Category Archives: eating the opponent

Eating the opponent continues!

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In case you wondered, we are continuing the tradition of Eating the Opponent. Each week during the NFL season, we look up the Packers schedule and choose a signature dish from the area of the opposing team. We’ve stretched on occasion: Bear claws for breakfast, for example, or turnovers when Favre was still throwing picks for the Vikings. This weekend, while Chuck drives a company car to Detroit for the occasion, we chose to eat a Michigan food not out of Detroit, but from the Upper Peninsula. You guessed it, locals, we had pasties.

Any questions?

For a little pasty history, see last year’s post.

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So we should eat which opponent this week?

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“Daisy, you should have had a second cup of Starbucks coffee!”

I was greeted with this after a nearly sleepless night. Eating the Opponent — well, I’ll start with Sunday’s menu.

On Sunday, Iron Chef Chuck cooked up a fabulous salmon dish with a crab stuffing on top. With sides made from apples and potatoes, our Eating the Opponent: Seattle meal was perfect. Almost perfect.

Monday afternoon we (a vanload of teachers) took a small detour off the highway on our way home from a field trip. One of my coworkers pulled up his smart phone and found the nearest Starbucks for me. Why? People, people, Starbucks coffee, a quintessential Seattle product, was part of the plan for “Eating the Opponent.” This nice young teacher, a native of Cleveland and a Browns fan, guided us to Starbucks, where I treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte in honor of the occasion.

Readers, if you didn’t watch the game, I’m sure you heard about it. I’m sure you saw replays of the final play, one of many botched calls by the replacement referees, and the disastrous results.

Back to the beginning. My coworkers first suggested that a second helping of Eating the Opponent might have helped. However, it wasn’t the Seahawks who beat Aaron Rodgers and Crew. It wasn’t the eleven men on the field or the mythical Twelfth Man, as they call their fans.

The replacement referees beat the Green Bay Packers.

So how does a family go about Eating the Opponent when the opponent isn’t the other team and the opponent has no home field?

My friendly cubicle neighbor suggested something stinky– limburger cheese –to represent the stinky job the officials had done. Another added sauerkraut to the list. Chuck sent me an email suggesting zebra burgers and vanilla-chocolate swirl pudding.

With that, readers, I need to stop. The NFL lockout of their officials is anything but a joke. The replacement refs are in a no-win situation in more ways than one. The more mistakes, the more doubts, and the more anger from players and coaches and fans. If the league is serious about maintaining any integrity to the 2012 season, they’ll negotiate now and negotiate quickly, before their substitutes in black and white get eaten alive.

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Famous Last Words

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Famous Last Words: “I’ll plant all the seeds. They’re old seeds, probably only a few will come up.”  Actual result: the tomato jungle, home to more than 50 plants.

Famous Last Words: “It’s a good time to travel. I’ll be back in time for most of the Packers-49ers game. I can listen to the beginning on the radio.”  Um, AM radio. See below. Not so easy.

Famous Last Words: “I don’t need directions. I’ll use my GPS.” Actual result: I forgot I was going to be in Stevens Point, central Wisconsin, the Black Hole of all things electronic. Smart phones, GPS Navigators, whatever, data connectivity is next to nil in this area. How do the UWSP students survive?

I did manage to get where I was going with a combination of gut feelings, a slight knowledge of the town, a stop at a gas station, and a quick call to Chuck who pulled up MapQuest and confirmed what I’d heard from the gas station guy. I’d actually passed the place twice. It wasn’t well marked.

The irony here is that I was headed to the Democratic Party’s HQ to pick up yard signs destined for our local office. The Portage County Democrats’ office has a good location, but poor signage. Maybe they should have kept one sign instead of sending them all with me.

After I finished my errand (road trip), delivered the signs to the local office, and then headed for home, I watched my Packers start the season poorly. Sigh. Aaron Rodgers just wasn’t in his prime form for this game. I didn’t need to rush home after all.

So after the game, I spent some time tearing up another dish towel to make more tie-ups for the tomatoes. See above: I ran out and needed more to hold up the volunteer tomato plants. Like I needed any more tomato plants this year – I’ll nurture them anyway.

P.S. Eating the Opponent: San Francisco included swordfish steaks, California oranges, and a seafood dish with rice that Chuck assures me is authentic to the area.

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>Eating the Opponent – planning ahead

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>My Green Bay Packers had a bye the first week of postseason. Depending on the results of two other games (or three?), they knew they would either play the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions, or the Atlanta Falcons. Or was it – Giants, Lions, or Saints? No, I think the Saints are elsewhere in the seeding order. Is that redundant – seeding order?

Meanwhile, back at the O.K. Chorale, we had no opponent last week. We had no definitive direction in which to point our spatulas and whisks. Instead of a menu, I give you The NFL Postseason According to Chuck.
Remember, Chuck is not a football fan. He’s been forced to learn the game because 1. he married me and 2. he works for a television station in Green Bay and 3. his kids bleed green and gold like their mother. Despite being uncaring and outnumbered, he has a theory on this year’s postseason action and potential results. Here goes:
Chuck believes that marketing drives all. The game that would attract the most viewers and have the most action would be an NFC Championship Game featuring two of the best quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. To get that far, New Orleans has to win again, and Green Bay has to beat the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
That’s basically it. New Orleans vs. Green Bay at Lambeau Field on January 22. Are you in, fellow fans? I’ll bring the jambalaya.
But first, I’ll bring home Jersey bagels for breakfast and grill New York Strip Steak for dinner. Take that, Giants.
As for the AFC, Chuck predicts the Denver Broncos. In his twisted television logic, he reminded me that the networks have groomed us to want the most drama before, during, and after the game. If Chuck’s predictions come to pass (no pun intended, and don’t you dare say none noticed), we’ll see MVP Aaron Rodgers and his entourage up against the God-loving rookie kneeling on the sidelines.
Well, Tebow may be posing for a new version of The Thinker, but he shouldn’t forget that Reggie White was evangelizing on the field when little Timmy was still a bobble-headed Pop Warner kid. And Reggie earned his wings, I mean his Super Bowl ring, with the green and gold.
Any questions?

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>Eating the Opponent for the Playoffs

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>

I baked pumpkin bread in the bread machine a few days ago and thought, “Ooh! I should post this.” Duh. I posted it just before Christmas. By the way, it’s delicious with pecans.
As for Eating the Opponent, we’re thinking New York Strip Steak and Jersey bagels. Then again, New York pizza has its own style and Lombardi’s of Manhattan is reputed to have been the first pizzeria in the U.S. Related to the trophy namesake? My research in that direction has had no results.
On the other hand, there are the famous New York black and white cookies, made from cake, not cookies. They look delicious, but I don’t have time to bake a high-maintenance recipe that includes small cakes and two kinds of frosting. I wonder if any local bakeries make them? It might be worth checking. This native New York dish has a roundabout connection to the upcoming game, almost a 6 Degrees type of thing. Here goes.
The last time the New York Giants came to Lambeau Field, there was a big to-do about Eli Manning’s favorite TV show being Seinfeld. Not wanting to give comfort to the enemy, our local affiliate refused to run its Seinfeld reruns at the usual time on that Saturday night. Seinfeld has incorporated the black and white cookie into at least one or two episodes. Is that enough for a connection? Well, if I had time to bake, maybe.
My research also turned up New York chili dogs, a.k.a. Coney dogs, but we used those as a tribute to the Detroit Lions. Let’s hear it, readers. Can you name a uniquely New York food suitable for Eating the Opponent this weekend?

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>Eating the Opponent: Detroit!

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>Eat our turf, Lions!

I mean – the project continues. La Petite has her lucky jersey (Aaron Rodgers’ retro style), Amigo has his touchdown dance, and we have Eating the Opponent. Upon further review, we found that the Coney Dog actually has Michigan roots. To make this in true Detroit style, we’ll need the following:
  • all-beef weiners, natural casing preferred
  • all meat chili (no beans or other additives), a.k.a. Coney Sauce
  • diced yellow onions
  • yellow mustard (optional)
  • hot dog buns, lightly toasted
Readers, I think you can figure out how it all fits together.
In the interests of shopping locally, I’m going to pick up my hot dogs at the neighborhood corner market and find some good buns at a nearby bakery. I think we can handle the chili ourselves.
Now that I’m an owner, Eating the Opponent takes on new meaning. Or does it? We were pretty hard core already. The Packers have a bye the first week of the playoffs. How will I know what to cook?
In other news: Badgers Fans, consider serving Duck on New Years Day. You get the drift.

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>Eating the Opponent: Chicago!

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>Why are you reading blogs? It’s Christmas Eve! Oh, yes, it’s NFL football day, too. My Green Bay Packers play tomorrow, though. However, Green Bay maintains its popularity in the NFL schedule by playing on the national stage again, this time on a holiday: Christmas Day.

In the Okay By Me homestead, we’ll eat the opponent on Christmas Eve. Tonight. After a day of wrapping presents and organizing gifts and cleaning the house, I just don’t feel up to cooking something special. Neither does Chuck. It’s a good thing the Packers are playing the Chicago Bears. We picked up a Chicago style deep dish pizza yesterday from a take and bake place. Followed by Christmas cookies for dessert, it will be the perfect Christmas Eve supper.
After the presents are unwrapped, the brunch eaten, the naps taken (believe me, I’ll need one), we’ll gather around the Christmas tree and watch our Packers take the field once again. It’s Aaron Rodgers’ neighborhood, remember, and Sunday promises to be a beautiful day.

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>Banana Bread with Crumble Topping

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>Recipe from Bakesale Betty: Oakland, CA. This was part of our Eating the Opponent challenge as the Packers prepared to play the Oakland Raiders.


Ingredients: banana bread batter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed rip bananas – 2 to 3 medium
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
1/4 cup honey (local, of course)
Crumble ingredients:
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
Directions:
Butter and flour 9″ by 5″ by 3″ bread pan or alternative
Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
Whisk bananas, eggs, oil, and honey. add dry ingredients; stir to blend. Transfer batter to pan(s). Mix crumble ingredients; sprinkle over batter.
Bake bread at 350 for 1 hour – less if splitting it into smaller pans. Cool bread in pan for 30 minutes (if you can wait that long). Turn pan on its side; slide out bread, being gentle with topping. Turn bread right side up and cool completely.
This might just become my Christmas morning standard. It can bake and then cool while we’re opening presents. By the time we’ve left the wrappings as playthings for the rabbit, we’re hungry enough to enjoy a special treat. This banana bread with more could be just the right treat.

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>Eating the Opponent – the Oakland Raiders

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>Sometimes it’s the quest. It’s the journey, not the destination. When Eating the Opponent, however, the destination matters, too. The Oakland Raiders presented a challenge.

Oakland, CA is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. Since local foods and signature recipes often come from local culture (see Gumbo or Jambalaya), extreme diversity poses a problem. What to serve? A Raider Nation head on a platter didn’t seem, well, tasteful, to tell you the truth.
I tried searches for local foods, local restaurants, and even stadium foods. No luck. I found some fascinating sites and interesting articles, but no foods that could grace our table the weekend the Packers play the Raiders. Finally, a search for Oakland Recipes turned up a list of signature recipes from local restaurants. Chuck wasn’t thrilled to try cooking duck, so I opted for downloading a savory chicken recipe from SR24 and a banana bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping from Bakesale Betty’s. Both look delicious on the page; they’ll be delectable on our table.
In other news, Chuck found out that in 2009 the Raiders’ stadium was named the most vegetarian friendly venue in the NFL. Maybe we’ll have Boca Burgers instead of the baked chicken.
Superstitious? No, not really. But we followed this routine last year as we watched our Packers go to the Super Bowl and win it. Why mess with success? Besides, this Eating the Opponent game is a lot of delightful fun.
Hey, Raiders fans? Good luck with the new stadium. You deserve it. Believe me, we Cheeseheads understand your passion for the local team. Maybe Favre would come out of retirement to help you out…. never mind.

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>Eating the Opponent – New York or New Jersey?

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>My Green Bay Packers play the New York Giants tomorrow. In keeping with our tradition, we are planning to serve New York cuisine of some sort tonight to represent eating the opponent. This gets complicated, though. The Giants don’t actually play in New York. Their home field, Met Life Stadium, is actually in New Jersey. What to do, what to serve, what to eat?

Amigo suggested New York strip steak. Chuck and I said, “Sure! That’ll be delicious.” It was almost too easy, though, so we kept going with our research. We settled on bagels for breakfast – not just any bagels, bagels from a local store that calls itself Jersey Bagels. They have great coffees, too. Ahem. Easy decision, that one.
Then Chuck found a site called New Amsterdam Market, saw a picture that inspired him, and started searching for the recipe. He found a pasta dish that incorporates butternut squash and fresh sage, both ingredients we have in the house. We’ll have that on the side with our steak tonight.
In other factors, it’s lousy weather this weekend in Northeastern Wisconsin. 37 degrees Fahrenheit, steady rain, and that means cold, wet, and colder and wetter. Two cold-weather teams ought to do well in this mess, but neither will enjoy playing. I almost (almost) hope the temperatures go down several degrees and that rain becomes snow. Green Bay Tough means coping with snow is easy. Well, maybe not easy, but within reason. Is New York-Jersey tough the same?
Several years ago when Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning came to town, a local television station decided to change its schedule and refuse to air reruns of Manning’s favorite show, Seinfeld. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it had no effect on the game. Favre threw one of his patented interceptions (Rodgers will let him keep that record), and the rest is history that ended with the Giants beating the Patriots in that year’s Big Game.
Here we go, with the Packers undefeated at 11-0. Can they battle the elements as well as they’ve battled opponents? Will Manning and company be able to overcome Mr. Rodgers’ home field neighborhood advantage? Stay tuned, and eat steak. New York strip steak, with a Big Apple on the side.

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