Saturday, October 31, 2015

UCLA v Colorado

Appetizers - Penny & Tim

Due to a time-crunch, we opted for some delicious "store bought" cinnamon rolls and mini coffee cakes.  Accompanying that are Bloody Mary's and Mimosas.  Also, Carrie brought fruit salad.

 

 

Main Dish - Eric

BAGEL AND CREAM CHEESE BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients

6 everything bagels

Butter, for greasing the pan

One, 8 az. Cream Cheese

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

8 eggs

2 cups whole milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chopped chives, plus more for serving

1 t dry mustard

½ t cayenne pepper

½ t salt

Tear the bagels into chunks and place them in a large buttered casserole dish

Cut the cream cheese into chunks and distribute them all over the top of the bagels

Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese

Combine the eggs, milk, cream, chives, dry mustard, cayenne, and salt in a bowl; whisk together

Pour all over the top. Cover with foil and refrigerate for several hours or overnight

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; bake, covered for 45 minutes

Remove the foil and continue baking 15 to 20 minutes until the top is golden brown

Cool 15 minutes before serving

SAUSAGE SAUTE

Ingredients

Chicken sausage or any other favorite

Red onion, 2-3 cloves garlic, yellow, red, and orange peppers, chopped

Sliced fresh mushrooms

Saute together in a large pan with olive oil until softened and browned

Bruins' win over Colorado, 35-31

There was little that UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen could do. Colorado wouldn't give the ball back.  The Bruins ran one play in 19 minutes during the second and third quarters during their 35-31 victory Saturday in the Rose Bowl.

"We were just watching the game and rooting for the defense," Rosen said.  Yet, when needed, Rosen was up to the task.

He completed consecutive passes for 64 yards to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Soso Jamabo that gave the Bruins a 35-31 lead with eight minutes left.  The drive took 27 seconds.

All that waiting around had little effect.

"The rhythm of each drive doesn't carry over from drive to drive, that's momentum," Rosen said. "Obviously, with three and outs, you're not going to get in a rhythm."  But, he said, "no matter how many times you touch the ball, the goal doesn't change. There is urgency every time you have the ball."

Rosen didn't even stress his fumble, which was returned 33 yards for a touchdown by Samson Kafovalu in the fourth quarter.  "Josh never blinked," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said.

Rosen threw for 262 yards and one touchdown.

Even the cameraman got into the Halloween spirit

Numbers game

The injuries piled up for UCLA, which was already down a man before the game.

Guard Alex Redmond was suspended for "personal reasons," Coach Jim Mora said.

The Bruins lost offensive linemen Kolton Miller and Caleb Benenoch to leg injuries during the game, though Miller hobbled onto the field for the final series.  Running back Paul Perkins, who suffered a knee injury last week, left late in Saturday's game. Receiver Devin Fuller went out because of an ankle injury.  "That was the offense, those were the easy ones," Mora said.

The defense was more beat up. Cornerbacks Marcus Rios and Johnny Johnson were in and out of the game, as was linebacker Jayon Brown.  Linebacker Kenny Young left in the first half after taking a hit to the head. Linebacker Josh Woods, playing in his first game, suffered a hamstring injury.  "To overcome the things we had to overcome today was staggering," Mora said. But, he said, "We kept playing and kept playing and kept playing, and made stops when we had to make stops."

Back pack free gift.

Perkins rolls

Perkins had 118 yards rushing, his 10th career 100-yard game. It left him with 3,020 yards in his career, putting him eighth on UCLA's all-time list.  Perkins scored two touchdowns, on an 82-yard run and a 21-yard pass reception. It gave him 27 career touchdowns.

Defensive moments

Brown finished with a career-high 18 tackles, despite being in and out of the game because of a leg problem. Aaron Wallace had a key sack late in the fourth quarter, giving him a team-leading five this season.

We also had American Eagles from the LA Zoo do a fly in. 

Dessert - Paul & Barb

Colorado Mountain High Brownies

Ingredients
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cups sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

Frosting
2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
½ cup (1 sticks) butter, softened
¼ cup pasteurized egg substitute (recommended: Egg Beaters)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8 x 8-inch baking pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2-quart bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well with a spatula. Add the flour and stir to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

While the brownies are baking, make the frosting. Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave on high for 3 minutes stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the egg substitute, vanilla, and sugar and stir with a spoon until smooth. Stir in the marshmallows; they will soften but not melt completely. Spread the frosting over the warm brownies. The frosting will set up when the brownies are completely cooled. When cool, cut into 1 1/2-inch squares and store in the refrigerator in a plastic container.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

UCLA v CAL

Since this was a Thursday night game, we did not cook and tailgate.  Instead we went to the Food Zone and had some great food.

Josh Rosen completes school-record 34 passes as UCLA beats Cal 40-24

PASADENA, Calif. -- With UCLA's season seemingly teetering on the brink of collapse, Josh Rosen calmly propped it back up with a passing performance that put the freshman's name in the Bruins' record book.  Rosen completed a school-record 34 passes and threw two of his three touchdown passes to Devin Fuller, and UCLA got back on track with a 40-24 victory over No. 20 California on Thursday night.

Rosen passed for 399 yards in another splendid game for the standout rookie, and Thomas Duarte had career highs of 10 catches for 141 yards for the Bruins (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12). UCLA rebounded from consecutive losses to Arizona State and Stanford, along with a drop from the national rankings, with a 573-yard offensive performance and a stellar effort by its patchwork defense, which sacked Cal star Jared Goff five times.

Every time you win, it's a step forward," said Rosen, who broke the completions record set by Richard Brehaut and Brett Hundley. "Especially with our bye week, that was three weeks without a win, so it felt great to come out here and put it to them."

Rosen was smooth and confident in another big Pac-12 game, going 34-for-47 without a turnover. The frosh got plenty of help, too: Soso Jamabo rushed for a score after star UCLA tailback Paul Perkins left with an injury, and the Bruins' injury-plagued defense limited Goff and Cal's potent offense to 170 yards in the first half.

Debuting their black-and-shiny-gold "City" uniforms, UCLA appeared revitalized. Ka'imi Fairbairn made four field goals, including a school-record 60-yarder at the halftime gun, and the UCLA defense caused trouble for Goff throughout.

"The key was getting that quarterback on the ground," UCLA coach Jim Mora said. "We struggle with that, and we got it done against a really good player."

But even in victory, UCLA added two more significant injuries to its alarming season total. Perkins, last season's Pac-12 rushing champion, ran for 73 yards before limping off in the second quarter. Linebacker Isaako Savaiinaea, the Bruins' leading tackler, then left on a cart in the second half.

Mora didn't disclose specifics about the injuries, only saying: "They're not good."

Goff passed for 295 yards in a second straight disappointing game for the Bears (5-2, 2-2), who have lost two straight after a sizzling start.

"We got punched in the mouth two weeks in a row now and are going to have to respond one way or the other," Goff said. "I think we're going to respond the correct way, though. It's the type of group we have in there."

Kenny Lawler, Darius Powe and Khalfani Muhammad caught TD passes for Cal, which entered the Rose Bowl with its highest ranking in six years and a chance to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2011. Instead, the Bears still have just one win in Pasadena since 1999.

"Things that we haven't done all year, we did tonight," Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. "That's not indicative of this football team, and we didn't play well tonight."

UCLA stumbled back to the Rose Bowl with consecutive losses in conference play for the third straight season, including a 56-35 thrashing at Stanford last Thursday that dropped the Bruins out of the Top 25. Mora's teams have always bounced back from those skids, and the Bruins still haven't lost three straight regular-season games in the coach's tenure.

"We got on the road back," Duarte said. "The morale of the team is how it used to be again, so I'm happy. It was definitely a turning point for this team, but we're fighters, for sure."

The Bruins took their first lead in three weeks when Duarte caught a 7-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Fuller capped a 90-yard drive early in the second with a 19-yard scoring grab, and UCLA scored on its first seven possessions.

Cal finally reached the end zone on Lawler's acrobatic grab 51 seconds before halftime, but Rosen moved the Bruins into position for that 60-yard kick by Fairbairn, who was mobbed by teammates when he broke Chris Sailer's UCLA record of 56 yards, set in 1997.

Cal offensive lineman Jordan Rigsbee hit a UCLA defensive lineman well after the whistle on the final play, setting off a minor skirmish when both teams ran onto the field for the postgame handshakes.

Friday, October 23, 2015

We stayed in Pasadena and on Friday we went to Downtown LA to the Grand Central Market and walked down Broadway to the recently reopened Clifton's.  At Clifton's we had Bloody Mary's and explored the restaurant and bars.

Rounded out the day at the Getty Museum and then to Westwood to 800 Degrees for pizza.  Great day!