27 - Start Spreading the News

Joe Girardi choose this number for his jersey as he hoped it would lead to Yankees 27^th world series title. Girardi, an academic all American at Northwestern, is a man who believes that what needs to be done can be done.

However, the first part of this years baseball season (before the all-star game) was less than spectacular. After the all-star is another story. Steady Jeter, Posada and Matsui were finally joined by the highly touted but yet lacking A-Rod, who, apparently, thought it was about time to be a team player. Even still, his batting performance was somewhat lackluster finishing at .286 during the regular season and a much better but still expected .365 in three post season series. He does sport a .305 career average. He also is a publicity hound unlike his self-effacing teammates. Derek Jeter ended the season with a .334 average and has a .317 career average. Always a class act. Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano - all others fit into that category also.

A local sports editor, Tom Haudricourt, appears to be the quintessential Yankee basher. Lately his comments focused mostly on the fact that the Yankees, although playing by the rules according to him, bought this championship. He even goes as far as saying that the Yankees bought their first championship by hustling the Bambino away from Boston. How could he besmirch the beloved, but sometimes errant, Babe Ruth? Of course, he mentions nothing about how some college football coaches are recruited by universities in the same manner.

For me, nine years to wait for the next championship is way toooooo long. Oooooh, did I celebrate the victory Wednesday night. First by winning a tennis doubles match at a local club. Goes without saying one has to join the guys for a few pints and then watching the remainder of the 6^th game of the world series come to a most favorable conclusion.

No matter the argument, I still enjoy listening to 'Ol Blue Eyes singin' about the big Apple. Hope you do too.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloins

Have been using a couple of recipes from Pierre Franey for pork tenderloins. One uses cream and capers, the other shallots, rosemary with a white wine sauce. Recently discovered stuffed pork tenderloin while watching Jacques Pépin. It is a wonderful addition to my repertoire. Pépin uses a 1½# tenderloin which at times can be difficult to find. If you use a smaller one, use less filling.

Butterflying the tenderloin can be daunting in the beginning but it is not that challenging. Place the tenderloin lengthwise to you. The tube is pointing away and perpendicular to the cutting board edge. 1/3 of the way from the top slice through the tenderloin until about ½" from the side. Flip the tenderloin end for end and rotate 180° so that the previous slice is now on the other side. If you are right handed the cut will be on the left. If left handed it will be on the right. Now make another slice about 1/3 of the way down. When finished you should have a flat piece of tenderloin about 8" wide by its length.

Now you're ready to make the stuffing which is made up of sautéed onions and spinach with seasoning and cheese. In order to secure the stuffed tenderloin, Pépin uses foil to hold it together which is an easy method. I use the traditional butchers twine and simply tie a around around the top and then loop the twine around the loin for about 5-6 times. Turn the loin over and then loop the twine through the ties that hold the loin together, skipping every other one. At the end turn the loin over again and tie off at the first loop.

An alternative stuffing uses Gorgonzola, fresh cherries and chopped scallions. Both are in the recipe. Be creative and try your own combos.

You are now only minutes away from experiencing your excellent work. Get the recipe or click the title to view a video on Jacques Pépin preparing his version of a stuffed pork tenderloin.

Wisconsin 13, (9) Ohio State 31

The Buckeye offense had way too much rest in yesterday's win over the hapless Badgers of Wisconsin. The match ups showed Wisconsin with a strong offensive front line weighing in at somewhere around an average of 250 pounds per lineman. They allowed only 2 sacks in their previous five games. But, Wisconsin QB Tolzien also threw two pick 6's which helped make them also rans once again in the Horseshoe. That along with a TD scored by a kick return gave the Buckeyes all the scoring they needed on this Saturday.

Defense saved the day for a team ranked 9 which could not mount an effective, continuing offense. They were, however, tricked on 4th and long when the Badgers lined up for a field goal on the Buckeye 24. A miscue by the Buckeyes allowed the only TD against them. The Buckeye defense was constantly in the face of Tolzien forcing either hurried throws, holding from his offensive line or putting him on the turf.

On the other side, offensively speaking, Pryor could neither pass nor run. Seems the Badger defense was omnipresent. There was once exception and that was with two left in the first half. Pryor seemed to finally realize why he was on the field and leading the # 9 ranked team in the country. Unfortunately, that was almost a singular episode in his on-field antics.

Having said that, it was the strong Buckeye defense that got the job done. I bring that up again because a major Wisconsin newspaper's sports headline states ' Giving one away'. Guess it is tough to give credit where due. It also seems difficult to assign fault/blame to the real culprits, the Badger offensive line. Which, incidentally, the same newspaper touted so highly in yesterday's edition.

Let 'em fight it out. We all know the final score.

 

A Long Time

After a drought because of ennui, health issues and reminiscing over the Buckeyes' performance in their last three National Championships, it seems that there is toooooo much to talk about to ignore. So, where to start.......?

Yesterday, while returning from a class at a local tech school, I got a call concerning My Class Reunion.exe, my database management program for class reunions. After several questions, the conversation turned to the reunion booklet. The caller then decided that a sample to view would be in order. Told him to fill out the web submission page under Booklets with his name and address and a booklet would be on the way in the a.m.

Caller mentioned that my blog had been neglected for a long time. I commented that my blog's purpose was for me to rant and rave about various things that interest me, including the Buckeyes. At that point he just happened to allow that he was a Gator living in Winter Haven. Naturally, the conversation turned to venting some good humored testosterone.

Later checked my email, sure enough there was the web submission with his address. During a subsequent email, he sent a picture of the Gator success story:
Oh, the joy of going to three national championships in two years. Not many have.

Big Ten Champs, Again

Ohio State 14 Michigan 3

Jim Tressel and The Ohio State Buckeyes continue their domination of the lowly wolverines. Since taking over the head coaching reins at Ohio State, Tressel is 6-1. The Michigan graduating seniors have not beaten the Buckeyes in their four years of playing for Michigan. The vaunted Buckeye defense gave up only 89 total yards. Mike Hart was held to 42 yards while Mario Manningham caught 5 passes for a paltry 34 yards and rushed for -1 yards. Chad Henne was 11 for 34 and only 68 yards passing.

Todd Boeckman was less than spectacular in the air, only 7 for 13 for 50 yards. The big gun for the Buckeyes once again was Beanie Wells. Beanie ran for 220 yards. This is what the Wolverines saw of him most of the day:

Several years ago a Michigan alumnus was asked how to get to Columbus. He said that from here, Ann Arbor, head south on I75 until you hear the noise out of the left side, turn east and then follow the smell. That comment was made right after Jim Tressel became head coach for OSU. Seems that the aroma from the east is a whole lot sweeter to some of us.

Boeckman once again threw an interception on the Buckeyes last possession of the first half. He appeared to be rushed and tried to force the pass. Bad decision. Field conditions were soggy because of the constant drizzle. He has about five weeks to get it right before the Rose Bowl. Tressel will have a long talk with him.

At any rate, back to back Big Ten Championships. How sweet it is.

Cuz Bonnie in Denver sent a pic about a Michigan license plate and a story about an OSU grad working in Michigan. Click here to read the story. Humorous, but not accurate. So is this tag:

Baked Mostaccioli and Meatballs

Christopher Kimball has done a good job with his 'Inside America's Test Kitchen'. Anyone who would roast 30 to 40 chickens to get it 'just right' has to be passsionate about the job. And good for us. We benefit from all of this because we can go right to the end result without all the agony. Thank you, Christopher.

I have my own test kitchen phenom in Sanford d'Amato, owner and chef at Sanford's in Milwaukee. On Sundays Sandy publishes one of his works of art in the local paper in a section labeled Entrée. I have benefited from his expertise and have told you about his/my successes several times in this blog.

Recently, I tried his Baked Mostaccioli and Meatballs along with his Basic Tomato Sauce. The flavors that this master puts together are extraordinary. The sauce is full bodied, popping with mouth smackin' stuff. Sandy uses breakfast link sausages for flavor and then removes them as he says 'for another use'. What other use? They never made it to the refrigerator!

The meat balls are the best ever. A mixture of pork, beef and bread crumbs along with traditional spices makes this hearty meal go a long way. Could easily feed 10 to 12 people. That is if gluttony is absent from the table because of the irresistible urge to have 2nd's and 3rd's.

This recipe rates alongside his Lasagna posted some time ago. Full of flavor from the many ingredients that he insists should be first class. With such results, who can argue?

Click the link in the article to get the full recipe or click to get the Baked Mostaccioli and Basic Tomato Sauce.

Still Alive

Seems to be a repeating pattern with the Buckeyes this sports season. Ranked #1 for most of it and then . . . Let's hope the hoopster Buckeyes complete the task. To date, though, they have made my life a little tooooo frenetic.
Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to close your eyes because they did not want you to peak too soon for the impending treat that you were sure was gonna be the best one of your life? Excitement was in the air. You knew darn well that you could not last as long as they wanted you to. I suspect that they also knew of the temptations to check things out before the designated time. Strange how they judged our attention span to be that of theirs.
At any rate, my experience was that in a matter of seconds I was peaking through the cracks of my hands to secure a glance at what was great expectation. Never to be disappointed. And, the Buckeyes are treating me the same way this BB season. When you are on top of the heap great expectations are attached to the top award. Expectations great or small are not to be trailing by 20 points. Not in the first half, never. Those cracks between the fingers diminish almost to the point of totally blocking all that was to be seen.

Most times it gets to be a bit much because of the lateness of the night, the irregular play of the putative heroes and maybe some previous late night celebratory tennis shenanigans. The penalty of the actions is, of course, the trepidation the following morning reading about the outcome. O, joyous day! They have risen once again. Only to put me through this again Saturday? Hopefully, not.