We Shall Not Speak Of This Again!

OMG! This was - by far - without a doubt - the hardest season to be a Bears fan. Even Virginia is embarressed.

No amount of cooking can thaw Jay Cutler's blatant disregard for our team. Please Santa, New Years Eve baby, Saint Valentine, God - someone - take him out of our life.

I went for true comfort food for the last game of the season. While there's nothing I can say - or cook - to rescue this mess, at least you'll have a yummy recipe. Let's see what happens as they clean house of the Clutter - I mean Cutler.....


Braised Short Ribs
6 Servings

Ingredients:
 1/2 cup olive oil
 4 pounds beef short ribs
 salt and pepper to taste
 1 cup all-purpose flour
 2 cups chopped onions
 1 cup chopped celery
 1 cup chopped carrots
 2 tablespoons minced garlic
 3 bay leaves
 1 tablespoon dried thyme
 1 cup red wine
 8 cups beef stock
1 TB Butter

Directions:
1.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

2. Season the ribs with salt and pepper to taste and dredge them in flour.

3.  Fry the ribs in the oil in small batches, adding oil as needed, to sear the meat. This should take 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Set ribs aside.

4. In the same pot, add the onions and saute for 2 minutes.

5. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 1 more minute.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then stir in the garlic, bay leaves and thyme and cook for 1 more minute.

7. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping up all the bits on the bottom.

8. Add the stock and butter, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer.

10. Add the ribs and continue to simmer for 2 hours, until the sauce thickens.

This is Personal

My mother and her family grew up in Detroit. Many of her family members still live there so .... it's personal when we play Detroit.

I was glad to hear that Cutler was benched. I am convinced that he doesn't play well with others and, therefore, can never be a leader quarterback. No one will put out the extra effort for him and that's important.

I was delighted to see Clausen celebrate with his team mates. Cutler never does this and whether he throws an interception or a touchdown pass, he just returns to the sidelines. Never a leader; never a team mate.

We came up short today. What the heck was up with the dropped passes? Great passes were dropped - why? Is there a different spin on Cutler's ball versus Clausen's? I have no idea what was going on but I'm hoping Marc Trestman holds firm with Jimmy Clausen.

Today, since it is so personal with the Lions, I went with my Aunts' french toast. As a child, they would each make my sister and I french toast and ask us to say whose what better. They were both delicious. Here's my recipe based on what I learned from them:

French Toast

Ingredients:
White bread
Eggs (1 for every 2 pieces of french toast)
Some: milk, brown sugar and vanilla
Jam, Jelly or Syrup

Directions:
Whip together egg, milk brown sugar and vanilla in a shallow, wide bowl (a pie pan works well)
Dip bread in the egg mixture, leaving it longer is a good thing
Melt butter in a pan over medium heat
When it's melted and warm, add bread that has been soaked in egg mixture
Cover pan with a lid
When one side is brown, turn and brown the other side

Top with either jelly/jam or syrup

Preparing for the Saints

It's been a rough season and everyone associated with the Bears could use a good game tonight. Here's the optimistic version: the team has had time to rest, Cutler knows he's on the hot seat, and the Saints have the same dismal record as the Bears - 5-8.

In this blogger's humble opinion, the problem is a lack of leadership on Jay Cutler's part. The Bears are a group of highly skilled individuals, but they're not a team that has a quarterback they're willing to follow.

Enough said, let's get cooking. Bears fans, pull out your favorite cajun recipe, put on your jerseys and let's win one!