Queso Fundido (with Chorizo!)

Not good for you, but it is a delicious gametime treat. Serve with flour tortillas, your favorite salsa and/or tortilla chips.

10oz. mixed cheese blend (a mexican blend or cheddar/monterey jack blend, a little mozzarella always helps as well)
2 cloves of minced garlic
Small to medium diced yellow onion
12 oz. Mexican Chorizo (not Spanish Chorizo)
2 poblano peppers (any roasted green chile will work as well)
Cilantro (optional)
Lime (optional
Avocado (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast poblanos on the open flame of your stovetop until blackened (grilling works too). place in an airtight container and let the peppers sweat. Wash off the blackened skin and dice peppers. Set aside.
Saute Chorizo until slightly browned/crisped. Drain and set aside.
Saute Onion for a few minutes. Add garlic and poblanos and saute for a few minutes more.
Add Chorizo and saute for two minutes.
Take a non stick oven proof dish. Spray with non-stick spray.
Add half of the cheese blend.
Layer chorizo blend on top.
Add the rest of the cheese blend.
Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling around edges.
Garnish with Cilantro and Lime wedges.
Note: Once cooked, mixture is amenable to microwaving to keep hot. If you have a fondue pot or sterno handy, these will work also.
Use as a dip with chips or make tacos with the tortillas.

Art Modell, R.I.P.

Dear Cleveland fans,
A great man and pioneer in the development of the NFL died today. He was well liked and respected among fellow owners, players, and generally anyone involved with the NFL, except for one particular subset of people... Cleveland fans. Being a lifelong Browns fan, I too held a grudge for a very long time. It is very difficult to forget the pain at losing the team that was the lifeblood of a fiercely proud city that identified itself with its football team (sorry Indians and Cavaliers, but that's the way it is) for so many years. In respecting that pride and loyal fanbase, the NFL rightfully saw fit to award Cleveland the next expansion team and retention of its records and rich history. Even though we got the Browns back (such as they are), the animosity towards Mr. Modell has not diminished, so much so that he could not enter Cleveland Stadium without numerous death threats.  Out of respect (or fear), Mr. Modell never attended another Browns game in Cleveland Stadium again. Acoording to the sports pundits out there, apparently the only thing holding back Mr. Modell from being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame is the moving of the Cleveland franchise to Baltimore. In the interests of his family, the Cleveland community, and the NFL, it is time for the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio to endorse the induction of Art Modell into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is time to FORGIVE.

Here's a link if you are unfamiliar with Modell's legacy. It is not totally "pro-Modell" and you should do your own research for a fully balanced view...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/09/06/modell/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a3&eref=

In any case, the point is, the one thing that would definitely propel Art Modell from a finalist to an inductee into the Hall of Fame would be the endorsement of the people of Cleveland and Ohio. It is time to FORGIVE. He deserves it.

Five Spice Super Bowl Wings

If you have the time, below is a great recipe for Chinese Five Spice wings, courtesy of epicurious.com. You need to marinate them for 24 hours and frying is necessary the next day, but these tasty little morsels will be a big hit. It sounds odd but make sure you make the salt and pepper mix for dipping as well. Extra sodium but it enhances the flavor of the wings even more.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fried-Chinese-Five-Spice-Chicken-Wings-101930

Recipe for Foolproof Roast Chicken

I am posting a link for Ina Garten’s Lemon and Garlic Chicken. It is a pretty much foolproof recipe but not so much a go to. Mostly I am posting this because I want to see if I have linked up my blog to the proper Facebook account. The problem with roasting your own chickens these days is that you can pretty much pick one up (in NYC) at Whole Foods or Eataly (or any number of places) that is just as good for as much (or less) as you could make on your own. Nevertheless, a roast chicken is simply something you should have in your box of basic meals whether you are male or female. I will post my personal recipe (eventually) but just remember butter or oil, salt and pepper, garlic, bacon, thyme and lemon. You can make a basic roast chicken with just about any combination of two or more of these. Also, if you have a problem with dry breasts, just cook the chicken upside down.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-and-garlic-roast-chicken-recipe/index.html

"I am 1,000 percent a Steelers fan!'' - Jimmy Haslam

      Jim Donovan of WKYC Channel 3 in Cleveland has reported that Randy Lerner will sell all but 30% of his ownership interest in the Cleveland Browns very soon, possibly before the 2012 NFL season starts, to Tennessee businessman Jimmy Haslam III, a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Haslam, as reported by several news agencies, is quoted as saying "I am 1000 percent a Steelers fan!" after his purchase of a minority stake in the team. BEFORE THAT, he was reported as being a Cowboys fan AND a Colts fan. http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/07/background_on_jimmy_haslam_iii.html
       This is about the worst scenario for the Browns that a fan could hope for at this point in another rebuilding year. The timing couldn't be worse. It's basically the very beginning of training camp and now the team is pretty much mired in uncertainty as to who their head coach, their GM, and their president will be in the near future. It's already rumored that Haslam wants to bring in his own guy, Joe Banner, to run the team. I am no big fan of Mike Holmgren, but at least he had some sort of a plan with his guys, GM Tom Heckert and Head Coach Pat Shurmur, having relative job security. That is all gone now. "Until we sit down with the new owner, no one's really sure what's going to happen with the new owner," according to Heckert. You can talk about it being "business as usual" all you want, but the truth is it is a HUGE distraction for everyone involved. Reports say that the players really have nothing to worry about other than doing their jobs, but how is that really possible when you have no idea who the President, GM, and coaches are going to be in the near future. A lot of the guys on the roster have no doubt been championed by one, some, or all of these guys at one point; how can you not think about your job security if the guy who was your biggest supporter gets canned under the new regime? It's not as if the Browns are loaded with established veterans who have no worries about landing another job as soon as they're released. To say that the players have nothing to worry about is flat out wrong.
      Nothing about this deal points to any kind of success for the Browns this season or in the near future. Holmgren, while he says he knows whats going on, doesn't really appear to. About a month ago, he said Lerner wasn't going to be selling the Browns and that he and the owner had a close relationship. If that's the case, he either lied or was lied to about the whole scenario. After the sale negotiations were announced, Holgren said the Browns were in no danger of being relocated. How would he know? He has no idea about Haslam and while the Browns have a 30 year agreement with the city, billionaires like Haslam have been known to try to circumvent such agreements.
       While the Cleveland press has been treating this story with a relatively ho-hum attitude, this blogger believes some serious red flags need to be raised. We'll be going from an absentee owner to a "hands-on" owner who has no strong affiliation with the city and is, first and foremost, a businessman. By the way, Randy Lerner said he wouldn't sell the team until they started winning and he could find the right people to sell it to. Has that happened? If it did, I missed it. I hate to be a doom-and-gloom Browns fan, but this does not bode well for the upcoming season or the future of the Browns.