have A Special Day

Bears Win! BearsWin! What an amazing game!

We saw 2 touchdowns by the defense; an 82 yard punt return for a touchdown by Hester; and a 37 -13 win for da Bears!

Emotions were high and there were a lot of penalties but luckily no one was seriously hurt. The biggest melee resulted after Lions' Stafford pulled Bears DJ Moore to the ground by his helmet. This was late in the game after Cutler's helmet was torn off by Lions' Suh. None of it pretty.

Speaking of not pretty, working my Imported from Detroit menu I learned that Domino's idea of Chicken Wings are actually breaded and fried chicken nuggets. No Buffalo Wings here! Needless to say, I whipped up a quick Buffalo Wings sauce, dunked the offending nuggets into the brew and proceeded to tailgate.

The winning Imported from Detroit menu included:

• Dominos pizza
• Dominos wings - with a Special Team save
• Orange Faygo (matching today's Bears jersey choice)

For you Chicken Wing Fans, here's my Buffalo Sauce recipe. Beware, there are no measurements. It's up to you to determine your favorite level.

1.  Melt Butter
2.  Add Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
3.  Add fried chicken wings and Enjoy!

Note:  If there's trouble in da Bears game, add in a bit of Mike Ditka's Hall of Fame Salsa for luck!

Imported from Detroit - Take 2

Apparently I didn't do enough research for the last Lions game. Just as the Bear's offensive line is much improved, so is this blogger's understanding of the Michigan food industry.

Over the years, Michigan has contributed much to America's food and drink options and, over the years, many of those national companies have moved out of Michigan. One notable is Vernor's which is the fizziest ginger ale Ever! Seriously, don't put your nose directly over a freshly poured Vernor's or you'll be the center of attention while you experience a serious coughing fit. But I digress.

Today, there are several choices for your WBE Imported from Detroit  tailgate.

• Faygo (sold in 1987 to National Beverage but the Michigan plant remains open)
• Kellogg’s
• Little Caesar’s Pizza
• Thorn Apple Valley meats
• Domino’s Pizza (sold in 1998 but the headquarters remains in Michigan)
• Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips
• Jiffy Brand Mixes
• Pioneer Sugar

Pick your fave, put on your jersey and get ready for some football.

15 Days to Ruminate

I have no idea what I'll do when football season is over. Every year I go through the sane thing but this year I experienced a mini withdrawal during the last 1 weeks. Da Bears won in London and then I had to wait until tonight to watch them beat Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. Sure there was some World Series excitement to tide me over but it's still not the same as football.

Anyway, my Bears showed the Eagles and Michael Vick that dog and bear lovers everywhere are going to rally against non-football field abuse.

Bears win 30-24 and a Delicious winning menu was enjoyed by all:

Bear Down Hoagie

Ingredients:
1 pkg of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 oz sliced salami
2   oz sliced ham (Michael Vick is from Virgnia - ham)
3 slices cooked bacon
4 slices provolone cheese
4 oz shredded Chihuahua cheese
1 beaten egg

Directions:
1.  Cook bacon, set aside
2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3.  Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with Pam/cooking spray
4.  Cover bottom of baking pan with half of crescent roll dough
5.  Layer dough with meat and cheese
6.  Spread half of the beaten egg over the cheese
7.  Top with remainder of egg
8.  Bake uncovered for 25 minutes
9.  Cover with foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Meeting Ookie Boddie

After a week without Bears football, I can't wait for Monday night. Rather than crossing the Atlantic, da Bears will travel a mere 800 miles to Philadelphia the home of the Eagles. Joined by a now healthy Earl Bennett, da Bears will face every animal lover's foe Michael Vick (aka Ookie Boddie). Ookie was his nickname as a child and Boddie is his father's last name. Vick's parents didn't marry until Michael was 5 and the children chose to keep using their mother's last name.

Enough gossip, let's talk menus. Monday night's menu could be a combination of Philadelphia and Virginia - Vick's home state. Some Philadelphia traditions are Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, Hoagies and Turtle  Soup with Sherry. Virginia boasts ham, peanuts and Brunswick Stew. Get those creative juices flowing Bears fan. It's almost time for football!