Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktFirst off, thanks for covering for me last weekend, okie. I had to take care of some unfortunate work-related stuff, but you stepped into the breach beautifully. Second, I’m very, very glad that everyone seems to have made it through Sandy fairly unscathed. Whew!
Does anybody care about the early games? Thursday Ohio routed Eastern Michigan 45 – 14 and Miami (FL) beat Virginia Tech 30 – 12, while last night Washington was at Cal, and won 21 – 13. Onto today’s offerings. . .
Oklahoma is at Iowa State in a Big Twelve battle (line: OU, spread 13). This may be the noon (EDT) game to watch (ABC/ESPN3), unless you’re a Big Ten fan, in which case. . . Update: Oklahoma 35 – 13
Michigan is playing at Minnesota, so bsimon and I get to duke it out (line: Michigan, spread 12.5). Wolverines eat Gophers, Golden or not, for breakfast. Just sayin’. Update: Michigan, 35 – 13
Georgia Tech is playing Maryland (line: GT, spread 7). This would be a good week for the Yellow Jackets to start making a comeback. Update: Georgia Tech 33 – 13
Washington State is at Utah in what may be the battle for the basement (line: Utah, spread 12.5). Should be beautiful weather, if nothing else–go, Utes! Update: Utah 49 – 6. And yes, the weather is gorgeous–I’m sitting on my back patio on my chaise lounge with a light blanket. Ah, fall!
Pittsburgh is venturing into South Bend, IN. Can Notre Dame go 9 – 0? (line: The Irish, spread 18.5). Brian Kelly certainly does seem to have the luck of the Irish this season. Update: and they stay perfect in one of the most exciting games I’ve seen in years. Notre Dame 29 – 26 in 3OT.
And Nebraska is going to Spartan Stadium (line: MSU, spread 1.0). Go, Spartans! Oh, and Paul, what should we wager on this one? Update: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Nebraska 28 – 24. I owe you an Epic brew, Paul.
Illinois is playing osu (line: osu, spread 21). This would be an especially sweet one if the Illini could pull through for me. . . Blast: osu 52 – 22
Penn State is at Purdue (line: PSU, spread 2). This has been a tough week for PSU, hope their Saturday is better! Update: and it is. PSU 34 – 9
Texas is at Texas Tech (line: Tech, spread 3.5). Mark?? Update: UT 31 – 22. Hook ’em, ‘Horns!!
In the late games, UConn is playing USF (line: USF, spread 9). Go Bulls! Update: USF wins 13 – 6!
And Arizona is playing at UCLA (line: UCLA, spread 3.0). Go, Wildcats! Errrrr: Arizona got shellacked by UCLA, 66 – 10
Off this week: Wisconsin
Filed under: Football, Open Thread |
All Things in Moderation 
Hi. My opinions follow. These are not facts. I will disavow them if they are ever thrown in my face.
UT will be fortunate to stay within two TDs of TT. Program in disarray.
All four contender/pretender teams are solid and I think the two that are left out this year will have a legit beef.
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OT to mark:
If you recall, you posted a chili recipe about this time last year. My college chili cook-off (traditionally held on Halloween) at the last minute this year was postponed to February. But my tastebuds were already set for chili, so I made your recipe and took it to work for a staff lunch. It was a huge hit! Lots of folks asking for the recipe. Thanks. (I did make a few alterations: substituted andouille sauage for part of the beef and added some diced tomatoes and some black beans.)
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Those amendments sound good. I have added red beans before. You’re welcome!
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It’s an open thread, okie, so we can all go OT! 🙂
Mark, how was Newark??
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Mark:
I’ve just searched through all of the Bites & Pieces (and what a trip down memory lane that was!) and couldn’t find your chili. Would you create a post sometime soon for that? I could add a recipe or two, and I’d love to see yours. okie could add her modifications. . .
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michi, it’s posted in early Nov 2011 (don’t remember exact date), but not as part of a Bites & Pieces. It is a separate post of its own . . . and well worth finding. I copied it and will email it to you, and you guys can decide if you want to re-post it. Which I am not in the least trying to discourage.
I may have some items for a new Bites & Pieces in about a week. I continue to search for a baked apple recipe that can be a side dish for my family at Thanksgiving without being too “dessert-y.” I have several recipes I’m going to give a trial run within the next week. Of course, if somebody has such a recipe they like, I sure would love to see it.
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Okie, we did a group effort at my daughter’s apartment in Houston for Rosanne, Dara, and me. Dirt simple. I peeled, cored, and small-chunked 5 medium size fuji apples. Dara and Rosanne got the butter, nutmeg, cinnamon mixture ready. No sweetener was added to my 1/3 of the mixture. They added splenda to their 2/3s. They put the two baking dishes with the apples and the butter mixtures in a 350F oven for 40 min. Dara whipped some heavy cream.
Dessert was enjoyed by all three of us.
PS – theirs was too sweet for me, but they could have enjoyed mine by adding sweetener at the table.
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Kelley – look at 11-1-11.
Also, we had a great short vacation on the banks of the Delaware River, New Hope, PA and Lambertville, NJ. then we had a nice visit last Friday and Saturday at Rosanne’s bro in Montgomery County, PA. We were scheduled to fly out of Newark on Monday morning.
Listening to the gloomy forecast on Saturday evening, I called Hertz about extending and returning to Austin by car. Would have driven to Columbus and turned southwest from there. Hertz wanted $269/day for the extra days and distant drop. The forecast was for the storm to hit NJ shore on Monday evening, which was proven correct, so we thought there was a good chanve we would get out Mon. morning and we stuck with our previous plan. Thus we turned car into Hertz Sun. night and stayed at Newark AP Holiday Inn. Flights were canceled all day Monday, gowever, even though they could easily have got out Monday morning. They used Monday to clear Newark of planes.
We rescheduled with SWA for Thursday morning – in a quirky and insulting gesture, SWA was allowing free change of plane flights to persons at Newark, LGA, and Islip, if they would change to other planes at Newark, LGA, and Islip!
The hotel manager delivered flashlights to the rooms around 4 PM – “just in case”. Power went out around 6:30PM. The hotel turned everything in its fridges into a free buffet. On Tuesday we learned it might be a week before the power was restored. With no internet or hot water, and the battery on the Nook starting to run low, and uncomfortable beds to boot [I hung off the inclined plane in the hotel gym to stretch my back] we decided to escape.
Calling around [cell phone worked] we got a car from Avis for only $165/day. We hit the road at 6:49 PM Tuesday night and showed up on my sister’s doorstep in Durham at 4 AM sharp W morning. Slept 4 hours, then had a family reunion. Got a SWA flight out of Durham at 4:35 PM for only a $535 total upcharge. Got to Austin [3 hr layover in Nashville] at 11 PM. When we reached the terminal, Rosanne said to me “I guess this is where we kiss the ground”. Applause all around.
We are now dealing with about $1000-$1200 in bogus double charges, btw. I am assuming computer glitches, and will just work through it.
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mark, I hope your trip was so wonderful that it far made up for the travel horror story. I flew out of Newark day or two before 9/11, and have been grateful for that ever since. I would not have had the cash on hand to afford another way out and would have been trapped for a week at least.
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What a saga!! So glad you and Rosanne made it home in one piece.
And I have no idea why (except that I picture her as a ravishingly beautiful woman in my head), but I keep thinking that Rosanne’s name is “Rosamund”. So if I refer to her as such in the future you know who I mean. . .
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Hey, question for any of you VA residents who drop by–do you even dare turn on your tv between now and Tuesday? I just noticed that ElectoralVote has VA as perfectly tied, so I imagine the ad campaign is brutal.
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mark, missed your comment about apples. Sounds great, but I empathize with you completely, which is why I’m looking for a recipe that is not so sweet (what I meant above by “not too dessert-y”). I’m going to try the 3-4 recipes I’ve collected, but I suspect I’m going to just wing it and create my own recipe since I know what I want. Edit: Reread what you wrote, and you have inspired my recipe! I’ve been too fixated on baking whole cored apples (for the presentation). I’m adding to my upcoming tests chunked apples with your butter combo (probably with a dash of allspice as well).
The OU win was ho-hum. The UT game is at least a little exciting, and the Horns so far are looking good despite some defensive weakness still.
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Ha! I saw the thread & wondered, who’s beating the gophers this weekend?
“Michigan is playing at Minnesota, so bsimon and I get to duke it out (line: Michigan, spread 12.5). Wolverines eat Gophers, Golden or not, for breakfast. Just sayin’. Update: Michigan, 35 – 13”
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bsimon: Are you near UMinn? If so, you can buy me a beer next time I’m there to visit. 🙂
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I am & would be happy to.
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Notre Dame goes to OT
bsimon: Cool! I’ll let you know. . . I’ve got a friend at UMinn and we’re working on a short course that we’re going to be teaching together at MBL next spring right now that may need “personal attention”.
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3 OT
Haven’t seen this in years. Woo hoo!
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ND is like a bb team that plays to the level of its opponent. KSU lost Klein in the third quarter to an unspecified injury, but he prowled the sidelines as if he were OK and itching to get back in the game. KSU was never in danger of losing. But losing Klein? That would be tough for them.
‘Bama – lucky to have had Les Miles coaching against them at the end.
Did not see Oregon -USC.
Okie – Use crisp and not mealy apple varieties. Fujis and Galas are plenty sweet on their own, Granny Smiths are crisp and tart. You probably know all this.
UT is clipping the wings of its DC, Manny Diaz. Better late than never. His twist-and-blitz defenses left the LBs exposed with too much field to cover, or out of position, all year, until the second half of the KU game, when Brown and DB coach Akina took over the D play calling. I predicted TT by two TDs based on Diaz. Mack and Akina continued calling the D against TT, however, and although it was pedestrian, it was not GODAWFUL. We will be competitive now until KSU at the end of the year. Our job will be to beat TCU and ISU so that KSU can blow out a top 15 team before the MNC contestant is chosen. We will play USC’s role against ND. PAC and SEC have conference championships for closers.
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Mark,
NJ to Durham is about a ten hour drive in the best of times. You probably drove right past my house if you took I-95. Glad you got there okay. One way car rentals are always a rip-off. And SWA to Austin is pretty expensive no matter where you start. BWI to Austin has gotten me most of the way to a companion pass two years in a row.
John Stossel defends price gouging on free market grounds.
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YJ – we drove I-95 to I-85. 9 hrs. 11 min with three pit stops was b/c there was no one on the road. I always think of I-85 as the dark road, neither brightly striped nor lit. Also, there is that first stretch in VA heading south where the speed limit changes without being reasonably signed. Fortunately, our GPS reads out the speed limit. If I had known where you were located, I would have waved!
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USF’s defense finally decided to play the 4th quarter, ending 3 UCONN drives with turnovers (1 fumble recovery, 2 INTs). Didn’t think I’d see that this year.
MIT ends its season 5-4 with a blowout loss at Endicott (49-14).
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Goose – I saw a little bit of the game. My niece was married yesterday and my twin sons were ring bearers. The awwwwww… as they walked down the aisle almost made it worth the $245 that we spent to rent their tuxes. Almost. 😉
We had brunch at my favorite KC restaurant this morning–Bluestem. We always go there for dinner when visiting KC. New American cuisine from a midwestern couple (including a James Beard nominee). It didn’t work out this time as Friday and Saturday nights were taken and they’re not open Sunday night. I belatedly realized that the lounge was open until midnight last night and so we could have left the reception a bit earlier and gone there before closing time. Our hotel was within walking distance.
Ah well. This morning was worth the wait. I had the most interesting Bloody Mary of my life. They infuse the vodka with bacon (and a fair amount of garlic to my taste) and used a really thick tomato juice (house made; I asked). It had a hefty kick to it as well. Keen had a mimosa, followed by a Kir Royale.
We shared donut holes to start; Keen had an omelet, I went with the house hash. The has was terrific, but what really got my attention was the sunny side up eggs. I love eggs and have worked hard to make a proper sunny side up egg. I put the eggs in the pan and, after a bit, put a cover on the skillet so that the top steams slightly. That way, I wind up with a cooked egg white while the yolk stays largely uncooked. I like a raw yoke, but hate uncooked egg white. I don’t know how the chef managed it, but the yolk was warmed without being cooked and the egg white was perfectly cooked. The yolk broke beautifully into the tomato sauce.
If you ever visit KC, head to Westport and go to Bluestem. I’d also highly recommend the Q Hotel. $99 plus tax and free parking. A great room in the area of KC with the best night spots.
BB
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My niece is in Overland Park, KS, BB. I need to remember this restaurant when we visit her and her husband.
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Paul, your description of the egg on your hash has me drooling. . . .wow! And the “awwww” factor of Primo and Secundo–congrats to the bride and groom AND to you and Keen!
But I have to say the Bloody Mary has me the most interested. I never, ever, ever liked that drink until I had one in (of all places) a Delta Airlines Crown Room. They’ve told me (in three different Crown Rooms) that all they use is Mrs T’s bloody mary mix, but there’s got to be more to it than that, since when I make them at home I don’t like them.
I’m going to try adding some garlic powder now. (I’ve also been told that I may be using vodka that’s *too* good, since they use really basic vodka in theirs–but since I buy so little vodka I can’t really see buying the cheap stuff).
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Use real crushed garlic. Use Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, and V-8. Try it.
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Surely you strain it if you use real garlic??
That’s part of what’s got me so puzzled about the Crown Room bloody marys–they just pour something out of a bottle into some vodka, but I can’t get the same taste at home.
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Oh, and Paul:
Our genetic counselor at work is a Nebraska grad. I’m wearing one of her sweatshirts tomorrow all day.
Ha.
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“The yolk broke beautifully into the tomato sauce.”
Tomato sauce in hash?
we’ve experimented a little bit with making our own corned beef hash, using a hand-crank grinder. It is tough to get it right, with good flavor. The potatoes often take over the corned beef, making the combination more bland. Never used tomato sauce in it…
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I thought BB had his egg in tomato sauce, not tomato sauce in his hash. BB?
Kelley, I just used the garlic press and get mainly juice.
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The hash was corned beef and potatoes, about 1/4 inch cubes, served in a spicy tomato sauce with two eggs on top. When I broke the yolk, it mixed in with the sauce. You could tell the flavor of the corned beef, but the tomato sauce was the dominant flavor.
BB
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We were in KC just two weeks ago and ate at Woodyard Bar-B-Que which has been featured on No Reservations and Diners Dives and Drive-ins. Very good dry rub ribs.
GT handily beat Maryand although I was not in town to watch it. Perhaps the Jackets do better when I don’t pay attention. I was in Waynesville, NC at a B&B run by a high school classmate who is a USF alumna. Go Bulls!
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