Sad Day In Sports History

On Monday night, as I was logging into Yahoo to check my email, a headline grabbed my attention..."TRESSEL OUT AT OHIO STATE"! Now, I know that I graduated from the University of Connecticut and I am a Husky, but I also know that Ohio State sports are in my blood with Mom being from Ohio, I grew up on the stuff. I can still see my mom yelling at the TV when the Buckeyes were on playing football...and now I do the same thing. I think that the first time that Jay heard me doing it, I think he thought I had lost my mind! Ohio State football is like my second religion, when we lived in Ohio it was great, we even went to a few games and there is nothing like being on campus when the Shoe is full with over 100,000 screaming fans! And I am sure that my love for Ohio State football will be passed on to Arabella - she loves watching football and she knows who to cheer for already - who knows maybe one day she will be a Buckeye. I knew that there were some issues going on with some of the players, but being here in Canada, I am removed from US college sports, so when I saw the headline, I clicked on it. I quickly scanned the article and then ran to the guest room where Mom was trying to sleep...and I promptly woke her up! Over the past few days, I have looked at a few of the stories online and it is sad, the end of an era is over. I came across these front pages and thought I would share -
Front page of the Youngstown Vindicator: The front page of the Canton Repository:
The front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
The front page of the Columbus Dispatch:

For as sad as this news is, I know that this will not change the history and legacy that Tressel has a Ohio State. Thanks for the great ride and thanks for all the wins over Michigan, Coach Tressel!

And for all the haters of Buckeye football, especially those people up North, you know Michigan, just remember that Michigan still holds the record for the largest NCAA scandal of ALL TIME...something to the tune of roughly $600,000 of money going to the Fab 5 in hoops!

Football Time

On Sunday, we had a little Superbowl get-together. Jay's new co-worker, Pascal, his wife, Lucy and their boys, Charlie and Patrick came over to take part in the American tradition of eating, drinking and watching football!

We had a pretty low key meal of munchies and snacks. I made my famous bean dip (at Jay's request), some pretty amazing guacamole, salad-on-a- stick, and homemade soft pretzels!Everything was really easy to make and I know I will be making it all again. I loved the idea of the salad-on-a-stick when I saw the recipe and it was easy and quick and a healthy option. All you have to do is cut up a head of lettuce, slice some cucumbers, wash a pint of grape tomatoes and then you just skewer them. Serve with dressing and Viola!

As much as we all loved the guacamole, I think that the favorite food of the night was the homemade soft pretzels! I would love to take credit for the recipe, but I can't, I must give the credit to Bobby Flay and FoodTV. They were fairly easy to make and now that I have made them once, I am sure the next time they will be even easier. I also made the queso sauce and it was wonderful! The only thing I wish I had done was make a double batch, because they were gone pretty quick. The pretzels were nice and brown on the outside but inside they were soft and chewy. And since we ate them right when I took them out of the oven, they were prefect!

Plated up and ready to be eaten!
Right out of the oven
Before baking, you have to boil them in a water and baking soda mixture.

You can get the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/soft-pretzels-with-queso-poblano-sauce-and-mustard-sauce-recipe/index.html

Jay and I had a great time relaxing and enjoying a some great wine/beer and conversation with Lucy and Pascal during the game. Arabella, Charlie and Patrick sounded like a herd of elephants and they played and ran around the house during the game, but that is OK, they were having a great time and the boys wore Arabella out, she slept in until almost 8 am yesterday! So you boys are welcome to come over and play anytime!!