Game Day Buffalo Dip

Yes.

I'm un-American.

I hate football season. Like, seriously, I hate it.

I hate the way my husband's mood is dictated by how well his teams do that week. I hate the fact that it's all anyone ever wants to do on the weekends, so there's no hope of doing anything else whatsoever. I hate that I have to sit there, surround by a room full of people, and I'm the only one who doesn't really care if the ref made a bad call or if they are 3rd and goal.

The only thing I can tolerate during this ridiculous time of year, is the food. The tailgating food (hot dogs, hamburgers, cold beer, nachos), the football party food (chips, dips, things rolled in pastry dough), and the excuse to eat as much of it as you like (because you're nervous your team may not make that field goal, and no one will judge you for stress eating).

On Saturday, we went to our friends house to watch their former collegiate education establishment play their big game. We dressed Alex in the appropriate colors so we were allowed in the door, and took our seats in front of the TV- but not before we ate tasty steaks, bacon-wrapped jalapenos, cookies, and my contribution: buffalo dip!

Yes, it looks a bit unappetizing, but I can promise you...
its the hit of any party!

I originally got this recipe from a spouse in our class back in Columbus, but I've adjusted it a bit to fit my husbands need for more 'kick' and my undying love for blue cheese :) Thanks, Meredith for the original!

Ingredients:

* 8 oz cream cheese, softened
* 16 oz sour cream
* 1 cup blue cheese dressing
* 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (I use upwards of a cup to appease Chris' need for heat)
* 1 container blue cheese crumbles
* 2.5 cups cooked chicken. I bake mine in the oven (350 for 30 mins), then shred it.

To Do:

* Combine cream cheese, sour cream, blue cheese dressing (I add a few dabbles more because I love me some blue cheese), and buffalo sauce. Mix well. Stir in chicken and blue cheese crumbles. Pour into casserole dish and put into 350 degree oven (covered) until its hot and starts to bubble. This usually takes about half an hour.

* Serve while hot with chips, crackers, and veggies. And don't worry if you're not a huge blue cheese fan- I was told that no one even knew there was blue cheese in the dip- all they tasted was deliciousness :)


Now... make this dip next Saturday, Sunday, Monday, etc and go root for the home team/underdog/your team/ team with the best tushies in those tight pants/whatever!

And I'm Back! With Gumbo!

Ladies-

   I pride myself on giving you simple, easy dishes to complete when you're in a bind or just don't feel like putting in a lot of effort into meals. My recipes never include a lot of ingredients, never take more than an hour, and the results are always tasty- plus you can probably pull most of them off with the ingredients you have in your pantry already!

  This recipe is not one of those recipes. This recipe is for the day when your significant other says "Don't worry babe, I'll make dinner one night this week!" Wait? Your man doesn't say that either? Hmmmm... ok well this recipe is for when you say "Honey, if you don't make me dinner this weekend, you are going to have to take me to the Opera (Ballet, Shoe Shopping, Decoration Shopping, Furniture Shopping, Chick Flick, etc)!" Use whatever venue or activity puts the Fear of God into your man- each one is a little different- and feel free to get creative!

   This recipe is my husbands. He hand-picked it out of a cookbook his father gave us and its his favorite thing to make (and might I say, he knocks it out of the park every single time!) This recipe comes from Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. We were lucky enough to eat at his restaurant, K Paul's, when we were in NOLA in May- and I'd recommend it to anyone! Make sure you save your husband plenty of time- he will need it to prepare this gourmet masterpiece- it always takes Chris 1.5-2 hours of loving labor to complete it (leave time for the inevitable kitchen mishaps that are sure to happen by letting him loose in the kitchen all by himself!)

Here it is: Chicken and Andouille Smoked Sausage Gumbo by

Chef Paul Prudhomme

as cooked by Chris Protos!

Photo by Kyle Byrd

Ingredients:
* 1 (2-3 lb) chicken, cut up (we use chicken breasts)
* Salt
* Garlic powder
* Ground red pepper (preferably Cayenne)

* 1 cup finely chopped onions
* 1 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
* 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
* 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (again, preferably Cayenne)
* Vegetable oil for deep frying
* 7 cups basic chicken stock
* 1/2 lb andouille sausage or any other good pur smoked pork sausage (kielbasa)
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* Enough rice to accommodate the number of people you are feeding - boxed stuff is fine. This gumbo recipe makes about 6 main-dish portions.

To Marinate Chicken:
* Remove excess fat
* Rub a generous amount of salt, garlic powder, and red better on both sides of each piece, covering evenly
* Let stand at room temperature for minutes

To Create Chicken Breading:
* Medium size bowl, combine onions, bell peppers, celery- set aside
* Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper in a plastic bag.
* Add the chicken pieces and shake until chicken is well coated
* Reserve 1/2 cup of the flour
* In a large heavy skillet, heat 1/ 1/2 inches of oil until very hot. Fry the chicken until crust is brown on both sides and meat is cooked (about 5-8 mins per side). Drain on paper towels
* Pour the hot oil into a measuring cup, leaving as many of the browned particles as possible in the pan
* Return 1/2 cup of hot oil into the pan

To Create the Roux
* Plan pan over high heat with oil. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup reserved flour.
* Cook, whisking constantly, until the roux is dark red-brown to black, no more than 5 minutes.
* Remove from heat and add veggies, stirring constantly
* Return pan to low heat and cook until veggies are soft, about 5 minutes

To Create the Gumbo
* Place the stock into a 5 1/2 quart saucepan or large dutch oven, bring to boil.
* Add the roux mixture to the boiling stock, stirring until it dissolves.
* Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in sausage and minced garlic.
* Simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, stirring often towards the end of cooking time. (Be sure to start your rice during this time as well!)
* While the gumbo is simmering, dice the chicken and stir the chicken in
* Adjust the seasoning with salt or pepper if needed and serve immediately over rice

This recipe does pack a little punch- add more cayenne if you want it super spicey! We like it to where we just break a small sweat! It is worth every minute of cooking time- I promise :)  So now that you are feeling adventurous- go! Go- tell your husband he's cooking this weekend :)

Save the Day Buffalo Chicken

This isn't really a recipe persay- just a survival guide in case you ever have a day like, well, most of my days.
One of those days may look like but is not limited to:

* Washing machine breaks in the middle of 6 loads
* Son learns to pull himself up and subsequently pulls things off bookshelf
* Cat claws up door frame and you have no touch-up paint
* Husband decides to go out and play instead of helping
* Feeling like you got hit by a train, bus, sportscar, T-38, whatever
* On 3 hours of sleep because son has two new teeth coming in
* Kicked washing machine; may have broken toes
* Hearing you may have to move entire house by youself while husband is being tortured in a POW camp
* Son pulls cats hair, gets scratched, now both are cat and son are fussing
* Xbox refuses to work so your only break to watch some 30 Rock is now non-existent
* Knowing friends are at waterpark and you are stuck here with all this
* Husband comes home, plays Xbox (how in the hell did he get that to work anyways?!)
* Son won't take nap
* You need a snack, but have no food and no energy to go to store
* Make popcorn, it burns. Whole house stinks.
* Slam possibly broken toes into homemade babygate consisting of chair and ottoman
* Husband asks whats for dinner. Crap.

Ladies, ladies, ladies (and the occassional gentleman) it is ok to use flavored boxed rice! It is ok to use store-bought marinades instead of making them from scratch! It is ok to throw it all together on a day you just don't feel like working hard. You deserve a good meal on days like these, on days when you can't fathom taking another step or dealing with another fiasco. You might not have the stresses I do (aka the thought of husband having to spend 3 hours in a tiny box 'buried underground'- have fun honey) but you work hard, so don't stress yourself by spending more time in the kitchen than you have to. Can I get an 'amen'?!?! That's right, sista. Amen.


Dinner tonight- done in 20 minutes
Notice the hot and steaminess of it.


Take thawed chicken breasts, place in large ziplock bag. Dump marinade into bag. I used some KC Masterpiece Hot Buffalo sauce we were given by Sara and Vince (thanks guys- it was delicious!). Save some sauce to brush onto chicken later. Let chicken marinade at least 30 minutes in fridge. During this time, kick your feet up, pour yourself a glass of wine, and make your lazy husband get up and start the grill.

Start rice. No directions here- just follow the box. We chose a Rice-a-Roni Creamy 4 Cheese. It took 15 minutes on the stovetop- same amount of time it took the chicken to cook on the grill and for me to slice up some fresh zucchini and summer squash and sautee them with butter, salt, and pepper. Be sure to brush the chicken with some more of the sauce to add some extra flavor at the end of grilling. Crumble some blue cheese over the top and melt it to offset the spice of the buffalo sauce if you need to.

Next step: Enjoy your dinner. And then make husband do the dishes.... its only fair :)