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Trilla Pando:
Stirring up memories
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Thirty-eight super Sundays
January 28, 2004
Will
you be pulling for the Patriots, or howling for the Panthers? Either way, the contest for this Sunday
afternoon will not be politics but football.
Grab a chair, it’s time for the Super Bowl! And even if you don’t care much for the play-by-play, it’s fun to
watch the new expensive advertisements.
This
will be the thirty-eighth winter Sunday that the country puts ordinary life on
hold for football. It used to be that
we could say “January Sunday,” but two years ago when the game was in New
Orleans, we had to wait until February 3 to watch New England take the football
crown. The earliest it ever fell was
Super Bowl XI (traditionally we keep up with the games in Roman numerals) on
January 9, 1977. Three have barely made
it in to January being played on the 31st—Super Bowl XXII (1988) in San Diego
(Washington won), XXVII(1993) in the Rose Bowl (Dallas won), and XXXIII (1999)
in Miami (Denver won).
You
can tell—I’ve been looking up Super Bowl trivia as we get ready for
Sunday. Here are a few more Super Bowl
facts to throw out as we approach this year’s game.
No
one seems to know exactly how the event came by its name. One legend has it that Lamar Hunt, owner of
the Kansas City Chiefs, seeing his young daughter playing with her “Super Ball”
hit on the moniker. It didn’t help his
team much, they lost that first Super Bowl encounter to the Green Bay Packers. Bart Starr was the Most Valuable Player that
year.
How
about some Super Bowl records? The most
penalties? Dallas Cowboys ran up twelve
against Denver in 1978. Most yards
received in one game? Jerry Rice made
eleven catches for 215 yards playing for San Francisco in 1978. Marcus Allen had the longest run from
scrimmage—74 yards in 1984.
Would
somebody stop me?
New
Orleans is the champ in hosting the game—eight times. But this year our eyes will turn to Reliant Stadium in
Houston. If you are getting friends
and family together for the big game, try a Southwestern flavor for your
refreshments to get into the Houston mood.
Black bean dip
2 cans drained and rinsed black
beans
2/3 cup mild or hot salsa
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or
flat parsley
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Combine
all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Serve with tortilla chips
All-time favorite Texas cheese dip
1 2-pound package Velveeta
1 can Ro*tel Original diced
tomatoes and green chilies
Combine
in a slow cooker. When the cheese is
melted (if you can wait that long) stir.
Serve with Fritos corn chips, if you are a purist, or tortilla chips—the
fancy blue ones are good.
Some
people add a pound of browned ground beef or sausage. It’s good, but it certainly isn’t necessary. The Ro*tel label says use two cans. Don’t believe it. It’s too hot and too runny.
Stick with my Mama’s recipe.
If
you make enough of the bean dip and cheese, you probably won’t need anything
else. But if you want to keep going,
try this.
Buffalo Bayou white chili
1 pound dried White Northern bean
(or other dried white beans)
7 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped onion (divided)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 8-ounce can mild green chilies,
drained and chopped
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or more to
taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
5 cups (approximately) chopped,
cooked chicken or turkey breast
Sort
and rinse the beans. Cover the beans
with cold water and let stand for 8 to 10 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse. Combine beans, garlic and one cup of onions with the broth in a
large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a
boil, stir and reduce to a simmer. Let
the beans cook until they are tender, about 3 hours. Stir occasionally.
Sauté
the remaining onions in the olive oil until tender. Stir in the green chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne and cloves and
add the mix to the beans. Taste for
salt. Stir in the meat.
Simmer
for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve in Super-sized chili bowls.
Offer shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped
onions mixed with cilantro, salsa, and/or sour cream as a relish and maybe some
corn muffins on the side.
This
is also good with cooked and cubed pork loin.
In a pinch, use 5 or 6 cans of well rinsed beans and start with the
sautéd onions. If you make it the day
before, it will be even better.
You
probably won’t need dessert, just set out a super bowl of these. (Only Georgia
leads Texas in pecan production!)
Sweet ‘n spicy pecans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown
sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt to taste
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees.
Melt
the butter in a skillet over a medium heat.
Add pecans and sauté until lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and cook until lightly
caramelized. Stir in the paprika, chili
powder and cumin. Add the vinegar and
cook until all the liquid has evaporated.
Season to taste with salt.
Spread
pecans on a cookie sheet. Bake until
crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool and store
in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Post-script: Impressed with my Super Bowl trivia
facts? You can be an instant expert
too. Just go to http://football.about.com/library/weekly/bl_sbtrivia.htm
and have some fun during the Super Bowl warm-up.
Have recipes or
memories to share? You can e-mail me.
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Trilla Pando is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance & the Story Circle Network
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