Super Bowl Sunday

Of all the possibilities to eclipse brunch, Super Bowl Sunday is one of them. This day dedicated to eating, drinking, and being merry is rivaled only by Thanksgiving, and millions of people around the world found themselves in drunken and swollen belly stupors yesterday. I was no exception. I tended to focus more on munchies and ignore the booze which would take up valuable tummy space, although I did partake in a Rum and Root Beer which was spectacular. The spread we had at my aunt's condo in Oceanside was unbelievable. Not only was there a fabulous view of the ocean from their balcony and a calming breeze from the marina, there was an absolutely loaded table with homemade goodies. Luckily the family understands the importance of homemade and largely skipped the store bought stuff minus chips and unavoidables like that. Shrimp dip, homemade cocktail sauce, chili (mine!), meatballs, and an array of dips sagged the table to its breaking point. I was particularly proud of my contribution of my first attempt at chili, which albeit spicy, was insane. I have to thank Andy Hannas for his recipe contribution, and while mine could NEVER rival his, I thought it turned out PDG. If you want the recipe, let me know and I might be convinced to part with it. Probably not, so just feast your eyes on the photo and try to be satiated. Unfortunately, chili does not translate well into photos, but I often find the pukier it looks the better it tastes. This was no exception.

wiggy stew

Our first crock pot experiment! We had gotten gigantic steaks for $5 at 99 Ranch Asian Market and marinated them in red wine vinegar, A1 with Tabasco, scallions, basil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a smidge of Tapatio for a few days. We'd already eaten 2 of the 3 so we decided to put the remaining one to good use as a stew. We added a potato, chicken stock, a dollop of Chili Garlic paste, carrots, half of can of High Life (only the best beer for us) and of course a can of drained La Choy veggies with a splash of Sriracha. A few more herbs and we were cookin!

I'd caught some flak for acquiring the "lazy mans" kitchen utensil, but we didn't want it because of laziness! I simply enjoy the tenderness of slow-cooked food and it's unbelievably convenient! It smelled AWESOME when I got home from work and when Ashton and I finally sat down to enjoy it tasted even better. The steaks had been somewhat chewy and tough when we'd stir-fried them, but this was just the ticket for tender meat. It was surprisingly spicy, but thinking about it I have no idea how this came as a surprise considering the amount of peppers we added. We called it Wiggy Stew because basically Wiggy is an inside joke and just a funny word that was repeated often during the meal. It has nothing to do with the wig as an ingredient.

I think this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship, minus the fruit.