Saturday, September 15, 2012
UCLA v Houston at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena

Appetizers

Olive Crisps

Prep Time: 25 minutes 

Inactive Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 40 crisps

Flour, for dusting
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
6 tablespoons tomato paste
6 tablespoons prepared olive tapenade
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 10 by 10-inch square. Spread 3 tablespoons of tomato paste evenly on top, followed by 3 tablespoons of olive tapenade. Sprinkle half of mozzarella and Parmesan over top. Roll up the puff pastry like a jelly roll, just to the middle of the dough. Repeat with the other side in the same fashion, making 2 rolls that meet in the center. Duplicate the process with the second puff pastry sheet.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice the rolls into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange on cookie sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (Because they will puff up to twice their size after baking, place them far enough apart.) Just before baking, beat the egg with 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, and brush onto the olive crisp slices. Bake for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve warm or room temperature.

Rosemary Roasted Cashews Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa

This recipe is almost directly from the Bar Nuts at Union Square Cafe in New York City and their wonderful cookbook of the same name. 1 1/4 pounds cashew nuts 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon melted butter Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until they are warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, pepper, sugar, salt and butter in a large bowl. Toss the warm nuts with the rosemary mixture until the nuts are completely coated. Serve warm.  Main Dish Chicken Piccata and salad From the Kitchen of: Paul Oglesby Slice boneless/skinless chicken breasts into thin filets Dip chicken into a thin mixture of milk and one egg Cover the chicken breasts w/ flour and bread crumbs Heat a large skillet with butter and olive oil.  Brown the chicken breasts Remove chicken breast and de-glaze the pan with ½ cup white wine Add ½ jar of capers, juice of one lemon and one can of Campbell’s French Onion Soup Thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and water Put the chicken back in the sauce Serve with pasta or potatoes Desert Frosted Banana Bars 1/2 cup butter 2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 and 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium bananas) 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda pinch of salt Frosting: 1/2 cup butter 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 4 cups confectioners sugar 2 tsp. vanilla Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased 15 x 10 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool. Bruins tame the Cougars in a 37-6 rout Daily Bruin PASADENA — On the second offensive play of the game, Houston sophomore quarterback David Piland threw the ball to his right on what he, and his receiver, believed to be an incomplete pass. Eric Kendricks knew better. The redshirt sophomore linebacker picked up the ball and ran it 23 yards into the endzone, just as the coaches tell him to do every day. “In practice, when we see a ball on the ground we scoop it up because you never know what might happen,” Kendricks said. “That was my reaction so I picked it up, didn’t hear a whistle and ran it back to the endzone.” The pass was called a fumble on the field, and after 12 seconds of gameplay, UCLA (3-0) took a 7-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 37-6 victory over Houston (0-3). UCLA’s offense put up 567 yards, but credit for the win primarily went to the defense. The Bruins held a Cougar offense – one that had scored 49 points the week before – scoreless until almost five minutes from the end of the game. “Coach emphasized all week putting together complete games,” said redshirt sophomore safety Tevin McDonald. “In our (first) two games, we had two great second halves, but we had to put together a complete game. That was our plan, and I’m proud we executed it as a team.” UCLA’s defense forced six turnovers on the game, including five interceptions. Three of those picks came from senior cornerback Sheldon Price, tying the UCLA record for most interceptions in a single game. While the defense had its best performance of the season, the offense had its worst outing as it had five turnovers on the night. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Hundley threw two interceptions and was sacked three times by a Houston defense that had only one turnover in its first two games. “There is going to be some inconsistency in his game, sometimes, because he’s a young player,” Mora said of his quarterback. “There’s a lot of learning for him once he looks at that tape tomorrow.” Despite a shaky performance, Hundley still had two touchdowns on the day and 320 yards passing. On the ground, UCLA ran for 247 yards behind redshirt senior running back Johnathan Franklin, who had 110 yards rushing as he vaulted himself to No. 2 on UCLA’s all-time rushing list. Outside of Franklin’s accomplishment, the highlight on the offensive side of the ball came, ironically, from a defensive player. Redshirt senior defensive end Datone Jones came in on a goal-line package as a tight end and caught a seven-yard pass for a touchdown in the first quarter. “We’ve been practicing that play every day since camp,” Jones said with a smile. “We used it last week against Nebraska and I was open in the back of the endzone but they didn’t get me a ball.” The fanfare from Jones’ touchdown along with the final score and statistics left a bright spot on the game, but the Bruins know that they need to execute better as the season goes on to reach their goals. “It’s really scary when you think about it,” Hundley said. “The stats we put up is all good to look at but, to us, this game wasn’t what we wanted. … There were mistakes made and we have to respond and play a full game.”