So, the 49ers might not be the team they were a couple years ago, but beating them sure felt good. Their defense was inspired, but so was ours, and our offense had way more in the tank than theirs did. Because it was a 4:30 game, the game food had to be dinner-like, at least in some ways. So, for the early parts of the game, I trotted out the garlic-parmesan potato bites:
Long about half-time, when Married Into Wolves arrived, we brought out the meal. We had macaroni and cheese:
We also fired up the grill and did some brats:
Other dinner elements, not pictured, included roasted corn and baked beans (out of a can, not homemade- sorry). All in all, it was a very satisfying win. Same for the game food.
A most excellent victory last night. It did not make up for the NFC title game, but I was really getting tired of having to play Seattle in Seattle. Anyway, at Lambeau, we won, they lost, and I hope they rot and burn in Hell. Other than that, I have no feelings one way or the other about the Seahawks.
The game food is another story: I have nothing but good feelings about that. Because this was a night game, I had to make game food that could double as dinner, since Mrs. Wolves would be eating her game food as dinner before the game started. This is not as hard as it sounds, given my game food repertoire. First, I made ribs:
Yeah, I smoked 'em first. Homemade sauce. Pretty damn good, folks. Very tender. I also fixed the potato recipe I used last week, the smushed red potatoes thing. Boiled them longer this time, and they smushed just right. Added a little mozzarella to the Parmesan this time. Worked well:
Added some pigs in a blanket to be game-foodier, and because that's what I wanted to eat during the game:
To round out Mrs. Wolves' dinner, I roasted some corn on the cob and threw in some baked beans (not homemade, alas -- too little time). All in all, and excellent meal and an excellent game. Go Pack!
Always good to win, especially on Opening Day, which the Packers haven't done in several years. The Packers might have been slow starters in the past, but this year they went to Chicago and sent the hated Bears down to defeat in the longest-running rivalry in the NFL. Well, if the Packers were going to get off to a fast start, then the game food porn would have to, as well.
In honor of the new season, I fixed two new game food dishes. First, I trotted out a new meatballs recipe. The recipe I found billed these as "sweet and sour meatballs," but I think you will all agree that they are more of a barbeque sauce meatballs kind of thing. You can decide.
First, you will need 3/4 pound of ground beef, 3/4 pound of ground turkey, one minced onion, 1-2 eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, 3/4 cup catsup, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 3 tbsp sugar, and 2 tsp dry mustard:
That onion ain't gonna mince itself. You can use a food processor or a hand grater, but make sure you get that stuff minced up right:
And I do mean right:
Next, put the hamburger and turkey in a large mixing bowl:
Beat your eggs like a rented mule:
Add them to the mixing bowl:
Toss in the minced onion and the bread crumbs, then mix it up right:
Having mixed it up right, shape the mixture into things that resemble meatballs, maybe an inch or so in diameter:
Blast a skillet with non-stick spray, then brown the meatballs in batches. No need to cook all the way through here, but brown them good:
Perhaps the Dave Clark Five would refer to this as "Brown All Over:"
Yeah, that was a little random. Anyway, pull the meatballs from the skillet:
You will now add the remaining ingredients to the skillet -- catsup, vinegar, Worcestershire, sugar and dry mustard -- mix them up right and bring them to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, add the meatballs and cook until the meatballs are cooked through. You can cover it and go about your business for 10 or 15 minutes with the meatballs on low heat:
Plate those suckers up, 'cause they gonna be good:
In the midst of all this, I also made a substitute for the stuffed potato skins that have been a mainstay of ever Packers games since the blog began, and well before that. I like this recipe, though, as did Mrs. Wolves, so we'll probably see this and the stuffed skins alternate through the season.
You will need some red potatoes, salt, olive oil, pepper, garlic powder, shredded Parmesan cheese and bacon:
Boil the red potatoes until they are very tender. They have to smash easily:
Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil and put the potatoes on the sheet. Take a potato masher and, well, mast them. Just press straight down, rotate your masher 90 degrees and do it again:
Drizzle a little olive oil on each potato, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with garlic powder, top with bacon and Parmesan:
Bake those suckers at 450 for about 20 minutes and plate 'em up:
I also fixed brown sugar bacon dogs, which are always so, so good, and we would up with a good-looking spread:
Combined with a Packers victory, not a bad fall Sunday afternoon. Bon appetit, and Go Pack!
