Lovin' It

Today we saw old style Chicago football. The Bears looked strong as they churned out a ground game. Cutler was fabulous and Robbie was, once again, on target. It was fun to watch.

While the game does nothing to extend the season, it was an interview of sorts for many of the players. Who do you think stood out? Who do you think should go?

Today was also a chance to watch Lovie's new team. His young quarterback was especially impressive. We will want to keep on eye on the young Buccaneers.

Today's menu was a seafood duo: Shrimp Cocktail and Smoked Fish Dip.

Smoked Fish Dip

Ingredients:
2 Cups flaked smoked whitefish
2 TB mayo
4 TB greek yogurt
Pinch Old Bay Seasoning
4 drops Tabasco
3 drops Worcestershire
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch seasoned salt

Directions:
1.  Place fish, mayo and yogurt in food processor
2.  Season with remaining ingredients
3.  Blend until mixture is the consistency of a spread.

A Lump of Coal

Apparently, da Bears were on Santa's naughty list this year. There will be no playoff games and no Pro Bowl for us this year. Tomorrow's game against Tampa Bay is nothing more than an audition for the 2016 season. Do you have favorites who are in jeopardy? Take to the kitchen mateys and help them remain on our beloved Bears.

Choosing a recipe to defeat Tampa Bay will have you looking toward the Caribbean. Specialties include recipes from Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Think stone crab, cuban sandwiches, conch fritters and others.

These last two games of the 2015 will spotlight the real fans, so get cooking!

Wild Rice

Well that was miserable. The Vikings dominated da Bears from the first quarter. Cutler was sacked 5 times and had 2 turnovers. The only bright spot was a successful field goal by Gould. We all needed that.

Let's talk about waterless cookware. I bought some good cookware in college. Everyone thought I was crazy but it has never failed me. Today's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup needed to simmer for 2 hours. After putting it together in the morning, I simply had to remove it from the heat while I headed to church. The lid seals itself and, without leaving the stove on, there was no chance for a fire. I got to enjoy a fabulous service with phenomenal songs by Erin and Sara. Ladies, the last some was gorgeous!

Returning in time for the kick off, the soup was ready. Here's a nice recipe for a cold winter's night.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 pound fresh sliced mushrooms
2 T reconstituted porchini mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup and 2 T flour
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Curry powder
1/4 tsp powdered mustard
1/4 tsp  dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup half and half
1 T and 1 1/2 tsp dry sherry

Directions:
1.  Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat
2.  Stir in onion, celery and carrots and saute 5 minutes
3.  Add mushrooms and saute 2 more minutes
4.  Add flour and stir well. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly
5.  Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly
6.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer
7.  Add rice, chicken, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, thyme, pepper and sherry
8.  Heat through, then add half and half
9.  Simmer for 1-2 hours (do not allow to  boil)

Spoiler Alert

Call me crazy, but da Bears seem to do better against excellent teams. Perhaps this week will see yet another upset when da Bears travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. The Vikings are playing this season in the TCF Bank Stadium - home of the University of Minnesota - while their new stadium is being built. That means  outdoor games in, what can be, a highly weathered state. Sunday's forecast calls for cold but dry.

What is called for on your menu? At this stadium, fairly traditional tailgate food is available. The new stadium will, of course, be different. Let's consider traditional Minnesota foods:

• Wild Rice
• Casseroles
• White Fish
• Root Beer
• Booya
• Bundt Cake

What will you cook to help our Bears? My favorite Minnesota recipe has been the Swedish Meatballs. Here's the recipe for 3 servings.


Ingredients:
 1 slice day-old white bread, crumbled
 1/4 cup heavy cream
 1/2 teaspoon butter
 1/2 small onion, minced
 5 ounces ground beef
 2-1/2 ounces finely ground pork
 1/2 egg
 1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
 1-1/2 teaspoons butter
 2 tablespoons chicken broth

 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, or as needed
 1 cup beef broth, or as needed
 1/4 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place the bread crumbs into a small bowl, and mix in the cream. Allow to stand until crumbs absorb the cream, about 10 minutes.

While the bread is soaking, melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until it turns light brown, about 10 minutes.

Place onion into a mixing bowl; mix with the ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.

Lightly mix in the bread crumbs and cream.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, and form into balls. Place the meatballs into the skillet, and cook just until the outsides are brown, about 5 minutes, turning the meatballs often. Insides of the meatballs will still be pink.

Place browned meatballs into a baking dish, pour in chicken broth, and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove meatballs to a serving dish.

To make brown gravy, pour pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the pan drippings until smooth, and gradually whisk in enough beef broth to total about 2 1/2 cups of liquid.

Bring the gravy to a simmer, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes.

Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve the gravy with the meatballs.

Heartbreak in Chicago

Bears, this blogger is heartbroken by today's loss after risking heart disease and high blood pressure. Cutler played great despite dealing with the loss of his brother-in-law. The plays could have been called better but when they didn't work, Cutler's improvisations were stellar.

Third quarter scores also did my heart good but then, Robbie ..... really? Every Bears fan was pulling for you to make the field goal to put us into overtime. Last week was hard and this was the perfect opportunity. What's the matter dude? You've set so many records and pulled us out of losing spirals again and again. Bears fans have your back. Time to get your groove back.

Let's talk about the heart attack menu. Apparently, despite the fabulous array of ethnic choices to be found in Washington DC, the iconic tailgate treat for Washington is the half smoke. The half smoke is similar to a hot dog but is bigger, smoked and often served with chili sauce. We needed the win so off to market I went. The closest to a half smoke was a larger hot dog with a mixture of meats.

This was served with my traditional tailgate chili. If you are partial to Steak and Shake chili, add some cocoa powder to the recipe. If you're playing Cincinnati, add cinnamon.

Tailgate Chili

Ingredients:
1 # ground beef, turkey or pork - or any combination
2 cans of chili beans (hot or mild or both - your choice)
1/2 onion chopped
1 can tomato soup
1/4 - 1/3 cup salsa
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste (I use quite a bit)

Directions:
1.  Brown meat and onions, drain
2.  Add soup, beans and salsa
3.  Season to taste
4.  Simmer until thickened

We Need This Win! Get Cooking!

On Sunday, the Bears host Washington at Soldier Field. Both teams are 5 -7.

The quarterback situation for both teams is also interesting. Washington has opted to bench RG III and go with quarterback Kirk Cousins who grew  up in Michigan, the son of the senior pastor at Discovery Church. The Bears' Jay Cutler may be distracted this week and who could blame him? He just became a father again  and is dealing with the loss of his brother-in -law who went missing in Colorado and was found dead this week.

When considering the menu for defeating Washington, consider traditional foods such as the half smokes (hot dogs often smothered in chili), the Senate Bean Soup, and a seemingly endless list of ethnic favorites from around the world. Like many stadiums, FedEx Field has expanded their menu this year. Their offerings include foot long hot dog, chicken and beef nachos, a Reuben sandwich, crab cakes, and a well stacked barbecue beef brisket and bacon cheeseburger.

What will you cook for an all-important win this weekend? Will you focus on the quarterback, the city or the stadium? Choose and get cooking. We need this one Bears fans.

Not Much Of A Party

What a miserable loss. Both teams came out fully charged and quickly went flat. If San Francisco scored, the Bears would answer and then go back to sleep. So many opportunities were missed along with two field goals - not much of a birthday party for Robbie.

Gould blames himself for the loss but, had the Bears been fully involved the entire game, the field goals would have just been icing on the birthday cake. Instead the team left the game looking a bit like the donkey waiting for its tail.

Perhaps a sourdough roll to go along with the Clam Chowder would have made a difference. The what if's are the worst. The Clam Chowder, however, was quite tasty. Maybe this seafood comfort food will make us all feel better so we can move on to next week.

Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
3 Small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
3 slices smoked bacon, cut into ½-inch wide pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 carrot, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 leek, washed and cut into ¼-inch pieces, white portion only

1/2 small onion, chopped 

1 (6-1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
4 ounce clam juice
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
Pinch dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1.   Peel and cut potatoes and set aside
2.   Chop carrot, celery, onion, leek and bacon
4.   Melt better and add onion. Cook slowly until the bacon is crispy
5.   Add celery, carrot and leek - saute 5 minutes
6.   Add thyme and continue cooking until carrots are soft
7.   Add clams, clam juice, chicken broth, potato, salt, and pepper; cover and bring to a boil.
8.   Reduce heat to medium, and cook, covered, 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft
9.   In a bowl, dissolve cornstarch in cream; add to soup.
10. Cook 5 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently.

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The San Francisco Treat

After the victory against the Packers, on Thanksgiving Day no less, Bears fans have reason to be optimistic this week. The San Francisco 49ers come into Soldier Field with a 3-8 record and a backup quarterback.

And da Bears are getting healthier. Jeffrey, Bennet (Probable/Ribs) and Cutler ( Probable/Illness) are expected to be ready for the game. Wilson is out and Royal is questionable with a knee injury.

Let's help them out with a spectacular menu. San Francisco certainly has an assortment of local food choices. In fact, Levi's Stadium expanded their locally-sourced food and beverage program this year. In addition to California wines and beers from Anchor Brewing, fans can enjoy seafood, cheese, BBQ, Asian delicacies, flatbreads, carrot cake and Little Gem Wedge Salad.

This blogger has chosen her menu. Are you ready? Bear Down Chicago!