Sunday, February 04, 2007

Midwestern Super Bowl (and menu)

I’ve never lived in either of the cities represented in today’s game, but when I lived in Milwaukee I visited Chicago and enjoyed it. Chicago is a great city.

There is also the name Manning.

Three years ago (four?) San Diego had first pick in the NFL draft and Eli Manning was expected to be the first pick. He made the statement, in a rather public manner, that if picked by San Diego he would not sign with us. He even went so far as to say that he would sit out the year and not play at all rather than sign with the San Diego Chargers. He wanted to play for a team that he could take to the Super Bowl, and San Diego had no talent (other than him, presumably, if we drafted him) and had no chance of ever reaching the Big One.

Well, we did draft him but within minutes of doing so traded him to the Giants for a fourth-round pick which we used to select Philip Rivers. We also got a few other players who have been first team for us.

Admittedly, we embarrassed ourselves at the end of this season by showboating in the payoff game to the degree that we lost to a lesser team. We did, in fact, display a rather shocking lack of personal character on the part of more than a few players in that game. Nonetheless, it was quite plain this season that the San Diego Chargers have a great deal of talent, including at quarterback.

It’s been a few years, but the name Manning still rankles.

I like Chicago as a city, I like the Bears’ success story, and I want them to win the Super Bowl. And if they do, they will have beaten someone named Manning. That would be nice.

On my menu. Cornbread, the real stuff, Louisiana style the way my grandmother made it. No sugar in that recipe, this is bread, not muffins. Stewed tomatoes, with oregano and basil, to put on top of half of that cornbread. Black eyed peas, cooked since last night with ham hock, to put on the other half.

1 comment:

  1. Yikes! Your menu looks fabulous - hope you enjoyed it!

    You cook like you're from the South....I've done the ham hocks and beans (it was an Emeril recipe) but never thought to serve it over cornbread. That seems like a nice twist. Cornbread is usually sweet enough, without sugar, in my experience. At least, good cornbread is. My better half (much better, admittedly!) likes cornbread from a mix she gets at Costco, but it is WAY to sweet for my taste.

    I love good cornbread. Have you ever considered baking it on top of a pot of chili? I saw Emeril do that once, and this is my variation on that.

    You should post some recipes every once in a while....I do, at any rate.

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