Geaux Saints!

The South is exploding with pride because our Saints are in the Super Bowl! Growing up, Sundays were football days, and we always watched the Saints play. I would sit in my daddy's lap in his chair, and he would teach me all about what was going on on the field. My little brother LOVED the Saints and had a 1991 NFC West Champions t-shirt that he wore out. My high school had a "Who Dat?" cheer (insert "Arrows" for "Saints"), and it was always our favorite way to end a pep rally.

We are having a Super Bowl Party at our house, and here is the menu so far:

Guacamole (football isn't the same without it!)
Buffalo Chicken Dip (Susan says it is the Devil! Can't wait to try it!)
Shrimp, Chicken, and Andouille Jambalaya (John Besh recipe from his new book, My New Orleans. I might throw in some crawfish tails, too.)
King Cake (I'm making one from scratch, also from My New Orleans)

Peyton and the Colts may tear the Saints apart, but I'm hoping that they hang in there and play a good game. Geaux Saints!

Cotton Bowl 2010

I don't know how I let an entire month go by without posting the rest of our Cotton Bowl photos. That's not good!

We stayed at the Stoneleigh hotel in Uptown Dallas, and I loved this hotel! The location was great - within walking distance to some good restaurants and bars.

We arrived Friday afternoon - New Year's Day - and we were starving, so we walked over to Nick & Sam's Grill for a late lunch. They were one of the only spots open because it was New Year's Day. The great thing about Nick & Sam's Grill is that they had all-you-can-drink mimosas. Yes, please!

The hotel was very clean and stylish, and our room was quite large. I thought the color scheme was great, too.

When we got back from lunch, I was thrilled to find a chilled bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rose in the room! I know every girl loves Clicquot, but I really love it. Before we left for lunch, Chip secretly requested that the hotel place a bottle in the room. We relaxed, watched some New Year's Day bowl games, and sipped our champagne.

We were both craving some Tex-Mex that night, so we walked over to a spot called Mattito's and had a delicious meal, then had beers at the Gingerman.

The next day was the big game! You all know that story already... Rebs won!!

Cowboy Stadium is massive.

The jumbotron is massive, too. I almost needed a wide angle lens to capture the whole thing.

An Update

There was a lot of hoopla over nothing for the Ole Miss game on Saturday. Kinda like the entire football season this year...

Anyway. The band did play "Dixie" and they did play "I Saw the Light", they just didn't play them in the "From Dixie with Love" arrangement where one song flows into the other. Big whoop!?

And the game was awesome! The team played lights out. Dexter McCluster set team rushing and all-purpose yards records. I am really looking forward to the LSU match-up on Saturday!

Then on Sunday, I have a family Thanksgiving meal. I have no idea about what I am going to cook. In the Grove this weekend, I had a cheesecake topped with pumpkin pie topped with pecan pie. It was divine. I wonder if I could pull it off?

Mid-Week Mish-mash

To begin, I'd like to say, "Congratulations!" to Susan and Daniel. Susan gave birth to a healthy baby boy early Sunday morning. I can't wait to see their sweet thing in person!

I am heading to Oxford tomorrow morning and will be there for a while. I'm sure I'll need to mow the yard, and I have perennials to divide. Fun stuff. I have to work before the 11:00 AM kickoff of the Tennessee game this weekend. I'll probably miss the pre-game and the kickoff, and I'm not thrilled about it. If you haven't heard, just yesterday, the new Chancellor, Dan Jones, asked the Ole Miss band to stop playing the school's unofficial fight song "From Dixie with Love" because there are folks who chant "the South will rise again" at one point duing that song. I have been going to Ole Miss games for twelve years, and I had no idea until last year that people chant that crap. Some are defending the phrase, saying that it no longer has racist, segregationist undertones; that is it just of a way to express pride and love for our region. I’m not convinced. Couldn't we find another phrase to express those feelings instead of reviving an old Civil War chant? For me, I say good riddance. Maybe my alma mater can finally move on from all of these offensive Old South relics and can learn to be proud of more than our flawed past. How about building our academic future?

Moving on!

Tonight, we are hosting Chip's parents for dinner. I am making Ina's Chicken Stew with Biscuits. It looks delicious. Last night I roasted and diced the chicken and chopped the veggies so that I can throw everything together after work today. I also baked an Almond-Crusted Pound Cake. It is Chip's mom's birthday, and she adores almond desserts. I am a little worried about the cake because it seems dry and crumbly instead of moist and delicious. There are two things I could have done wrong. 1) I didn't sift the cake flour before I measured, so it is possible that I just added too much flour. 2) I overbaked it. The middle wasn't done after 1 hour of baking, so I turned down the oven to 325F and baked for another 10 minutes. Maybe too long? I guess I'll find out tonight. I hope I am nervous over nothing and the cake turns out to be delicious.