Friday November 28, 2014

UCLA v Stanford

Appetizers - Paul & Xander

Snacks - Pub Cheese, Hummus, Tahini, Raisin Crisps and Breadsticks

Xander loved the breadsticks

Main Dish - Penny & Tim

Game Day Breakfast Sliders

Ingredients:

1 package (12 count) Kings Hawaiian Rolls (or use dinner rolls if you don’t like sweet bread)

10 -12 eggs (depending on preference)

Sliced provolone cheese

6 slices of ham (or use bacon)

¼ C butter (melted)

1 T mustard

½ T brown sugar

Directions:

·       Scramble eggs however you like to do them

·       While the eggs cook, cut the entire package of rolls in half (so you have a sheet of the tops & the bottoms).

·       Place the bottom sheet of rolls in the pan and cover with the provolone cheese

·       Spread the eggs over the cheese layer

·       Lay ham slices over the eggs

·       Place the top sheet of rolls over the ham and then cut through all layers to get individual sliders.

In a saucepan (or the microwave), combine butter, mustard & brown sugar and whisk together.  Drizzle the butter mixture over the tops of the sandwiches

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes.  Serve with hash browns on the side.

Eric and Carrie - no rush today to eat like last week.

UCLA loses to Stanford 31-10, falls out of Pac-12 title race

PASADENA—Needing a win over a 6-5 Stanford team playing without its best offensive player to clinch the Pac-12 South title, No. 8 UCLA was widely picked by experts to cruise to a win.  Instead, the Bruins were faced with adversity.

After tumbling to an 11-point halftime deficit, UCLA continued to slide in the second half, eventually losing 31-10. The loss prevented the Bruins (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12) from clinching the Pac-12 South title, which No. 11 Arizona took in their stead by defeating No. 13 Arizona State Friday afternoon.

UCLA looked poised for an easy win after the first few minutes of the game. Its defense held Stanford to a three-and-out on its first possession, then the Bruin offense carved through the Cardinal defense for a quick touchdown and a 7-0 lead.  But from that point on, nothing came easily for UCLA.

The Cardinal responded with a string of long drives – both in terms of time and distance – scoring three touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-10 lead by halftime. Stanford redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Hogan was near-perfect in the first half, completing 14 of his 15 passes with little pressure from UCLA’s pass rush.

Meanwhile, UCLA had trouble moving the ball consistently after its first drive, maintaining possession for just 8:20 of the 30 first-half minutes.

Needing a momentum-swinging scoring drive to open the second half, UCLA instead gained 15 yards before punting. Stanford then immediately pushed momentum further in its favor, breaking off several big runs as UCLA missed multiple tackles. The Cardinal finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to take a 28-10 lead.

The Bruins finally put a drive together near the end of the third quarter, but after it stalled on the Cardinal 30-yard line, UCLA’s fake field goal attempt came up empty.

The Cardinal (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) responded on the next drive by hitting a field goal to take a 31-10 lead that would hold until the clock struck 0:00 on both the game and the Bruins’ Pac-12 title hopes.

Troy Aikman was honored and #8 jersey retired...this was the highlight of the day.

Dessert - Eric

Apple Bundt Cake

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

Total Time: 2 hr 55 min

Prep: 25 min

Inactive: 1 hr

Cook: 1 hr 30 min

Yield:6 to 8 servings, about 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

Honey Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons milk

Cake:

3 cups diced Granny Smith apples, about 2 apples

1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

3 eggs

Directions:

Glaze: Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth. Set the bowl aside.

Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a Bundt pan or tube pan.

In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until completely combined. Fold in the apple mixture.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan, about 1 hour, and then turn it out onto a plate.

Drizzle the apple cake with some of the honey glaze, serve and enjoy!

The cake can be wrapped tightly and stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

UCLA vs USC

Appetizers - Penny & Tim

Shrimp Cocktail

Cheese Pull Apart Bread

Before baking

Ingredients

• 1 round bread loaf (sourdough is ideal)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch green onions, white & light green parts, diced
• 8 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

                                                                                             Directions

After baking...hot and bubbly

• Preheat oven to 350
• Score the loaf crosswise and lengthwise into 1 inch squares, cutting almost through to the bottom, but leaving the bottom intact
• In a small bowl, put both cheeses, garlic, green onions and bacon and mix well and stuff mixture in between all of the cuts (some of it coming out the top is just fine)

• Melt butter and add Dijon, seasonings and salt & pepper - mix really well and drizzle evenly over the bread
• Wrap loaf in aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes
• Remove from the oven and remove foil to expose the top of the bread
• Turn oven to broil and put back in oven and cook until lightly brown and the cheese is bubbly

Semi-Formal Was The Theme

(due to heavy traffic getting into the Rose Bowl, we had to eliminate some of the "formal" and could not even unpack some of our table settings

Candles, tablecloth and silverware...unused.

Eric dressed up for the occasion.

Setting up before it gets dark.

Eric and Corey

Penny, Eric and Tim

Beautiful sunset and that's the Goodyear blimp.

A lack of restrooms lead some of our neighbors to a tree.

Main Dish - Eric

UCLA vs USC

Barbecue Rib Eye, Double Stuffed Potatoes and Wedge Salad

RIB EYE STEAKS

Marinade for Six Steaks

6 TBL EVO

3 TBL Balsamic Vinegar

1 tbl Worchestershire

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Brush on both sides of steaks two hours before grilling

Herb Butter

1 cube butter and chopped fresh herbs of your choosing (I used tarragon, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and chives

Blend in herbs into softened butter and wrap into plastic wrap

Put 1 tbl of butter on each grilled steak when steaks are done and removed from grill

ANNE’S ICEBERG WEDGES WITH BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

1 cup mayo

4 0z. blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup plain NF yogurt

¼ cup buttermilk

3 TBL white wine vinegar

pepper to taste

4 large head iceberg lettuce cut into quarters

2 green onions, chopped

Mix all ingredients until smooth, season with pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Arrange wedges on 8 plates. Spoon dressing over lettuce, sprinkle with green onions and additional black pepper.

DOUBLE STUFFED POTATOES

Ingredients (I tripled recipe for six)
2 large Russet potatoes, cleaned and pricked with a fork several times each
Drizzle olive oil or vegetable oil
2 slices center cut bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and coarse black pepper

Directions
Preheat a small nonstick pan over medium high heat. Rub potatoes with a drizzle of oil. Place potatoes on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 12 minutes, rotating once. While potatoes cook, add chopped bacon to hot skillet and brown until bits are crisp. Add scallions and cook scallions together with bacon 1 minute more. Transfer bacon bits and green onions to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Allow potatoes to cool enough to be handled, 5 minutes. Preheat broiler to high. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh into a small bowl. Smash potato flesh together with sour cream until combined using a potato masher. Stir in cheddar cheese, bacon and scallions and season with salt and pepper, to your taste. Scoop filling back into potato skins and place on a cookie sheet. Place potatoes in oven and brown under broiler, 6 inches from heat 5 minutes.

Unfortunately, Paul and Barb could not get to our location for the tailgate, so they were forced to buy a hamburger in the stadium.

GREAT GAME UCLA 38 - USC 20

Third straight win over USC brings UCLA closer to goal of Pac-12 title

PASADENA—There were no wild screams. No mad dashes across the field. No mayhem in the Rose Bowl.

Instead, when the clock hit zero in UCLA’s 38-20 victory over USC, the Bruins calmly walked to midfield to shake hands with their opponents, then jogged to the student section, where they were hailed by their fans.

UCLA celebrated its win over its crosstown rivals, but there was nothing excessive about it; the celebration seemed subdued compared to those of the past two years.

It makes sense. After all, wins over the Trojans are becoming commonplace for the Bruins.

“I don’t want to sound cocky, I just think it’s expected for us to go out and play the way we did,” said redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Lucien.

UCLA won its third straight game against USC by frequently capitalizing on its opponent’s miscues.

First came a muffed punt by USC junior wide receiver Nelson Agholor early in the first quarter. The Bruins recovered the fumble at USC’s 8-yard line and easily tied the game at seven a few plays later after a Trojan defensive back fell down, leaving Lucien all alone in the back of the end zone for an easy touchdown catch.

Next, sophomore Y receiver Thomas Duarte darted across the middle uncovered and turned a quick slant into a 57-yard touchdown reception.

Later in the first quarter, the Trojans elected to attempt a fourth-down conversion from UCLA’s 5-yard line. The Bruins stuffed the run attempt and escaped unscathed from what seemed to be a surefire USC score.

USC’s next mistake came in the second quarter, when redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler floated a screen pass over his running back’s head and right to redshirt senior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks, who snagged a one-handed interception while toeing the sideline. On UCLA’s next drive, redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley found redshirt freshman wide receiver Eldridge Massington open over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass to put the Bruins up 24-14.

Having built a lead by making USC pay for its mistakes, UCLA didn’t look back.

“I don’t care what USC was going through,” Lucien said. “I was just trying to do my part in making them feel even worse.“

In the grand scheme of UCLA’s season, this win was just another step closer to its goal of winning the Pac-12 title, and earning a College Football Playoff bid. Coach Jim Mora emphasized after the game how his team’s focus needed to immediately shift to Stanford on Friday, which UCLA needs to beat to reach the Pac-12 title game.

“We don’t bathe in moments, we just move on to the next moment,” said Mora.

But on a more local scale, a third straight win over a long-dominant USC team was much more than just another step for UCLA.

“To finally get a third win over them and establish ourselves as a team that’s a force to be reckoned with is a great thing,” Lucien said.

It was a year ago that Mora shouted, “We own this town,” to his players in the tunnel of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after UCLA’s second straight win over USC.

On Saturday, the Bruins officially signed the deed of that lease.

“UCLA runs L.A.. And if you guys didn’t hear it last year, I think this year we made it stomp and sort of express that,” Hundley said.

Dessert - Barb & Paul

Chocolate Pots de Creme

Will be served with Helwig's Os Quatro Doces (a lovely Port).

Ingredients

9 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place the chopped chocolate in a blender. 

Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.

Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Makes 6 servings