Super Bowl Saturday

So, today is going to be a bit different. Now, if you watch TV or read the newspapers, you probably know tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday XLll (42 for you non-Latin reading peeps).

Now, I can claim that I actually watched the first "Super Bowl" in, what, 1966 or 1967? I believe it was over at Chuck and Mary's house with my then wife, Fran, and my daughter Amy. It was historic but not anything like the spectacle it is today.

I must admit, I am not that interested in football. For sports, I like boxing and the finals in hockey. But, what interested me is the wide variety of recipes for game-viewing snacks.

A lot of them are one-bite wonders, which reminds me of Amuse Bouche. Amuse Bouche (also called amuse gueule) is defined as a complimentary canap�-sized item sent out by the chef to begin a meal. Traditionally, it too, is a one-bite item.

So, I issued a challenge to Jake and Carla: Come up with an amuse bouche dish and make it at my house! We decided on Saturday (thank God) instead of Super Bowl Sunday, since watching the game is not really a part of this plan.

For my part, I am making Mexican Potato Skin Bites (baby red potatoes stuffed with a Mexican Chorizo and cheese mixture) and some thin baguette slices, topped with goat cheese, slivers of garlic and a drizzle of EVOO, heated in the oven (a Jacques Pepin recipe). I may also make some stuffed hard-boiled eggs.

So, back to this morning, I fired up the coffee pot while I stripped the bed and started the washer.

Next, I shaved and showered. As part of Lu's focus group (I hope you people that got her soap are giving her feedback), today I am trying her "Grandma Lu's White Lye Soap."

BTW, I found that the "Oatmeal and Rosemary Scrub" I tried and thought a bit abrasive, works great on my feet. So, I use it everyday.

"Grandma Lu's White Lye Soap," was nice and soft, a lot like the Ivory Soap I use day in and out. I can't feel an appreciable difference, BTW, although I am sure Lu would tell me the Ivory soap has some extra nasty things in it that goat soap doesn't, lol!

Next, I headed out. I need to go to the bank, and then Meijer's. I made an impulse buy of some mini-daffodils in a little watering can (I must need some Spring in my life!) See photos. Unfortunately, Meijer's didn't have everything I needed. So, I headed to Westborn. I got back home around noon.

Jake & Carla are supposed to be here around 2:30 PM. So, I started my potatoes skins. I pierced each baby redskin potato with a fork, coated them all (maybe 20 - 25) with olive oil and added some kosher salt and stuck them in a 425 degree F. oven for about 20 minutes.

When they came out, I cut each one in half and, using a melon baler, dug out the inside, trying to leave about 1/4 inch potato flesh against the skin. I saved the potato flesh, BTW. I'll use it later, I am sure!

While they were cooling, I saut�ed an uncooked Mexican chorizo sausage (casing removed) with a shallot. I let that cool as well. Finally, I stuffed the potatoes with the sausage, set them back on the half sheet and sprinkled shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese on top of them.

Upon reflection, I wish I had waited for them to arrive before I put the potato skins back in the oven to warm up and melt the cheese. Three sets of eyes would have been better, because when I took them out, they were burned!!! I was so disgusted; I went and took a nap.

When I woke up Jake and Carla were here and hard at work. I didn't have to explain about the burnt potato skins, as they had seen them.

They made two items as well. One was a take-off on a turkey sandwich. They cooked some bacon in the oven and made a blue cheese mayo. Carla cut dinner rolls in the upper third and then another cut in the lower third (the middle portion she discarded) to make mini-hamburger buns. Jake washed some radicchio leaves and then Carla assembled the dish: Blue cheese mayo on the bottom of the "bun," then a radicchio leaf, some bacon, thin-sliced smoked turkey and then the "top" of the bun.

The next thing was Buffalo Chicken Cheese Balls. Carla took all the meat off of a rotisserie chicken and combined it with some hot sauce, sharp Cheddar, scallions, flour, eggs and panko bread crumbs. She rolled them into balls (a little smaller than a golf ball) and Jake deep fried them in 350 degree F. peanut oil in batches. When they were done, (about two minutes per batch) they went on a rack over a paper towel to drain and cool.

Then they made the dipping sauce with mayo, blue cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice and some chopped garlic.

I figured with the turkey sandwiches, my goat cheese and garlic baguette slices would be a bit redundant so I didn't make them. As I am writing this, I realize I contributed nothing to this event that I conceived! Sorry!

Then, we feasted!!! The sandwiches were awesome and the radicchio gave them a nice crunch and flavor. The Buffalo Chicken Cheese Balls were perfectly seasoned with a nice kick to them and the dipping sauce was excellent.

Since Jake loves to clean up as he cooks there was just the oil to deal with (and the oil had to cool off anyway) when they were ready to leave. I watched them put the leftovers into the fridge, but don't remember seeing them take any (I hope they did). They headed home and I headed for the TV.

About 10:00 PM, I was hungry so I had two more sandwiches. Good eats!