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New-Coach Chorizo-Seafood Gumbo

Arkansas Vs. LSU

Happy Thanksgiving! A new coach is on his way to Arkansas, and this gumbo is for him -- whoever he might be.

This rouge-colored melange is based on Emeril's "Mr. John's chorizo and sausage gumbo," a recipe we first tried last year during the Mississippi State game and have made about six times. The gumbo has voodoo-like magical qualities, not only curing illness but rectifying sociopolitical wrongs. It is the eponymous gumbo we were dreaming about when we launched Razorgumbo as a food blog. You can find the original purist version on www.Food.com.

Today I'm going to offer up the version my family makes, which uses seafood you can get at Kroger in Arkansas, rather than relying on all-fresh stuff from the Gulf. The only way that gumbo can get better than this, I think, is for the seafood to be fresh and for the stock to be a real seafood stock rather than the chicken stock we use here.

I'm also going to offer extra instructions that will keep you from messing up the roux. We all know roux cooking can be tricky, just like making risotto. But really it is simply about using the right pot and getting the oil to the right temp before you start. From there its pretty doable.

From start to finish, allow 3-4 hours for this gumbo to be complete. And get ready to dedicate 30-40 minutes to standing over the stove while the roux is being made. Do not step aside for one minute. A roux requires total devotion to the stove. Don't be cooking anything else, raising children, working on a business plan or playing the cornet.

If you make this gumbo correctly it will be very dark and have the toasty flavor of a dark-roast coffee. But the beautiful thing is that you can always adjust the level of roux flavor by simply not cooking the roux as long. You can also easily adjust the level of spice so this should work for just about anyone. Just don't expect me to respect you if you dial down the toastyness.

As for the sausage -- if you use chorizo there will be a red color to the gumbo and a lot of spicy pepper is built in, so you won't have to use as much Creole seasoing as you might think. However, chorizo is a very fatty sausage and it will cause there to be a layer of oil on top that is hard to reincorporate into the gumbo. If this is offputting to you, use one of those fat mops you can get at a cooking store to remove as much of the fat as possible. Or, do what we have recently decided to do and use a really good smoked sausage instead, making up for the lack of chorizo by using some chile. It just struck me at this moment that the Knorr-brand chipotle bullion cubes would be could for this because they impart extra smokiness while bringing some heat. Consider that in lieu of chorizo.And a couple of shots of Tabasco in the bowl after you serve it up also imparts an interesting flavor.

Another important note: This is not an okra gumbo. You sprinkle file (fee-lay) over the gumbo once it is in the bowl to thicken slightly and give it that fantastic sasafras taste. Okra is for frying or roasting. Just say no to okra gumbo, please.

In the words of Farm Boy from  "The Princess Bride," HEAR ME NOW: The roux is everything.

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 pound chorizo or other smoked sausage, finely chopped, plus 1 pound chorizo, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• Creole seasoning
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (Emeril calls for shrimp stock, but we can't get that or can't be bothered to make it.) Or how about using the stock from the turkey you just made for Thanksgiving?
• Crab meat -- one small refigerated container (Emeril calls for a dozen frozen gumbo crabs, thawed)
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (Use frozen unless you have access to fresh)
• 2 pounds Louisiana Crawfish tails (these are in the refrigerated seafood section)
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 6 cups cooked long grain white rice, warm
• Louisiana File Powder (do not leave this out or attempt to put okra in this gumbo)

Remember this -- NEVER FORGET THIS! Chop all the vegetables and the sausage first, and make or have the stock nearby. In a large, heavy pot or, perhaps, a Razorback-colored Lodge-brand enamel cast-iron Dutch oven,  combine the oil and flour in a very particular way over medium heat.

Turn the burner to medium and allow the pot to warm with the oil in it. When you start smelling the oil a little and you can see movement of the oil in the pot, you are ready to go. Just do not put the flour in until the oil is hot. If you do, you will make something like Play-Doh.

Add the flour to the oil slowly over about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constrantly with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula. This will avoid scratching your enamel and works better than plastic. Depending on how long this is taking to darken, you can nudge the burner just a little past the midway point to hot,  but not more than that. Keep constantly stirring except possibly for 5-10 second breaks in the early going. If you take a break in the later part of the cooking, more things get burned.

The best reason to use the enamel cast iron is that you don't get any hot spots. Hot spots burn the roux and then spoil the whole thing. With the enamel, you can tiny little pieces that are extra toasted but nothing gets burned. In fact, sometimes it takes longer than I want and I turn the heat up a little because the pot cooks so evenly and won't burn.

Your roux should end up being the color of dark-roast coffee. If you go slowly you can confidently toast it to this level. The general rule is, if you are asking your spouse if the roux is done, it is not. If you pull up short before reaching the French-roast color, you will not get the rich flavor this gumbo needs. If you use a regular pot thhis can be done in 20 minutes but you will take more risk. Get the cast iron enamel and take a little more time.

Okay, once the roux is perfect, seize the day! Immediately put the chopped onions, bell peppers, chopped celery, and 1/2 pound of the chopped sausage in, and season somewhat with Creole seasoning -- you can always put more in later,. DO NOT TASTE THE ROUX NOW!!! It looks tasteable but it is essentially boiling fat. It will kill you!

The veggies go in.

Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Now, add the stock. If you have gumbo crabs, put those in now, along with the first half of the chorizo or other sausage. If you are using crab meat, then put it in later near the end with the other seafood.

Enter the chorizo.

 Stir the stock into the roux until it is  well combined. NOW you can taste it. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for  2 hours. No worries in the enamel cast iron pot -- it will not stick or burn.

Meanwhile, during the cooking of the gumbo base, season the seafood with Creole seasoning.

The stock has now been added.

Crab meat and crawfish tails spiced.

Shrimp thawed and shelled.

All seafood combined and spiced with second half of chorizo added.

After the two hours of cooking, add in  the seafood and remaining sliced sausage to the gumbo. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before skimming off the fat that has risen to the surface. Taste for seasonings and adjust. Stir in the green onions and parsley and serve the gumbo in individual soup or gumbo bowls with the rice. Pass the file powder at the table.

A word about the rice - keep it mininal. I put only a half-cup of cooked rice in the bowl and then fill the rest of the bowl with rice. Rice is filler! This is about flavor. I think an excellent rice to go with gumbo is the Texmati rice from Alvin, Texas, produced by RiceTek. This company was started by the prince of Lichtenstein and it specializes in hybridizing exotic rice types from around the world so they can be grown by farmers in the southern U.S. Their rice also comes in square plastic containers that stack well in the pantry. All those loose bags of rice are a pain. If you get the Texmati you can repurpose the container in your pantry or garage and save the Earth.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the gumbo!

Razorback Thankfulness Rant

Its Thanksgiving and there is so much to be thankful for -- even if you are a Razorback fan.

For the coach we are about to receive, we are supremely thankful. Whether it is a Gruden, Gundy, Patterson, Strong, Smart, Dykes, Briles or a deserving coordinator who has not even been mentioend yet, thank you lawdy. A new era is about to begin, full of hope and excitement. And I dare say that next Thanksgiving, we won't be sitting here wondering if we will even watch the second half of the LSU game. Thank you Jeff Long for opening up the checkbook and getting someone in here who can lead us back to glory.

While I am feeling all aglow, I want to say a few words of thanks for those who have coached in the past. Thank you Frank Broyles for creating a program out of nothing, winning an obscene amount of games and bringing us a (disputed) national championship, all without throwing the ball.

Thank you Lou Holtz for being the ultimate new coach -- the kind we hope to get now -- who comes in with a huge boost of discipline and enthusiasm and elevates a program overnight to national contender status. Always loved you, Lou, even though you were snarky about Fayetteville.

Thank you Ken Hatfield for being the dependable bowl-game guy. Your boring but effective offense kept us perennially in the mix in the Southwest conference. Also, thanks for one of the shortest and most controversial Razorback quotes ever: "Jesus Wept." Yes, I am aware that someone else said that first.

Thank you Jack Crowe for being a super nice guy and for humiliating Houston Nutt a couple of years ago at Ole Miss. And, for being kind enough to reach out to some sportswriters who had just been laid off by the conquering newspaper across the street.

Thank you Joe Kines for beating Alabama in a miracle game. Thank you Danny Ford for somehow recruiting the players that a superior coach would later almost lead to the national title game, were it not for an idiotic unforced fumble.

Thank you Houston Nutt for your predictability. You often went to a bowl game, you almost never won it and I always, always new what you would do on third down. Thanks for all the laughs you gave me when you would call pass plays on third and even fourth down designed to fall two yards short of the first-down marker. Thanks for all those good times with 10 seconds left to go in the first half when you should take a knee and just "take it to the house." Thanks for always finding a way to make quarterbacks worse the more years they spent on your teams. Ok, I am dripping with insincerity here. Yes, Nutt is a good coach. Good for 8 wins and an occassional Cotton Bowl. And yes, that would look pretty good right now.

Thank you Bobby MF Petrino for being the best coach we have ever had at Arkansas--maybe the best coach we will ever have. We will see. I have a feeling that if anyone ever exceeds Petrino it will be this next guy -- who will have the advantage of 100 percent fan good will, the best football facility in the country and a year of moderate to low expectations. Thank you for knowing that it is not just winning that fans love, but winning in an exciting style. Thank you for not giving a *&$% about what anyone thought, but just winning. You were a lot of fun. I will always miss watching you tear into a referee, and I have to admit I also enjoyed watching you rip your players, especially now that I know that this actually worked (See, for contrast, uncle John L Smith)..Bobby, you made us believe we could be permanent national contenders. And had you been a good boy, we would still be contenders right now.

Most of all, thank you for that moment two years ago in the LSU game, right before the half, when everyone in Arkansas and even the announcers though you would run out the clock like Nutt did, but instead, throwing one of the most amazing touchdown pass plays in Razorback history to Cobi Hamilton. He split two defenders, who then essentially knocked each other out, and went the length of the field. That, my friends, was Bobby MF Petrino. He dropped the mic in the locker room, I am sure, and just said "BOOM."

Finally, thank you John L. Smith for being a good-natured, calming influence on our players. They needed you to be calming because of how terrible a coach you would ultimately prove to be. You seem like a good person -- a person of dignity. And there is still a chance that you might leave us with one great memory (other than "We didn't come to paint" and "Get your piss hot.") -- a surprising defeat of LSU full of crazy laterals and throwback plays, fake punts and a hook-and-ladder. Anyway, you do seem like a great guy. You had to put up with some really bad injuries and circumstances this year, but having weighed it all, you made things worse. Nonetheless, thanks for not yelling at reporters or making an ass of yourself as you failed us miserably in your role of one-year caretaker. You had a lot of personal stuff to deal with, and I imagine that few people could have handled it all as well as you did. Though a few people could have hanndled it worse and actually won some games. Just saying.

Mrs. C's Buttery Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee-Cream-Cheese Frosting

Arkansas Vs. Mississippi State

This morning, an imperfect man did an imperfect job in making a nearly perfect cinnamon roll recipe in honor of a famously imperfect football team. And yet, it was amaze-balls.

It's morning again on a Saturday, and that must mean the Razorbacks are about to play a football game in the least coveted spot on the TV schedule. Let's win this one and pig out in the process!

All the glory for this recipe goes to a friend of mine who wishes to remain nameless because she adapted her recipe from the Pioneer Woman. For your crime of adapting another cook's recipe, Mrs. C, I hereby sentence you to give me all your other adapted recipes because they are AWESOME. Mrs. C has one of the most interesting and detailed food blogs I have ever seen, and is truly an artist. I would not be shocked to see her on the Food Network some day.

I first tried this recipe last Christmas and it was incredible, though I am pretty sure I made it wrong. Last year I misunderstood the recipe and put in half the amount of sugar in the dough. This year, I caught my mistake and put the other half in the spongy dough starter after it was made.

The really interesting and unique thing about the recipe is that you make the sticky dough in a dutch oven and let it rise there with the lid on. That just appeals to the campfire side of me. If you can't make it in cast-iron cookery then it is probably crap.

Originally, the Pioneer Woman did this with a maple glaze. I plan to try that next time around as I am a big fan of the maple. This time, however, I honor Mrs. C with her coffee-spiked topping, and look forward  to watching my kids ping off the walls for an hour or so.

WARNING -- start softening butter and  cream cheese now, a couple of hours before you do this. See, this kind of stuff is what always gets me. Recipes are not linear. You have to read them through and takes notes because the first step is generally the sixteenth step and, being the kind of guy who rips the package open on tings and never reads the instructions, I need help with this kind of thing.

Mrs. C's Buttery Cinnamon Rolls

1 pint whole milk (that's two cups for you greenhorns)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups (plus 1./2 cup extra) all-purpose flour
1/2 HEAPING teaspoon baking power ( missed the heaping part this time, thus the emphasis)
1/2 SCANT teaspoon baking soda (ditto)

1/2 HEAPING tablespoon salt

Plenty of melted butter -- (nearly 1/2 cup)

EXTRA 1/2 cup sugar for sprinkle
1 tablespoon of cinnamon for sprinkle

Coffee-Cream-Cheese Frosting

1/2 bag powdered sugar (this is kind of inprecise. I had a "box"")
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons whole milk (warmed up with 1 tablespoon espresso or French roast powder mixed in)
1/2 stick softened butter
1 8 -oz. package softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large stew pot or a Razorback-colored cast-iron enamel dutch oven made by Lodge, (it holds in warmth and promotes the cause) heat up the milk, vegetable oil and sugar, until warm. Just dip a finger in to check -- it should be quite warm but not hot. I like "quite warm," by the way. It's very British. Quite so.

Turn off the heat, take pot off the burner and sprinkle in the package of yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 4 cups of flour. Stir the mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour on the burner that is TURNED OFF NOW.

After rising the sticky dough for at least an hour, add 1/2 cup extra flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stire the mixture together.

Sprinkle your rolling surface generously with flour. Stretch the dough to form a rough rectangle. Not a square. Go for something longer on line side by a ratio of like 3 to 2 or so. Roll the dough thin -- I never do this thinly enough! If you don't get it thin, it is harder to roll this thing up into a neat roll.

Melt the butter. The recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup and I was closer to the larger number. Spread the butter across the dough then sprinkle it with a mixture of the sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling. Sprinkle the mix evenly over the butter.

Now, from the SHORT end of the dough, roll this thing over as tightly as possible. If you rolled it too thick or put too much butter on, it will be hard to get it to make a perfect tube and it your roll will kind of become oval. Welcome to my world of imperfection.

When it is entirely rolled up, pinch the seam to seal it. Yeah, I didn't do that either. Oops.

Okay, now take a talespoon of butter and spread it in a 9x13 or so baking dish., then begin cutting the rolls approximately 3/4-to-1-inch thick and laying them in the pan. If it seems like your rolls are squashed together use a second pan. I overcrowded my pan. What a shame -- it was delicious anyway.

Cover in plastic and let the rolls rise in the refrigerator overnight (or, you can just rise them for an hour on the countertop.) Bake at 375F until golden brown, about 16 to 24 minutes. Larger rolls will need more time.

For the frosting, mix together all the ingredients with a mixer. If you impatiently tried to use the cream cheese and butter without properly warming them, and then you used the warm feature on the microwave, and you had lumps in the mixture, then had to overprocess it to get them out, meaning that you never really got the frosting to set up, well then shame on you because that's what I did, even though decades of experience have taught me better.

If your frosting is too thick to mix, add more milk gradually. Generously spoon this over the rolls while warm, allowing it to melt (yeah right -- mine was permanently in melt mode) into the crevices (I like to say crevass because it reminds me of Chekov).

Now eat it!

For various reasons totally within my control I had this sort of frosting emulsion, and because it completely obliterated the top of the cinnamon rolls, I served them upside down so you could see the cinnamon swirls. It was incredible, and my thanks go out again to Mrs. C!

Go Hogs!

Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich with Smoky Bacon, Cream Cheese, Fried Egg and Pure Maple Syrup

Arkansas Vs. Tulsa

It's another breakfast game this week, so here comes an amazing twist on the traditional morning fare.

This meal is ridiculously  shut-your-pie-hole good. I created it from whole cloth and I am sharing it with you as my gift to the universe .If I die young, you may remember me as the father of three beautiful children and the husband of a talented beauty. Or, you can simply think of me as the guy who kicked waffles in the ass.

There is sound research behind this dish. For the last four years I have devoted dozens of Saturday mornings to develop the world's best hearty mutligrain waffle, and to cooking it perfectly. I started with various mixes, blended them, tried recipies, etc. Finally, I perfected the waffle recipe two years ago as a dish without dairy. The vegan waffle, which I call the Tree Hugger Waffle, is 95 percent as good as the recipe I am suggesting here. So I'm going to give you both recipes in one, and release an important piece of my soul to the world.

It was a quest for a waffle with deep caramel color and character that can be cooked crisp on the outside with a hearty texture and a warm, softer center. I wanted it to stand up to syrup and whatever else I threw at it without getting soft or mushy. And I wanted it to be fabulouosly mutligrained so could revel in its healthfulness, leaving room for all the unhealthy things that would accompany it.

The dream that would become Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich began at a Kiwanis pancake breakfast decades ago, when I accidentally discovered what happens when savory, smokey, salty bacon meets the sweet, earthy pancake syrup. Some people might not appreciate this penultimate collision of flavors. To these people I offer nothing but scorn.

Step two came at a local restaurant a few years ago when I experienced an egg sandwich that came smeared with cream cheese and honey. Wow. Egg, cream cheese and honey. I would not have thought of that.

But the perfect waffle sandwich begins with the waffle, en ingenious piece of food engineering design to hold weight, cradle sweet liquids and stay strong during trying times.  For starters, it had to be based on whole-wheat flour to give it a hearty base.

I worked in the crunch lab for months, learning that the secret to crunch was a combination of corn meal and the right oil -- I have settled on sunflower.. Some of the best pancakes in the world blend cornmeal into the flour, and the same is true here. The extra something special in the dry mix is flax meal. That blend of flax, whole wheat and corn meal in just the right proportions  made magic in my belly.

Color was another issue. I don't like blond or light-tan waffles; I want them to have deep color and even deeper flavor. So one of the first things I did was settle on molasses in the recipe, rather than sugar and water. I have tried honey, too, and it's great, but it doesn't produce the deeper color.

Finally, a great-tasting waffle can still fall flat if you don't have a good waffle maker. I have had many bad ones that just won't crisp the waffle. They sometimes cook forever without the light coming on. After having a decent waffle at a hotel breakfast nook I decided to purchase a big waffle maker that flips the waffles. Right away I was amazed -- these things actually got hot enough to crisp a big, thick waffle, and cook if fast!







 First and Ten: Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich

This is a big recipe that will make 6 or 7 big, thick waffles or 8-10 waffle sandwich wedges.

Sandwich Filling
1/2 package of thick, smoky bacon (I insist on Petit Jean)
4 eggs
Package of cream cheese

Waffle Batter
2 eggs  (or 1 tablespoon egg replacement powder and 4 tablespoons water)
Pure maple syrup
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil (I like sunflower)
3 cups almond milk (or regular milk, or 3 cups water and 6 tablespoons soy powder)
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax meal
1/3 cup corn meal

Start by turning the oven on bake at 250-350 F. Then fry the bacon in a pan and set it aside. Please use a cast-iron skillet so you and I can revel in our rugged superiority. Reserve the bacon grease for something else later (like popcorn). Wipe out the cast-iron skillet with a paper towel for later and keep the pan.

Mix all the dry ingredients for the batter together well, then add the wet ingredients and mix well by hand.

Get the waffle iron hot. With the one I use, set it to 3/4 maximum heat. If you have a wimpy waffle iron, set it all the way high. When it is ready, spray it with canola or vegetable oil. Then follow appliance directions on the amount of batter to add. I cook the waffle until it beeps, then I let it go longer and pull it out with a wooden spoon. I then put the waffle into the oven so it stays crisp and warm.

After you get a waffle or two, put the pan back on heat, put some butter in the pan and let it foam a little, and fry your eggs to your liking. Set them on a plate so they stop cooking.

After you have two waffles, put one down on a large plate and smear it with cream cheese. then lay two of the fried eggs on top. Then a third to half of the bacon you fried. Then swirl some maple syrup over the layers and put the other waffle on top with the waffles grooves aligned.

Cut through the big waffle sandwich to cut it into fourths. Plate each fourth up and smear an extra dollop of cream cheese on top, then swirl more syrup over it and spill some on the plate for dipping.

This is perfect with a banana, orange juice and coffee.

 

Game Notes: Ole Miss

What a great, competitive game to watch. I took my nine-year-old daughter and even she was engaged til the end (with a few mini sinking spells).

My thoughts are these:

• I was really proud of how the team fought til the end, and Dennis Johnson was flat-out amaze balls. Just incredible. I love watching that guy run.
• Johnson did enough to make up for how badly Tyler Wilson actually played. He threw into tight spots at least 10 times. Two or three of them were incredible receptions -- that were lucky. The rest were either almost or actually intercepted. Wilson lost track of the game clock -- twice? I heard something about maybe his hip hurt? Perhaps that might led to his questionable judgement. Not used to him throwing so many bad balls.
• The Ole Miss kicker is a gamer. 54 yards AND the game-winner? Please tell me he isn't a freshman.
• I can not imagine a world in which the illegal formation call that took Arkansas' beautiful touchdown away is actually valid. Refs also missed two pass interference calls against Ole Miss. Has anyone ever seen grounding called three times in one game? Weird. Never seen refs booed like that.
• The defense really kept us in this game and deserves tons of credit. It's too bad they just collapsed completely during that final two-minute drive. Poor guys. They held onto the rope as long as they could.
• There was a stretch in the game where Ole Miss threw a screen to the left THREE TIMES IN A ROW and it worked each time. Twice out of the tripps formation, and once with a single receiver. Then, they faked the throw over there on the fourth time and I seriously thought the QB would run it in for a touchdown, but thankfully, we figured it out. How can a screen to the left work on three straight plays?
• It felt really good to watch John L. get mad and give the refs and earful. I have wanted to see passion and gametime involvement from him and he came up with it today in spades.
• Once again, fans left the stadium in the fourth quarter even before the Hogs got the ball back for the final drive that tied it. They left because they thought we were done. Such an assinine thing to do. If you go to the game, watch the game. Please.
• I knew we would probably lose when the punt was blocked, because that is what happens 90 percent of the time, so I was amazed when we actually had a chance at the end. Our last drive was the second most incredible thing in the game -- second to their last drive.
• I would like to know exactly how that punt got blocked. John L. has already taken the blame for it. But I have other special teams questions. For example, why hasn't Dennis Johnson, last year's best kickoff returner in the SEC, done anything at all this year with that role? Totally different guy, though he is tearing it up from scrimmage. Also, why can't we find someone on the team who can actually catch a punt? And, why is it that when Adams was returning punts, there was often space between him and the approaching kickoff team, but this year the coverage guys are already on top of the punt returner every single time? Is that to be balmed on our coverage scheme? Terrible blocking? Returner playing too shallow? Our special teams went from just about the best around last year to incomprehensively bad this year, with the exception of our place kicker and the distances logged by our punter when he isn't getting blocked or having the snap sent over his head.

Now go read the food part, because that's what this is really about. :-)

Shrimp and Grits, Mayonnaise Biscuits and Hot(ty) Toddies

ARKANSAS VS. OLE MISS

Good morning from Little Rock Arkansas, 4 a.m. on the day of the Ole Miss game. I can't sleep. I am so excited that all I can do is write about food and dream about football. Who would have thought this game could bring so much excitement?

The last Little Rock game brought the agony of the Monroe loss, followed by three more losses and a mass exodus of fans. I had to stop listening to talk radio completely to avoid the softening of my brain. But the Hogs have surged in the last two contests, soundly beating Auburn and demolishing Kentucky in a rain-shortened game that was over on the Tyler Wilson's first snap.Now the team is in contention for a bowl game again. With Ole Miss emerging from its own funk to find an identity under new coach Hugh Freeze, this game looks great. Two evenly matched teams approaching the game from opposite directions, really wantiing and needing the win in the worst way.

Plus, I have to tell you that I am still thinking about the great time I had in The Grove last year when we visited Ole Miss. It too was a morning game, with that nip in the air and bourbon in my Solo cup. There was white chocolate bread pudding warmed by Sterno cans. The Elvis tent. Crazy chandelliers. Impromptu games of "panty, no panty" as the sorority girls parade.

Ole Miss fans are incredibly hospitable and they have a great environment to be hosts in. My wife went to Ole Miss, as did many of my colleagues and some of my clients. It's hard not to like those guys, especially since they got rid of Houston Nutt, and even in spite of those awful helmets. I went to that game in Oxford with friends and made some good memories. Now, another crisp fall day approaches, Ole Miss alums and waking up in Little Rock and I am getting ready to spend time with old friends again. It's a great time to forget about contentious things like the election and focus on family, friends, traditions and just plain old good times.

This week's blog fodder is traditional southern fare with a small nod to the Ole Miss Hotty Toddy cheer. We all have endearing traditions, but this one actually sounds like a cocktail, so its all the more endearing to me.

"Hotty Toddy, Gosh almigitht
Who the hell are we, Hey!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
OLE MISS BY DAMN!"

Coupled with the hog call, this makes for a great morning of strange southern traditions.

As for the game, I expect a great contest full of startling offensive plays. Arkansas' Dennis Johnson will have a monster day at running back and Tyler Wilson will light up the scoreboard with his arm. I expect to hear Ole Miss receiver Dante Moncrief's name called a lot. There's going to be a lot of scoring, and I think this one will be decided late in the fourth quarter. The Hogs will get their third straight win, 37-34, and have a shot at four in a row next week against Tulsa.

This blog is written today in the spirit of the unofficial Ole Miss motto: "We might not win the game, but we ain't never lost a party, ya'll."

First and Ten: Shrimp and Grits

This is straight from Paula Deen and her book, Paula Deen and friends, Simon & Shuster, 2005. It serves 8 as an appetizer or four as a main course. I have made no attempt to reduce the calories, and have rejected her son's lighter version of the recipe out of hand as it contains Canadian bacon, for God's sake. According to Paula, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare her recipe if you have everting chopped and measures before cooking.

1 cup stone-ground grits
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, left whole if small and roughly chopped if medium or large
6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
1 large garlic clove, minced

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the grits and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well with a whisk. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook the grits until all the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butte and cheese. Keep covered until ready to serve

Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp, then drain on a paper towel. Add the shrimp to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute over medium heat just until they turn pink, about 3 ninutes. Do not overcook! Immediately add the lemon joice, parsley, green onions and garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Pour the grits into a serving bowl, pour the shrimp misture over the grits and garnish with the bacon bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sideline Route: Mayonnaise Biscuits

My wife, Sarah, had these biscuits when she was a kid and remembers them fondly. They are moist, colorful and simple. This recipe comes to us from allrecipes.com, but the exact same recipe is all over the internet on various sites.

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Mix the ingredients in a bowl until just mixed. Drop spoonfuls onto lightly greased coolie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cooler Break: Hot(ty) Toddies

Okay, if you have never had a hot toddy, now is the time. You can measure things and be all exact with this, but that's no fun.

Bourbon
herbal tea
Honey
Fresh lemon juice.

Normally you just use water for this, but if you have some tea you like that is not too strong I like to use that tea as the base.

Brew a large cup of herbal tea in the microwave. Vanilla, chamomile, something like that. Sweeten the tea to taste with honey and then put in the juice of half a lemon. Throw the sqeezed lemon in there if you like. Then hit it with a few "glugs" of bourbon. Stir. You should have a great, balanced blend of thick sweetness, bourbony goodness and the tange of the lemon. Adjust to taste.

This drink is perfect when you have a cold, or on a cold fall or winter day when you need comfort.

Now, don't even talk to me about the pralines. They didn't work out.